Have hit a algae/bacterial wall...

[clown and friends]

Tank was rolling along just fine for several months and then BANG a GHA outbreak and some sort of cyano I believe but I was hoping for a positive ID on it. Picture below of the not ID'd algae on a frag plug:

I don't really know how to go about fighting the GHA, my nutrients have been a consistent NO3: 2 ppm and PO4<.1ppm. I bought a emerald crab but it hasn't made much of a dent on the GHA and I need an ID on the other algae/bacteria so I can hope to fight it. It blows off rocks very easily but comes back in a day or so. None on the sand. Any advice would be appreciated!!

 

[clown and friends]

Nutrient export methods include a refugium in the back chamber and 1x/month 25% WC.

 

[melanotaenia]

do you have a clean up crew now? My blue leg hermit mow down GHA very quickly if it even starts to grow, but they may not be as effective if you have a serious outbreak. The algae on the plug is present either due to nutrient problems, or lack of good flow in and around the areas where it is growing.

 

[clown and friends]

do you have a clean up crew now? My blue leg hermit mow down GHA very quickly if it even starts to grow, but they may not be as effective if you have a serious outbreak. The algae on the plug is present either due to nutrient problems, or lack of good flow in and around the areas where it is growing.

CUC is a tiger conch, a couple of hermits and 4 astera snails (25g). I flow hasnt changed in months. I have a nero 5 I could turn up theoretically to up the flow.

 

[flchamp89]

Are you sure that's GHA?

 

[clown and friends]

Are you sure that's GHA?

That picture wasnt of the GHA that was of the algae or bacteria I was hoping to get ID'd. This is the GHA

 

[flchamp89]

Very blue but I see the GHA now. I also see maybe Dino's?

 

[clown and friends]

Very blue but I see the GHA now. I also see maybe Dino's?

Sorry the iphone is a potato when it comes to taking pics of the reef on AB+ settings. I have battled dinos before and have been wondering if the bubbles are the dinos coming back but I am not sure. The dinos I had before were stringy and covered EVERYTHING almost overnight and waxed and waned when the lights came on to when they went off. This doesn't act like that. Its not stringy but more sheet like and doesn't cover the sand bed corals, or anything else like the dinos I had before. I kind of just figured it is whatever is covering that plug in the original pic I posted.

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Need white light pics to ID.

 

[clown and friends]

Need white light pics to ID.

Here is a better white light pic of the unID'd algae/bacteria. It is only in a low flow area (this is right below my single powerhead where there is essentially 0 flow. It blows away real easily with a pipette.

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Looks like diatoms. It blowing off easily would be consistent with that. Does the tiger conch eat it?

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Evening

Hate to say this word, but appears Dino. I thought I saw a lot of bubbles and looks snotty. Is it disappearing at night and come back, only grows in light. Cyano and diatoms can also do that but the bubbles worry me

 

[Will Wohlers]

No definite dinoflagellates. You need to get them under a microscope for positive id of which species. All species are treated in different ways.

 

[clown and friends]

Evening

Hate to say this word, but appears Dino. I thought I saw a lot of bubbles and looks snotty. Is it disappearing at night and come back, only grows in light. Cyano and diatoms can also do that but the bubbles worry me

No definite dinoflagellates. You need to get them under a microscope for positive id of which species. All species are treated in different ways.

dang, I’ve had them before and I did about a million things and was free of them for several months. The battle begins anew though this infestation is not nearly as advanced as previously when every single coral was covered and being smothered. Blackout here we come!

 

[Will Wohlers]

Blackout doesn't usually get rid of them. Up your nutrients. Stop skimming and carbon dosing. You want other algae to start out competing the dinos. I've had them twice over the years when nutrients bottomed out and an oversized uv sterilizer was the magic fix. I will run uv on every system I ever setup because of it. Good luck. I know it's an uphill battle.

 

[clown and friends]

Blackout doesn't usually get rid of them. Up your nutrients. Stop skimming and carbon dosing. You want other algae to start out competing the dinos. I've had them twice over the years when nutrients bottomed out and an oversized uv sterilizer was the magic fix. I will run uv on every system I ever setup because of it. Good luck. I know it's an uphill battle.

I know blackouts don't get rid of them but it helped reduce the # that my UV had to deal with last time. I battled them in january and bumped up my nutrients, dosed microbacter etc but the UV was the final cure last time and it has been on since january so we will see how this goes this round since the UV seems to not be doing its job this time.

 

[squaretwelve]

I know blackouts don't get rid of them but it helped reduce the # that my UV had to deal with last time. I battled them in january and bumped up my nutrients, dosed microbacter etc but the UV was the final cure last time and it has been on since january so we will see how this goes this round since the UV seems to not be doing its job this time.

Perhaps your UV bulb is getting weak? If you've had the same one since January it might be about time to replace it.

 

[clown and friends]

Perhaps your UV bulb is getting weak? If you've had the same one since January it might be about time to replace it.

Worth a shot! Thanks for the recommendation, new bulbs are pretty cheap too

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Try just cleaning it first. Stuff can build up on it reducing its effectiveness.

 

[clown and friends]

No longer convinced this is dinos returned. No bubbles in these patches and only present in areas of low flow (this is right under my single powerhead. Is this cyano? I am also having a diatom bloom in the sand for some reason as you can see...Help!!!