Should I use vibrant?

[Hannahmunt]

Hello.

so my tank is 2 months old with some cromis and clean up crew.

I have a lot of diatoms on the sand bed and a large amount of dinoflagellates on all my rocks, algae all on my glass that I scrape off daily. Ive noticed some slime algae on the rocks as well, there is hair algae everywhere. Ive noticed some Byropsis algae growing on some rock.

My tank is new, only 2 months. I have a mix of live rock and dry rock as well as soft and lips corals.

Do I just wait or can I add vibrant? My only concern is the algae is starting to affect some of my corals.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Because of the way the company misled users about the nature of vibrant, I would not use it even if it worked perfectly.

 

[Hannahmunt]

Because of the way the company misled users about the nature of vibrant, I would not use it even if it worked perfectly.

Is there anything else I could use instead?

 

[LeftyReefer]

algae fix.

(that's what Vibrant really is)

And it's much cheaper.

 

[TCoach]

I would recommend just waiting, and letting your tank cycle and mature. Running to a bottle looking for a quick fix is a very bad mentality in reef keeping. Slow and steady wins the race.

 

[flyingscampi]

My nano was full of gunge at two - six months: bryopsis, then cyano, then hair algae (the uglies...) I kept cleaning it out, kept my parameters stable, raised nutrients by dumping food: PO4 around 0.1, NO3 10-20, and it all eventually went away. This was my first attempt at a marine, so I didn't add corals until the six month mark when the tank stabilized and coralline started to appear.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Hello.

so my tank is 2 months old with some cromis and clean up crew.

I have a lot of diatoms on the sand bed and a large amount of dinoflagellates on all my rocks, algae all on my glass that I scrape off daily. Ive noticed some slime algae on the rocks as well, there is hair algae everywhere. Ive noticed some Byropsis algae growing on some rock.

My tank is new, only 2 months. I have a mix of live rock and dry rock as well as soft and lips corals.

Do I just wait or can I add vibrant? My only concern is the algae is starting to affect some of my corals.

manual removal + good cuc and sand stirring + some bottled bac + low blue lighting only

worked super well in my nano.

 

[uhgster1]

Get some chemiclean elite or blue, cut down on the feeding, get a toothbrush and scrub the rocks. You don’t have to scrub every rock at once. Also, find a way to stir up the sand bed. It’s going to take a couple of weeks but your ugly phase will pass. Microbacter clean M also helps especially after scrubbing the rocks. Just be patient.

 

[SPS2020]

Hello.

so my tank is 2 months old with some cromis and clean up crew.

I have a lot of diatoms on the sand bed and a large amount of dinoflagellates on all my rocks, algae all on my glass that I scrape off daily. Ive noticed some slime algae on the rocks as well, there is hair algae everywhere. Ive noticed some Byropsis algae growing on some rock.

My tank is new, only 2 months. I have a mix of live rock and dry rock as well as soft and lips corals.

Do I just wait or can I add vibrant? My only concern is the algae is starting to affect some of my corals.

Your tank is very young and going through the ugly phase. Completely normal and I would not suggest adding any chemicals with the exception of bacteria as others have mentioned. IMO, it was a little early to add corals just yet. CUC, manual removal, bacteria, patience, frozen food (no pellets), shorten the photo period, patience, patience, patience. You'll get there, but it takes time.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Your tank is very young and going through the ugly phase. Completely normal and I would not suggest adding any chemicals with the exception of bacteria as others have mentioned. IMO, it was a little early to add corals just yet. CUC, manual removal, bacteria, patience, frozen food (no pellets), shorten the photo period, patience, patience, patience. You'll get there, but it takes time.

getting rid of the GHA should take priority IMO, once its gone you can fix the nutrients and get rid of the dinos

 

[Hannahmunt]

Here is a video of my tank, you can see all the algae

I will take the advice and just wait it out. Would adding some inverts like turbo snails, tuxedo urchin help?

I have some nassarius snails which are fun to watch

 

[SlugSnorter]

Here is a video of my tank, you can see all the algae

I will take the advice and just wait it out. Would adding some inverts like turbo snails, tuxedo urchin help?

I have some nassarius snails which are fun to watch

no vid attached for me, try photo please.

TEMPORARILY get a turbo, and see if it helps. once the issue is fixed, or if it doesn't eat any GHA return it

try reducing whites and going only blue too

 

[polyppal]

Hello.

so my tank is 2 months old with some cromis and clean up crew.

