The curios case of the disappearing GHA

arking_mark · Nov 1, 2023

nuxx said:
It got really bad in my tank about 12-16 months in, then went away pretty much forever...

Mine could be similar. Tank was running for 2-years. I started with Kalk then added AFR when kalk wasn't sufficient. Dosed phytoplankton a couple months in once the tank was ready for corals....stopped dosing after ~1.5 years when I was 3 months into my nuisance algae. Never restarted phytoplankton because I didn't see any effects on my coral. I also starred using carbon and GFO once my PO4 started to get above my targets.

Court_Appointed_Hypeman · Nov 1, 2023

arking_mark said:
Mine could be similar. Tank was running for 2-years. I started with Kalk then added AFR when kalk wasn't sufficient. Dosed phytoplankton a couple months in once the tank was ready for corals....stopped dosing after ~1.5 years when I was 3 months into my nuisance algae. Never restarted phytoplankton because I didn't see any effects on my coral. I also starred using carbon and GFO once my PO4 started to get above my targets.

Am I understanding this correctly that the introduction of AFR came around the time the nuisance began? I am guessing that's not what you meant but I can interpret it that way, mostly because it supports my suspicion of traces, but who knows.

Did you have an herbavor pass?

arking_mark · Nov 1, 2023

Court_Appointed_Hypeman said:
Am I understanding this correctly that the introduction of AFR came around the time the nuisance began? I am guessing that's not what you meant but I can interpret it that way, mostly because it supports my suspicion of traces, but who knows.

Did you have an herbavor pass?

Nope. AFR was added within 6 months of tank start up...about 1.5yrs b4 nuisance algae.

What's an herbavor pass?

Court_Appointed_Hypeman · Nov 1, 2023

arking_mark said:
Nope. AFR was added within 6 months of tank start up...about 1.5yrs b4 nuisance algae.

What's an herbavor pass?

Death of something that might have been keeping it from becoming visible

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 1, 2023

arking_mark said:
I didn't know that.

So I had no nuisance algae for two years then 1 year of nuisance algae...then it's gone again. Theory is trace elements?

It could be many things, but that’s one reasonable hypothesis.

arking_mark · Nov 1, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
It could be many things, but that’s one reasonable hypothesis.

So would biom/bacteria be another reasonable hypothesis?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 1, 2023

arking_mark said:
So would biom/bacteria be another reasonable hypothesis?

Outcompeting algae? Maybe.

arking_mark · Nov 1, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Outcompeting algae? Maybe.

taricha · Nov 2, 2023

This thread could describe my display tank.
Been largely unchanged for years, always had GHA. Other nuisances - cyano and dinos have been easy to eliminate. GHA has weathered all sorts of things that people use to get rid of it. Full slate of herbivores, chemical algaecides, pushing PO4 down, pushing NO3 down etc.
6+ months ago, the GHA receded and - with some minor spot treatments from me - it essentially disappeared. The past couple of months it's back. I have no good evidence or strong guesses for what was different during that short no-GHA period vs the rest of the history of my tank.

arking_mark · Nov 2, 2023

taricha said:
This thread could describe my display tank.
Been largely unchanged for years, always had GHA. Other nuisances - cyano and dinos have been easy to eliminate. GHA has weathered all sorts of things that people use to get rid of it. Full slate of herbivores, chemical algaecides, pushing PO4 down, pushing NO3 down etc.
6+ months ago, the GHA receded and - with some minor spot treatments from me - it essentially disappeared. The past couple of months it's back. I have no good evidence or strong guesses for what was different during that short no-GHA period vs the rest of the history of my tank.

I'm hoping I'm back to my normal no nuisance tank...something definitely shifted and changed in the tank over the last year.

YOYOYOReefer · Nov 2, 2023

tha grows in my tanks when it’s time for a bulb change . Then it goes away

arking_mark · Nov 2, 2023

YOYOYOReefer said:
tha grows in my tanks when it’s time for a bulb change . Then it goes away

No bulbs all LED lighting...will change it out in about 7 years.

arking_mark · Nov 13, 2023

So very curious. I wanted to see what would happen if I added some Zoas to the tank. I bought a nice colony (40+ heads) of Rasta Zoas...started out fine on Tuesday last week when I got it. One week in...its almost gone...just receding and disappearing. In about 100par shady areas in the tank.

Thoughts?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 13, 2023

Maybe copper is getting in?

arking_mark · Nov 13, 2023

Nah. I posted my ICP results. All my other corals are doing great.

arking_mark · Nov 14, 2023

In one week:

To....

taricha · Nov 14, 2023

arking_mark said:
In one week:

To....

That's faster than starvation, obviously. And your ICP looks pretty clear, so barring some weird toxin, (do you run GAC?) I am thinking some night-active predator.

arking_mark · Nov 14, 2023

taricha said:
That's faster than starvation, obviously. And your ICP looks pretty clear, so barring some weird toxin, (do you run GAC?) I am thinking some night-active predator.

I do run a small amount of GAC and GFO in a reactor. About a 1/4 cup of each switched out every 6 weeks or so...