Need Help. Cyano, Then Dinos, Now This... Please Help ID

[Ian Bollinger]

My tank has been up for almost a year now, started with some Cyano, then Dinos, then it seemed to clear and all I had was a bubble algae issue. Nitrates and and Phosphates are low, but not zero. I had the temp set at 78, and my house got warm for a few days and temp went up to 81 for a few days while I was away (forgot about eco mode on the nest). It's been a problem ever since that temp spike. This stuff sticks to all of my rock, killed my hard coral now and keeps coming back. It's very stringy. Can anyone help me ID this? Dinos kicked in past winter when my nitrates/phos were nearly zero, but not the case this time. It is very persistent and returns very quickly after water change/cleaning. Thank you in advance!!!

 

[cdemoss01]

What color is the stringy stuff? Can you get photos under white light.

 

[Ian Bollinger]

What color is the stringy stuff? Can you get photos under white light.

It's a light brown with a slight greenish tint to it. Very mucousy and sticky to things in the tank.

 

[Ian Bollinger]

Also, it isnt spreading around on the sand floor like previous ones I have dealt with.

 

[Ian Bollinger]

Bump

 

[vetteguy53081]

looks like lyngbya and most everything you've endured has one thing in relation - Possible lack of water flow and high brightness
Is this tank by chance at or near a window?
Additionally, what is your feeding schedule?

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

I would also take care of the Green hair algae. Most likely that is sucking up most of your nutrients. Remove what you can by hand and get some turbo snails 1 per 10g. Next thing I would do is shorten your light schedule maybe 6-7 hours total a day. This will help get things under control. Next I would raise ur nutrients. I aim for 100:1 n&p ratio for example 10nitrate and .1 phos. Everytime I start to see some red or brown cyano it’s usually because that ratio is off. For example I may see cyano when nitrates are 8 and phos is .15. When this happens i simply raise my nitrate. Not sure about the science but it’s what has always helped
Me :)

 

[Subsea]

I would also take care of the Green hair algae. Most likely that is sucking up most of your nutrients. Remove what you can by hand and get some turbo snails 1 per 10g. Next thing I would do is shorten your light schedule maybe 6-7 hours total a day. This will help get things under control. Next I would raise ur nutrients. I aim for 100:1 n&p ratio for example 10nitrate and .1 phos. Everytime I start to see some red or brown cyano it’s usually because that ratio is off. For example I may see cyano when nitrates are 8 and phos is .15. When this happens i simply raise my nitrate. Not sure about the science but it’s what has always helped
Me :)

I can address the science of N to P ratio. The Redfield Ratio is the measured ratio of phytoplankton biomass at 16:1. When I commercially grew macro algae, Ward Lab measured the N to P ratio of Gracilaria Parvispora at 30:1

It is not necessary to maintain certain ratios of inorganic nutrients for photosynthetic organisms. It is only necessary for them to be available. Said differently, “Photosynthesis is not controlled by the most numerous nutrients but it will be limited by the least numerous.

 

[Ian Bollinger]

looks like lyngbya and most everything you've endured has one thing in relation - Possible lack of water flow and high brightness
Is this tank by chance at or near a window?
Additionally, what is your feeding schedule?

Ah, it does resemble closely to lyngbya. It is about 20 ft from a window but it does get a little indirect light from it later in the day. I feed in once in the am and once in the pm. I have pretty decent water flow, but i think i could definetely reduce the light intensity.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ah, it does resemble closely to lyngbya. It is about 20 ft from a window but it does get a little indirect light from it later in the day. I feed in once in the am and once in the pm. I have pretty decent water flow, but i think i could definetely reduce the light intensity.

Place a sheet of black construction paper on the side of tank facing window which will help drastically

 

[Ian Bollinger]

Place a sheet of black construction paper on the side of tank facing window which will help drastically

Thank you! Do you think some hydrogreen peroxide dosing would help?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you! Do you think some hydrogreen peroxide dosing would help?

Yes as its ab oxidizer lifting the dying cells and dose during the night at 1.2ml per 10 gallons first week then 1ml per 10 gallons one more week

 

[Ian Bollinger]

Turning the lighting down and blocking that side of the tank to the sunlight did help a lot. This was a nasty one.