WHHHYYYYYY Is this happening

[StartingATank]

So, My tank is having both a little green hair algae bloom, and a big dino bloom.

I have had my tank for about 4 months I think.
I have 2 Clownfish and some CUC.
My Nitrates are at 9.5 which about a week ago, they were also 9.5 but I dosed it to get here, and it was previously .6 before this, and my Phosphates are at 0.00, and I have been dosing to increase this.

Why am I having a bloom with this.

 

[RabidDragon]

Welcome to the ugly stage, its nearly unavoidable.... with proper maintanence and patience it will pass.
Something to look at is the amount of light you are adding to the tank

 

[RocketEngineer]

So, My tank is having both a little green hair algae bloom, and a big dino bloom.

I have had my tank for about 4 months I think.
I have 2 Clownfish and some CUC.
My Nitrates are at 9.5 which about a week ago, they were also 9.5 but I dosed it to get here, and it was previously .6 before this, and my Phosphates are at 0.00, and I have been dosing to increase this.

Why am I having a bloom with this.

Stop dosing algae food to reduce the growth of algae.

This whole “dose til they’re not zero” only really works when both levels are at zero to start. For now, get both levels to bottom out, get the algae under control, and once things are back on track you can begin dosing again. For the moment, removal is the path to success, not dosing.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Stop dosing algae food to reduce the growth of algae.

This whole “dose til they’re not zero only really works when both levels are at zero to start. For now, get both levels to bottom out, get the algae under control, and once things are back on track you can begin dosing again. For the moment, removal is the path to success, not dosing.

No, OP please don't bottom out your nutrients. That will make this whole situation worse.

@RocketEngineer, OP has green algae and dinoflagelletes. Usually, dinoflagelletes are caused by bottomed out nutrients. The first priority is to get the dinoflagelletes out, as they can crash a tank, but some green algae can't.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Your first priority should be to get the dinoflagellates out. It depends on what strain you have (ostreopis, large cell amphidium, etc), but methods are manual removal, raise nutrients (only if bottomed out, otherwise keep at reasonable levels), decrease lighting period/white lights, blackouts (if you don't have coral or other photosynthetic creatures, do a complete blackout for a few days) and adding a UV.

I just beat a battle of ostreopsis dinoflagelletes just about two months ago. I did not use a UV sterilizer which was the best method to get rid of them (and also the most expensive). I raised my nutrients, boosted my CUC (which may have done nothing since dinoflagelletes have high levels of toxins), and I also did another method which worked well but isn't talked about alot.

This only works if you have a type of dinoflagellete that goes into the water column at night!

Just take some Polyfil, and use a nori clip to attach it to the glass a few inches below the water. As the cells leave the rockwork/sand, they find the Polyfil and attach to it, as they prefer the material over rock/sand. Clean this at least one a day, twice would be better. You should definitely clean it right before the lights go out.

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions! :)

 

[StartingATank]

Your first priority should be to get the dinoflagellates out. It depends on what strain you have (ostreopis, large cell amphidium, etc), but methods are manual removal, raise nutrients (only if bottomed out, otherwise keep at reasonable levels), decrease lighting period/white lights, blackouts (if you don't have coral or other photosynthetic creatures, do a complete blackout for a few days) and adding a UV.

I just beat a battle of ostreopsis dinoflagelletes just about two months ago. I did not use a UV sterilizer which was the best method to get rid of them (and also the most expensive). I raised my nutrients, boosted my CUC (which may have done nothing since dinoflagelletes have high levels of toxins), and I also did another method which worked well but isn't talked about alot.

This only works if you have a type of dinoflagellete that goes into the water column at night!

Just take some Polyfil, and use a nori clip to attach it to the glass a few inches below the water. As the cells leave the rockwork/sand, they find the Polyfil and attach to it, as they prefer the material over rock/sand. Clean this at least one a day, twice would be better. You should definitely clean it right before the lights go out.

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions! :)

So, I will try the Polyfil, and I did do a 7 day blackout, and it did have a lot of them go away, but a day after I turned the lights back on, a good amount were back. Also, I keep my lights at 100% blue, 0% white. I have them on max for 10 hours, and a 2 hour adjusting period. I have 4 hours moonlight. I try to remove as many as I can about 2 times a week.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

So, I will try the Polyfil, and I did do a 7 day blackout, and it did have a lot of them go away, but a day after I turned the lights back on, a good amount were back. Also, I keep my lights at 100% blue, 0% white. I have them on max for 10 hours, and a 2 hour adjusting period. I have 4 hours moonlight. I try to remove as many as I can about 2 times a week.

That's a lot of light for a tank without corals. Shorten the light hours.

Sounds like you have a dinoflagellete strain that goes into the water column at night. That's a good thing because they are easier to get rid of. The Polyfil should help. UV sterilizers too.

 

[DatReefGuy]

We are sure this isn’t cyano? Is it slimy?

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

We are sure this isn’t cyano? Is it slimy?

Dinoflagelletes are slimy, too.

Good point though!

OP, can we have photos to verify you have dinos?

 

[DatReefGuy]

@StartingATank

 

[stE26wy14]

if you get straight on dosing, get coral to munch up on those nutrients, siphon out all fish/invert poop(that was my problem during the ugly stage, since i really kinda avoided a mass ugly stage, but mine was just poop, it was a spin off of an ugly stage kinda ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
but, get nutrients in check, no more bottomed out ones, siphon poop out.
the ugly stage is when you are the most active imo

half of this could be helpful
all couldve been absolutely wrong
idk, ive only been here for a year, so if anybody wants to correct me, please do!!!

 

[StartingATank]

sorry I was inactive, how would you define slimy? I have 2 pictures coming your way in a second, and I will shorten lighting periods

EDIT: I just looked into cyano, and it looks like I have cyano, not dinos, as it looks like this a lot on the Sandbed, but I just vacuumed it, so I don't have any pics of it

 

[StartingATank]

Here are some images, no white light on images, only about like 30% moonlight, which is like purple

 

[StartingATank]

So, how do I get rid of cyano algae?

 

[Oldreefer44]

Looks like you started with dry rock. If so, then most (not all) go through a longer stabilization period than when using live rock. You will need patience. Nothing good in this hobby happens fast. Often the cure for one thing leads to multiple isues elsewhere especially in a newer system.
How do you know your test results are accurate? Almost impossible to have 0 PO4 and most test kits are not accurate enough to differentiate accurately in PPM. I would have them checked by an LFS or an ICP test. Cyano is a symptom of an imbalance in elements that is a normal part of a newer system. A lot of flow can help along with using a baster to get it into the water column where it can be partially filtered out. Be patient and try one thing at a time. Good luck.

 

[w00hz]

Do a water change!

 

[StartingATank]

I will do a water change, but I have done like 10 of those since they appeared, which was about a month ago, and it did nothing. I clean the tank constantly, as much as I can, clean the rocks, the glass, and do the sandbed every other week

 

[w00hz]

Keep it up! It’s a patience game

 

[w00hz]

4 months in I was in the same stage, your phosphates test 0 because the hair algae is eating it all up. You can scrub and siphon out or take the rock out and scrub it with a tooth brush so to not release phosphates back in your water

 

[KrisReef]

Relax.
Grab a tranquilizer and keep your hands out of the tank.
Turn the blues to 40%, or 75% BUT LOWER than 100%
Let the tank work itself out.

If you want to do anything, add a bit of ocean sand or live rock and the grab another trank if you are still excited. This tank will take some time for the virgin white rocks to develop into reef material.