GHA..now Cyano? Dino? and Bryopsis :( lots of pictures!

[Reef Recked]

Hey guys so these are my current parameters, im still trying to dial in my kalkwasser for my Alk it was staying around 8.5 but recently dropped to 8.2, im going to setup a doser when i get some time to try and keep it more stable.

ALk = 8.2 dkh
PH = 8.2
Calc = 470
Magnesium = 1370
Nitrate = 0
Phosphate= 0
Salinity = 1.026
Temp = 77.9

I did have what im pretty sure was GHA in the first picture below but now i seemed to have gotten rid of that and this reddish algae has showed up along with this long stringy mucous type stuff with the bubbles on my rock, while trying to identify these sponges someone pointed out i also might have bryopsis on some frags so apparently my tank is going for the trifecta?

I started the system in december/January with BRS dry rock and caribsea live sand, i cycled with dr tims and ammonium chloride.
The algae growth is starting to get more reasonable, but i clean off alot of it once or twice a week to try and keep everything in check. I did have high nitrates originally around 20 or so and had to do alot of water changes to get it down around 5 and then it kept dropping until now its undetectable, but i never had phosphate. Ive had Chaeto this whole time and it wont seem to grow at all even when i had the higher nitrates.

I normally was doing a 20% water change every 1-2 weeks but have held off for over 2 now to try and see if i can raise the nitrates and phosphates some and im also looking at adding 2-3 of the black axil chromis. but would quarantine first so that will be 1-2 months away at best.

Any help would be appreciated!

This is what im pretty sure was GHA that i dont seem to have nearly as bad anymore below are the more recent pics

Heres what accumulates in my filter sock after scraping and cleaning off glass and some rock.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Lots of flagellates and slime. Increase nutrients. Reduce photoperiod, increase water flow in tank and remove any GFO and do not vodka dose if you are already.

 

[Reef Recked]

Lots of flagellates and slime. Increase nutrients. Reduce photoperiod, increase water flow in tank and remove any GFO and do not vodka dose if you are already.

hey vette guy, how low do you recommend running my photoperiod? im currently at 12 hours a day in display, 12 hours in sump. I have added another fish and been feeding more agressively as well as lowered water changes to increase nutrients. and i have my gyre running up to 40% on my 29 gallon, any recommendation on how high to run it?

Thank you!

also what year vettes your favorite? my dad has a 67 that i drool over every chance i get!

 

[ScottR]

I’d reduce to 8-9 hours. 12 hours is a bit long as it’s feeding everything nasty in there. Also, your phosphates and nitrates are too low. It’s my opinion that the nasties take over when the good stuff don’t have enough nutrients to thrive. They’re being out-competed.

 

[vetteguy53081]

hey vette guy, how low do you recommend running my photoperiod? im currently at 12 hours a day in display, 12 hours in sump. I have added another fish and been feeding more agressively as well as lowered water changes to increase nutrients. and i have my gyre running up to 40% on my 29 gallon, any recommendation on how high to run it?

Thank you!

also what year vettes your favorite? my dad has a 67 that i drool over every chance i get!

Reduce feedings ( a little food is better than NO food at all ) and increase Gyre to 50% and lights- 6-8 hours at High blue/low white intensity.
Vette was 2003 as I sold it 5 weeks ago to someone from Florida which ironically im moving to in a little over two years

 

[Leadfooted]

Similar situation with a new FT. Would a beefed up clean up crew help speed this process up? If so, would you suggest hermits and snails?

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Your tank doesn't look too bad. I would increase the gyre just until you get some sand moving. Increasing fish load will help, but I understand that you like to quarantine.

What else other than chaeto do you use for nutrient control?

The other thing I would recommend is to add about a tablespoon of ROX carbon in a bag in the sump to absorb any toxins and organics left by the dying algae.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Similar situation with a new FT. Would a beefed up clean up crew help speed this process up? If so, would you suggest hermits and snails?

For a tank with GHA, somewhat - Dino- NO

 

[aqua_code]

That looks like bryopsis to me on your glass. Should aim to get rid of that asap. There are several treatments recommended in the forums.

 

[vetteguy53081]

That looks like bryopsis to me are you sure it's GHA?

Agreed. OP mentioned GHA

 

[aqua_code]

Thanks - Edited my post didn't see it originally in the title.

 

[Reef Recked]

Reduce feedings ( a little food is better than NO food at all ) and increase Gyre to 50% and lights- 6-8 hours at High blue/low white intensity.
Vette was 2003 as I sold it 5 weeks ago to someone from Florida which ironically im moving to in a little over two years

Beautiful Car! youll love it down here in florida too, although it does get a little hot from time to time.
What part of the state you moving to if you dont mind me asking?

 

[Reef Recked]

For a tank with GHA, somewhat - Dino- NO

That looks like bryopsis to me on your glass. Should aim to get rid of that asap. There are several treatments recommended in the forums.

Your tank doesn't look too bad. I would increase the gyre just until you get some sand moving. Increasing fish load will help, but I understand that you like to quarantine.

What else other than chaeto do you use for nutrient control?

The other thing I would recommend is to add about a tablespoon of ROX carbon in a bag in the sump to absorb any toxins and organics left by the dying algae.

Im not 100% that its GHA thats just what i thought it was from my own research and it seemed for the most part to have gone except for my frag plugs.

