Was it cyno or is it dinos

[Stoatee]

So I have been what I thought was cyno purple carpet looking slime that was blown away easy with power heads. It was purple in colour under blues and I couldn’t see many bubbles although there were a few. I treated with chemiclean after 72 hours I am not sure how much it did as I manually removed a lot from the rocks and the big clumps on the sand bed.

After 72 hours it seemed to still be there so I did a second dose without a water change and now around 105 hours in there was still why looked like purple patches under blue and a browny colour under white light. I have decided to go with a 20% water change along with manual removal to see if it re grows back. I can’t see many bubbles on it still but I am not 100% sure what I am battling.

 

[Stoatee]

Bump

 

[Stoatee]

Bump

 

[Stoatee]

Bumpppp?

 

[Lebowski_]

That looks like dinos to me.

What do you water params look like? Any recent changes to the tank?

@vetteguy53081

 

[Lavey29]

Chemiclean routinely results in dinos after usage if your nutrients are bottomed out. It opens the door for the invasion.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So I have been what I thought was cyno purple carpet looking slime that was blown away easy with power heads. It was purple in colour under blues and I couldn’t see many bubbles although there were a few. I treated with chemiclean after 72 hours I am not sure how much it did as I manually removed a lot from the rocks and the big clumps on the sand bed.

After 72 hours it seemed to still be there so I did a second dose without a water change and now around 105 hours in there was still why looked like purple patches under blue and a browny colour under white light. I have decided to go with a 20% water change along with manual removal to see if it re grows back. I can’t see many bubbles on it still but I am not 100% sure what I am battling.

best way to determine dino is via microscope. This appears to be cyano which can be green-brown-orange-yellow And even purple. Best is, its generally matted. Addressing cyano is often not difficult but first step is to determine cause which is shown below. ChemiClean is often an alternative and not a solution and because its an antibiotic based on ingredients, it can cause some issues in the tank.
Cyano blooms typically start when water nutrient concentrations of phosphate, nitrate and other organic compounds are too high.
Some of the most common causes include:
- Protein skimmer which fills water with tiny air bubbles. As bubbles form from the reaction chamber, dissolved organic compound molecules stick to them. Foam forms at the surface of the water and is then transferred to a collection cup, where it rests as skimmate. When the protein skimmer does not output the best efficiency or you do not have the suitable protein skimmer to cover the tank, the air bubbles created by the skimmer might be insufficient. And this insufficiency of air bubbles can trigger the cyano to thrive.
- Overstocking / overfeeding, your aquarium with nutrients is often the culprit of a cyano bloom
- Adding live rock that isn’t completely cured which acts like a breeding ground for red slime algae
- If you don’t change your water with enough frequency, you’ll soon have a brightly colored red slime algae bloom. Regular water changes dilute nutrients that feed cyanobacteria and keeps your tank clear
- Using a water source with nitrates or phosphates is like rolling out the welcome mat for cyano. Tap water is an example
- Inadequate water flow, or movement, is a leading cause of cyano blooms. Slow moving water combined with excess dissolved nutrients is a recipe for pervasive red slime algae development

I recommend to reduce white light intensity or even turn them off for 3-5 days. Add liquid bacteria daily for a week during the day at 1.5ml per 10 gallons. Add Hydrogen peroxide at night at 1ml per 10 gallons. Add a pouch of chemipure Elite which will balance phos and nitrate and keep them in check.

After the 5 days, add a few snails such as cerith, margarita, astrea and nassarius plus 6-8 blue leg hermits to take control.

 

[Stoatee]

Okay so I was debating doing a black out the only thing stopping me is I recently have added a nem and imagine it will start moving all over the place trying to find light. It doesn’t seem to be matting anymore which is why I thought it wasn’t cyno anymore and thought diatoms or dinos but was hoping for diatoms. My PO4 never died off fully it is around 0.04 I usually have it around 0.08-0.1. I do run GFO, reefmat and a refuge but no skimmer. Should I just try add some snails and see what happens before doing a black out?