I have a lot of diatoms on the sand bed and a large amount of dinoflagellates on all my rocks, algae all on my glass that I scrape off daily. Ive noticed some slime algae on the rocks as well, there is hair algae everywhere. Ive noticed some Byropsis algae growing on some rock.

My tank is new, only 2 months. I have a mix of live rock and dry rock as well as soft and lips corals.

Do I just wait or can I add vibrant? My only concern is the algae is starting to affect some of my corals.

Are you using an RODI? What is your lighting schedule? What are your nitrate/phosphates testing at? What is your WC regimen?

 

[Hannahmunt]

no vid attached for me, try photo please.

TEMPORARILY get a turbo, and see if it helps. once the issue is fixed, or if it doesn't eat any GHA return it

try reducing whites and going only blue too

My lfs recommended these:

sea hare
Turbo snails
Cerith snails
Tuxedo urchin
Trochus snails
Emerald crab

 

[Hannahmunt]

Are you using an RODI? What is your lighting schedule? What are your nitrate/phosphates testing at? What is your WC regimen?

Yea I use rodi water for evaporation and natural sea water for changes.

Nitrate: 5
Phosphate: 0.003

I do a water every 2 weeks.

my lifting schedule is the David saxbys ai hydra setting

 

[SlugSnorter]

My lfs recommended these:

sea hare
Turbo snails
Cerith snails
Tuxedo urchin
Trochus snails
Emerald crab

most things won't eat super long GHA, so you will still prop have to do some manual removal.

Cleaners aren't guaranteed to touch cyano or dinos

Sea hares are big and eat a titanic amount, better for more experienced hobbyists IMO

Turbos are fairly big and eat a large amount, as long as the algae isn't something crazy toxic they will help, although there may not be enogh food after.

Ceriths are good, FL ceritsh will go after SHORT GHA

Tuxedos can help, although may move stuff around

Trochus are standard and good cleaners

Emeralds can be a hit or miss.

also, be patient, your tank is very young, and doesn't have lots of biodiversity yet. What are your full params BTW?

 

[polyppal]

Yea I use rodi water for evaporation and natural sea water for changes.

Nitrate: 5
Phosphate: 0.003

I do a water every 2 weeks.

my lifting schedule is the David saxbys ai hydra setting

You might want to cut back on the lighting until the tank is coral ready, it’s just feeding algae growth right now. Just keep them on for viewing and off other times, the rooms ambient light is more than sufficient for the fish

I’ve had good luck with hermits eating GHA, but you also need to manually remove as much as possible first

 

[Hannahmunt]

You might want to cut back on the lighting until the tank is coral ready, it’s just feeding algae growth right now. Just keep them on for viewing and off other times, the rooms ambient light is more than sufficient for the fish

I’ve had good luck with hermits eating GHA, but you also need to manually remove as much as possible first

I’d turn the lights off but I’ve don’t the stupid thing and added soft coral and lps

 

[tharbin]

Here is a video of my tank, you can see all the algae

I will take the advice and just wait it out. Would adding some inverts like turbo snails, tuxedo urchin help?

I have some nassarius snails which are fun to watch

Nassarius snails are great for churning the sandbed and cleaning up left over food but they do not consume algae/diatoms/dinos. I would get a few Trochus and Cerith snails to help keep thing in check as you manually clean the tank. They will not clean the tank for you. They will eat new algae as it forms so they will reduce the reoccurrence of algae and help clean up the inevitable film algae. I agree with the others, avoid chemicals or any 'quick fix' as much as possible. Bottled bacteria like Microbacter 7 or PNS ProBio, or a number of others (but not Vibrant--no matter what the label says it is NOT bacteria) can also help by competing with the algae for space and nutrients. Above all just be patient, almost all reef tanks go through this phase and it can be disheartening but it will end as long as you don't neglect the tank. Good Luck.

 

[Hannahmunt]

most things won't eat super long GHA

Sea hares are big and eat a titanic amount, better for more experienced hobbyists IMO

Turbos are fairly big and eat a large amount, as long as the algae isn't something crazy toxic they will help, although there may not be enogh food after.

Ceriths are good, FL ceritsh will go after SHORT GHA

Tuxedos can help, although may move stuff around

Trochus are standard and good cleaners

Emeralds can be a hit or miss.

What inverts would you recommend I get for my tank?

I have two hermits and a small emerald crab plus a few nassarius snails.

fish shop has a little sea hair for £15, she also recommended a tail spot blenny.

I was watching brstv that said tangs are good, but my 160litre will be to small for tangs.