Ok so i will decrease my lighting schedule to maybe 8 hours at first and see how that does as well as increasing my gyre flow to atleast 50%, im trying to increase my amount of food fed to increase nitrate and phosphate, should i not feed as much? I do have a carbon reactor still running as well as a BH-50 reef octopus skimmer.
Should i dose fluconazole if that is bryopsis?, i trust your guys judgment way more than my own! ;Happy

Also should i do a large or normal water change? im coming up on 3 and a half weeks or so since my last water change and still cant get my nitrate or phosphate up. as of yesterday theses are my numbers.
8/1/19 - 9:00
ALk = 8.3 dkh
PH = 8.2
Nitrate = 0
Phosphate= 0
Salinity = 1.026
Temp = 77.3

I really appreciate all your help! i just want to be clear of this algae lol.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Beautiful Car! youll love it down here in florida too, although it does get a little hot from time to time.
What part of the state you moving to if you dont mind me asking?

Doral , Florida. fall 2021 !! hot yes as we are down there 1-2 times per year (summer of course)

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Im not 100% that its GHA thats just what i thought it was from my own research and it seemed for the most part to have gone except for my frag plugs.

Ok so i will decrease my lighting schedule to maybe 8 hours at first and see how that does as well as increasing my gyre flow to atleast 50%, im trying to increase my amount of food fed to increase nitrate and phosphate, should i not feed as much? I do have a carbon reactor still running as well as a BH-50 reef octopus skimmer.
Should i dose fluconazole if that is bryopsis?, i trust your guys judgment way more than my own! ;Happy

Also should i do a large or normal water change? im coming up on 3 and a half weeks or so since my last water change and still cant get my nitrate or phosphate up. as of yesterday theses are my numbers.
8/1/19 - 9:00
ALk = 8.3 dkh
PH = 8.2
Nitrate = 0
Phosphate= 0
Salinity = 1.026
Temp = 77.3

I really appreciate all your help! i just want to be clear of this algae lol.

A normal water change would suffice. Make sure you are vacuuming up as much detritus as possible. Use a turkey baster and blow off the rocks.

This looks more like the ugly stage of tank maturation. You could try to skim drier to help increase nitrates, but other than that, I would only try to manually remove the algae at this point. You could also increase the CUC to help control the algae.

I would wait on the fluconazole until you are sure you have bryopsis. It works really well, but can also mess with your tank chemistry a bit.

 

[vetteguy53081]

With dino - water change as well as vodka dosing will fuel and feed their growth. The minerals in new salt mix adds minerals for Dino growth.
Best is black out, peroxide and nerite and trochus snails

 

[Reef Recked]

Doral , Florida. fall 2021 !! hot yes as we are down there 1-2 times per year (summer of course)

Thats awesome youll love it, im up in west palm beach the traffic down there is a little too much for me lol.

A normal water change would suffice. Make sure you are vacuuming up as much detritus as possible. Use a turkey baster and blow off the rocks.

This looks more like the ugly stage of tank maturation. You could try to skim drier to help increase nitrates, but other than that, I would only try to manually remove the algae at this point. You could also increase the CUC to help control the algae.

I would wait on the fluconazole until you are sure you have bryopsis. It works really well, but can also mess with your tank chemistry a bit.

So i added 8 trochus snails and even moved a few snails and crabs into my sump to clean that out as well, im blowing off the rocks and cleaning glass every few days then changing filter sock to try and remove most of it as possible, lowered my photo period to 9 hours a day.

Should i monitor Nitrates every few days and once it starts increading do a water change or just do one now? i previously stopped vaccuming my sand because i heard its bad for some of the good bacteria as well as copepod population etc. should i start vacuuming sand during water changes again?

should i shut off my carbon reactor? and or start dosing peroxide?

and last question lol how do i find out if its for sure bryopsis?

 

[IslandLifeReef]

I vacuum my sand weekly. Lots of pods and no fuge. You can even keep the water, just run the syphon back into your sump through a filter sock. Detritus build up will feed the algae a lot more than NO3 or PO4 IMO.

I would run carbon, just not a lot of it. I would also manually remove as much algae as you can as often as you can. Get rid of the invader, limit its food, find things to out compete and eat it. That's all you need.

If it looks like a fern, it's more than likely bryopsis. If it is only on that one frag, try to manually remove it. If it is other places, I would try to take care of one problem at a time. Fluconazole works great on bryopsis. If the infestation of that isn't bad, I would wait to try fluconazole.

 

[vetteguy53081]

How old is this tank ?

 

[Reef Recked]

I vacuum my sand weekly. Lots of pods and no fuge. You can even keep the water, just run the syphon back into your sump through a filter sock. Detritus build up will feed the algae a lot more than NO3 or PO4 IMO.

I would run carbon, just not a lot of it. I would also manually remove as much algae as you can as often as you can. Get rid of the invader, limit its food, find things to out compete and eat it. That's all you need.

If it looks like a fern, it's more than likely bryopsis. If it is only on that one frag, try to manually remove it. If it is other places, I would try to take care of one problem at a time. Fluconazole works great on bryopsis. If the infestation of that isn't bad, I would wait to try fluconazole.

Okay Ill start vacuuming my sand again and go for 1-2x a week if im not getting any water chemistry problems. ill probly start doing a 1/3rd of the sand bed at a time and see how it goes.

as of two days ago i still have zero nitrate and phosphate.

I feel like if i could get my Chaeto to actually grow it would help but i feel like its the exact same size as when i bought it 4 months ago or so. should i consider buying more?

the bryopsis is just on a few of these frag plugs and i havent seen it anywhere else, just a browninsh type algae that grows on my glass.

How old is this tank ?

Its just about 8 months old, just been fighting one issue after the next lol.