 

[Stoatee]

Chemiclean routinely results in dinos after usage if your nutrients are bottomed out. It opens the door for the invasion.

I did try other things before chemi clean. I brought down PO4 and also did a lot of manual removal and added another MP40 to increase flow but it just kept coming back so I decided I should nuke it turn down the lights to 20% and even then it was a battle to eliminate it. If this is still cyno then I am not sure how else to tackle it. Also on the rock seems to be a form of hair algae? Not sure has its not thick just lots of stingy pieces.

 

[Lavey29]

I did try other things before chemi clean. I brought down PO4 and also did a lot of manual removal and added another MP40 to increase flow but it just kept coming back so I decided I should nuke it turn down the lights to 20% and even then it was a battle to eliminate it. If this is still cyno then I am not sure how else to tackle it. Also on the rock seems to be a form of hair algae? Not sure has its not thick just lots of stingy pieces.

What are your current complete parameters? Blackout is a bandaid and won't fix underlying issues. Diverse cleaner crew is good. Age of the tank? Cut lights to 6 hours blue and UV only. Lots of manual removal with weekly water changes. Add PNS probio which is a natural heterotrophic bacteria that eliminates organic waste.

 

[Stoatee]

What are your current complete parameters? Blackout is a bandaid and won't fix underlying issues. Diverse cleaner crew is good. Age of the tank? Cut lights to 6 hours blue and UV only. Lots of manual removal with weekly water changes. Add PNS probio which is a natural heterotrophic bacteria that eliminates organic waste.

Currently PO4 is 0.04 cleanup crew has been ordered coming Tuesday. I did have around 40 snails but my puffer slowly picks them off so probably got 10 or so also added an urchin recently. Tank is around 7 months old. Only thing being dosed is Alk and chateogrow do replace what my refuge is taking out the water

 

[Stoatee]

Currently PO4 is 0.04 cleanup crew has been ordered coming Tuesday. I did have around 40 snails but my puffer slowly picks them off so probably got 10 or so also added an urchin recently. Tank is around 7 months

best way to determine dino is via microscope. This appears to be cyano which can be green-brown-orange-yellow And even purple. Best is, its generally matted. Addressing cyano is often not difficult but first step is to determine cause which is shown below. ChemiClean is often an alternative and not a solution and because its an antibiotic based on ingredients, it can cause some issues in the tank.
Cyano blooms typically start when water nutrient concentrations of phosphate, nitrate and other organic compounds are too high.
Some of the most common causes include:
- Protein skimmer which fills water with tiny air bubbles. As bubbles form from the reaction chamber, dissolved organic compound molecules stick to them. Foam forms at the surface of the water and is then transferred to a collection cup, where it rests as skimmate. When the protein skimmer does not output the best efficiency or you do not have the suitable protein skimmer to cover the tank, the air bubbles created by the skimmer might be insufficient. And this insufficiency of air bubbles can trigger the cyano to thrive.
- Overstocking / overfeeding, your aquarium with nutrients is often the culprit of a cyano bloom
- Adding live rock that isn’t completely cured which acts like a breeding ground for red slime algae
- If you don’t change your water with enough frequency, you’ll soon have a brightly colored red slime algae bloom. Regular water changes dilute nutrients that feed cyanobacteria and keeps your tank clear
- Using a water source with nitrates or phosphates is like rolling out the welcome mat for cyano. Tap water is an example
- Inadequate water flow, or movement, is a leading cause of cyano blooms. Slow moving water combined with excess dissolved nutrients is a recipe for pervasive red slime algae development

I recommend to reduce white light intensity or even turn them off for 3-5 days. Add liquid bacteria daily for a week during the day at 1.5ml per 10 gallons. Add Hydrogen peroxide at night at 1ml per 10 gallons. Add a pouch of chemipure Elite which will balance phos and nitrate and keep them in check.

After the 5 days, add a few snails such as cerith, margarita, astrea and nassarius plus 6-8 blue leg hermits to take control.

