What is going on with my tank? Multiple algaes

bulldogniner · Mar 21, 2022

Hey,

been running my tank for about 10 years now and have had battles with algae before, but this is different. I am not sure what is going on.

it started about a month ago and I’ve done multiple water changes and tested parameters regularly. Alk was the only thing that jumped out.

Last checked I was at

kh 7
Nitrate 10
Phos .2
Sal 1.026
Cal 440

what do you see and what are your suggestions?

210 with sump/refugium. No skimmer…haven’t had one for about a year.

Timfish · Mar 21, 2022

When I've been contacted to help with systems having problems similar to yours it takes several months to shift the equilibrium of the system so corals are happy again. I'd would be doing roughly 10% water changes every week or two weeks but not more than 30% monthly. Using stainless steel straws may help remove the algae, especially around the corals. I would pull as much rock out as is practical and scrub them off in aquarium water then return. I certainly wouldn't be shy with just tossing a rock if it doesn't have any corals or cryptic sponges and isn't essential for the aquascaping. I would be running lots of GAC and also GFO if PO4 is over .5 mg/l. If you have access to one, running a diatom filter for a day a couple times a month will help reduce the microbial load and hopefully let the corals restore what's beneficial fo rthem.

Here's two threads I did on the local forum to give you an idea of the process:

Hair Algae, A Case Study.

Nuisance algae in reef systems is pretty much a ubiquitous problem, and one that is a common source of frustration for reef aquarists. It is also one I've learned to view the problem very differently than what is generally portrayed and it just takes a few rather basic steps, and patience. (This ...

www.austinreefclub.com

Hair Algae, a second case study

Nuisance algae in reef systems is pretty much a ubiquitous problem, and one that is a common source of frustration for reef aquarists. It is also one I've learned to view the problem very differently than what is generally portrayed and it just takes a few rather basic steps, and patience. (This ...

www.austinreefclub.com

These refferences may help understand the microbial processes we're dealing with:

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas" This video compliments Rohwer's book of the same title (Paper back is ~$20, Kindle is ~$10), both deal with the conflicting roles of the different types of DOC in reef ecosystems. While there is overlap bewteen his book and the video both have information not covered by the other and together give a broader view of the complex relationships found in reef ecosystems

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes

Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont

BActeria and Sponges

Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)

Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching

Indirect effects of algae on coral: algae‐mediated, microbe‐induced coral mortality

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onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Influence of coral and algal exudates on microbially mediated reef metabolism.
Coral DOC improves oxygen (autotrophy), algae DOC reduces oxygen (heterotrophy).

Influence of coral and algal exudates on microbially mediated reef metabolism

Benthic primary producers in tropical reef ecosystems can alter biogeochemical cycling and microbial processes in the surrounding seawater. In order to quantify these influences, we measured rates of photosynthesis, respiration, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) exudate release by the dominant...

peerj.com

Role of elevated organic carbon levels and microbial activity in coral mortality

http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2006/314/m314p119.pdf

Effects of Coral Reef Benthic Primary Producers on Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Activity
Algae releases significantly more DOC into the water than coral.

Effects of Coral Reef Benthic Primary Producers on Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Activity

Benthic primary producers in marine ecosystems may significantly alter biogeochemical cycling and microbial processes in their surrounding environment. To examine these interactions, we studied dissolved organic matter release by dominant benthic taxa and subsequent microbial remineralization in...

journals.plos.org

Pathologies and mortality rates caused by organic carbon and nutrient stressors in three Caribbean coral species.
Starch and sugars (doc) caused coral death but not high nitrates, phosphates or ammonium.

http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2005/294/m294p173.pdf

Microbial ecology: Algae feed a shift on coral reefs

Microbial ecology: Algae feed a shift on coral reefs - Nature Microbiology

Human pressures on coral reefs are giving macroalgae a competitive advantage over reef-building corals. These algae support larger, and potentially pathogenic, microbial populations that are metabolically primed for less-efficient, yet faster, carbohydrate remineralization, perpetuating a...

www.nature.com

Coral and macroalgal exudates vary in neutral sugar composition and differentially enrich reef bacterioplankton lineages.

Coral and macroalgal exudates vary in neutral sugar composition and differentially enrich reef bacterioplankton lineages - PubMed

Increasing algal cover on tropical reefs worldwide may be maintained through feedbacks whereby algae outcompete coral by altering microbial activity. We hypothesized that algae and coral release compositionally distinct exudates that differentially alter bacterioplankton growth and community...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Sugar enrichment provides evidence for a role of nitrogen fixation in coral bleaching

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onlinelibrary.wiley.com

bulldogniner · Mar 21, 2022

Thanks. And yes, you are correct. I slacked on water changes for about 4 months. I was fooled into thinking everything was good and then BOOM. This happens

I did throw some chemipure elite in but hasn’t done much yet. I also had a really nice macro algae growth that I though was over grown and probably chunked too much of it. Probably half of what was growing.

I’m sure I made the problem worse.
I’ll continue with the water changes and hope to slowly get it back in shape. Just frustrating when all the corals start to go.

also I noticed that in my sump where the return water comes in that it almost looks like skim. A lot of bubbles accumulating similar to a skimmer. It sure what that is because I’ve never seen that before.
Do you know what types of algae I posted.
Definitely some hair but some is dark green or black even and looks slimy. The other kind looks like brown cotton balls