The cyno was purple but now it’s not matting after the chemi clean it is more brown staining on the sand and then is that hair algae on the rock or something else as it looks different to me but haven’t dealt with many algae so far. Stock wise for the 110g I have a flame, 10 chromis, royal grammar, engineer, valatini puffer, purple tang, 1 clown, leopard wrasse and a mystery wrasse. I was planning on also adding a fox face

Filtration:
Rowa in a reactor
Reefmat
Refuge

PO4 is 0.04 so thinking the filtration is okay?

 

[Lavey29]

Currently PO4 is 0.04 cleanup crew has been ordered coming Tuesday. I did have around 40 snails but my puffer slowly picks them off so probably got 10 or so also added an urchin recently. Tank is around 7 months old. Only thing being dosed is Alk and chateogrow do replace what my refuge is taking out the water

Given the error ratio of test kits your phosphate could actually be 0 hence your problems. You want .05 to .1 at least. You didn't list your other parameters. You realize the first year is filled with various ugly stages also due to tank instability and adding harsh chemicals just kills off your budding biome.

 

[Stoatee]

Given the error ratio of test kits your phosphate could actually be 0 hence your problems. You want .05 to .1 at least. You didn't list your other parameters. You realize the first year is filled with various ugly stages also due to tank instability and adding harsh chemicals just kills off your budding biome.

I imagine there must be some PO4 as I have run multiple tests and 0.04 is the lowest I have had and with current fish stock and filtration I would be amazed to drop PO4 to 0. I had to sort the cyno out at it had already smothered my zoas to death, some mushrooms, a frogspawn and a hammer just about saved the candy canes. The thing is to tackle what I currently in the tank which I still don’t no. Dinos, diatoms, hair algae? Clean up grew can get rid of diatoms, dinos I need to do a black out, hair algae manual removal and clean up crew if it’s cyno I’m at a loss as I have done everything that should kill cyno.

 

[vetteguy53081]

The cyno was purple but now it’s not matting after the chemi clean it is more brown staining on the sand and then is that hair algae on the rock or something else as it looks different to me but haven’t dealt with many algae so far. Stock wise for the 110g I have a flame, 10 chromis, royal grammar, engineer, valatini puffer, purple tang, 1 clown, leopard wrasse and a mystery wrasse. I was planning on also adding a fox face

Filtration:
Rowa in a reactor
Reefmat
Refuge

PO4 is 0.04 so thinking the filtration is okay?

Po4 level would not promote cyano however ive seen cyano at low levels which is not typical but in this hobby - what is?
Breaking up after chemiClean would make sense

 

[Stoatee]

Po4 level would not promote cyano however ive seen cyano at low levels which is not typical but in this hobby - what is?
Breaking up after chemiClean would make sense

So you think it could be just left over cyno? I have turned my lights down to 10% but if it’s cyno I don’t think this would help I have manually removed it but it just came back so not sure what else to do if it is indeed cyno. I’m fairly sure it’s hair algae on the rock which also would indicate a PO4 increase it’s not out of control at all but you can just see it when you start looking closely at the rock. This tank has never had green hair or really any algae problems until the cyno appeared

 

[Stoatee]

Po4 level would not promote cyano however ive seen cyano at low levels which is not typical but in this hobby - what is?
Breaking up after chemiClean would make sense

I could try adding more beneficial bacteria but again is that worth doing or just a waste of time

 

[vetteguy53081]

I could try adding more beneficial bacteria but again is that worth doing or just a waste of time

Bacteria yes and kill lights for 3 days and you will see a huge difference
If SPS, 10% blue and rest of the lights off
Empty skimmer cup daily

 

[Stoatee]

Bacteria yes and kill lights for 3 days and you will see a huge difference
If SPS, 10% blue and rest of the lights off
Empty skimmer cup daily

No skimmer just reef mat okay on Monday I will get some bacteria and kill the lights down at 10% for now

 

[Stoatee]

Bacteria yes and kill lights for 3 days and you will see a huge difference
If SPS, 10% blue and rest of the lights off
Empty skimmer cup daily

Had some stability lying around so put 60ml in and will add 30ml a day with lights low for 3 days and see how we go