which one of the nasties do i have? dinos, bryopsis or gha?

landlubber

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bryopsis, dinos or gha? it seems to have qualities of all of them aside from the distinctive "fern like" branching of bryopsis. it has flared up very quickly and is basically on everything... rock, substrate and backwall.
 

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prob not bryo. Is it actually a red color?
 
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landlubber

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prob not bryo. Is it actually a red color?
not cyano red but it definitely has a rust-like color to it. i'm hoping to hell it isn't dinos.
i should mention one characteristic is that it does share with cyano is the majority of it can be blown off with a turkey baster and kind of chunks away into the water column. it just makes for a crazy mess on the substrate and takes hold their.
 

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not cyano red but it definitely has a rust-like color to it. i'm hoping to hell it isn't dinos.
i should mention one characteristic is that it does share with cyano is the majority of it can be blown off with a turkey baster and kind of chunks away into the water column. it just makes for a crazy mess on the substrate and takes hold their.
dinos are tiny and makes colonies like cyano does, so it looks like a slime.
that really looks like an algae. There are btw a lot of hair like algaes.
its super delicate, but has algae structure?
 
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landlubber

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dinos are tiny and makes colonies like cyano does, so it looks like a slime.
that really looks like an algae. There are btw a lot of hair like algaes.
its super delicate, but has algae structure?
it does yes.
the algae seems to share qualities of gha with its long filaments for the most part but isn't really green. there is some bubbling later in the day which i've read about dinos but i don't find it slimy and then like i said chunks off of the rock but isn't that red color of cyano.
 

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it does yes.
the algae seems to share qualities of gha with its long filaments for the most part but isn't really green. there is some bubbling later in the day which i've read about dinos but i don't find it slimy and then like i said chunks off of the rock but isn't that red color of cyano.
Yea have you noticed an increase in nutrints?
If the conditions are right and a species is introduced it can get crazy fast. And species really.
But occasionally species that has not been a problem will suddenly bloom net the right conditions
 
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landlubber

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my nutrients are scrambled. phosphate level completely depends where in the day i measure it. when measured with a hanna checker first thing in the morning it is often .0ppm and later on i've seen it at .07ppm. nitrates are usually close to 1ppm.
not unusual with hair algae problems my phosphate is probably higher but with a tank full of it would not surprised if it was higher.
i generally only feed once a day and 10 fish get a cube of mysis that is thawed, strained in a net and rinsed with tank water.
 
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landlubber

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Not sure but I would treat first for cyano -After looking at water params. Also, lighting and flow can be factors....

Yea have you noticed an increase in nutrints?
If the conditions are right and a species is introduced it can get crazy fast. And species really.
But occasionally species that has not been a problem will suddenly bloom net the right conditions

honestly it might be a combination of all three. Those dinos or cyano often coat the hair algae and bryopsis.
the cyano likeness just tuned on the lightbulb in my head... i just recently (<1 month) start using aqauforest np pro and probio s to diminish nutrients and have had a small distinctive patch of cyano that i made quick work of but there is absolutely a chance it could be more than one problem algae.
 

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Well I any case it still the Same. Start scrubbing. I feel it's bad use VIbrant. You could try fluconazole. Esp if it's thin. I'd pull out as much as you can though.
 

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the cyano likeness just tuned on the lightbulb in my head... i just recently (<1 month) start using aqauforest np pro and probio s to diminish nutrients and have had a small distinctive patch of cyano that i made quick work of but there is absolutely a chance it could be more than one problem algae.
Ah. A carbon source.
 
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landlubber

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Well I any case it still the Same. Start scrubbing. I feel it's bad use VIbrant. You could try fluconazole. Esp if it's thin. I'd pull out as much as you can though.
i just ordered fluconazole this past week which was the original treatment i had in mind but i didn't want to mindlessly dose my tank with treatments that aren't correctly paired with the symptoms.
yes the carbon source is a probably contributing to it which i've read dinos love but then again there has never been a time where my back wall and corner overflow in my tank could be cleaned once a week to clear the brown hair.
 

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Remove as much manually as you can, ensuring siphoning to prevent spread. Do a WC for nutrients and free floating "stuff". I would then treat in a systematic approach using filter sock, increasing flow and decreasing photo period to 6 hrs at peak. Then go from there.
 

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So you know it may not work at at all. some folks report success with GHA some dont. The big reason to pull as much as you can is of course because it will add nutrients as it dies.
IMO when you get the meds, put it in a jar of tank water and shake it till its a fine cloud(solution) no particles. Many don't but I think it helped with my tank. depending on how much you ordered, dose at the 20m per gal and wait a week or two and dose again.
 
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landlubber

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So you know it may not work at at all. some folks report success with GHA some dont. The big reason to pull as much as you can is of course because it will add nutrients as it dies.
IMO when you get the meds, put it in a jar of tank water and shake it till its a fine cloud(solution) no particles. Many don't but I think it helped with my tank. depending on how much you ordered, dose at the 20m per gal and wait a week or two and dose again.
thank you for the advice :)
i ordered enough to cover a 20mL/gallon dose as well. my woman and i just spent a couple of hours removing as much as we could and then did a 20% water change. i'm definitely looking forward to anything that will get this looking great again so fingers crossed.
 

mcarroll

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@mcarroll hey sorry to call you out but you seem very affluent on the topic so i figured i'd ask.
i just got through a treatment of fluccanozole for a gha issue i originally assumed to be bryopsis and the die-off has left me with higher than normal nitrates and phosphates. normally i would be carbon dosing to combat this but it's recommended to hold off on it while fighting dinos as are water changes.
what is the more severe problem that i should concentrate on first, nutrients or dinos?

I think I would do water changes to cut down the nutrient levels in the water, but there's also probably a question about the amount of nutrients going into the tank daily and what can be done to scale that back – at least until things have normalized for a while.

It sounds like you may have had a PO4 issue to begin with...and 1ppm NO3 could also represent zero, based on the error rate of your test kit.

How old is this tank and when did it start having nutrient issues? How long until it started having algae issues?
 
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landlubber

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I think I would do water changes to cut down the nutrient levels in the water, but there's also probably a question about the amount of nutrients going into the tank daily and what can be done to scale that back – at least until things have normalized for a while.

It sounds like you may have had a PO4 issue to begin with...and 1ppm NO3 could also represent zero, based on the error rate of your test kit.

How old is this tank and when did it start having nutrient issues? How long until it started having algae issues?
algae/nutrient issues almost immediately following my cycle which was Jan 2016. the backwall of my tank became algae covered and despite my efforts to reduce feedings the gha persisted.
since i've done a treatment of fluccanozole as the algae was almost to the point of no return. i was continuously losing snails and had many of the traits of bryopsis and in 30 days of treatment have seen drastic improvement on the algae and coral condition. my sandbed however is left with either dinos or brown cyano.
 

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. my sandbed however is left with either dinos or brown cyano.
That's going to clear up with water changes. Its just higher nutrients and dissolved dead algae.
If its a new tank and not deep sand, stir it up or vacuum too. IMO
 
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landlubber

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That's going to clear up with water changes. Its just higher nutrients and dissolved dead algae.
If its a new tank and not deep sand, stir it up or vacuum too. IMO
i sure hope so. when i do water changes i vacuum it looks pristine until the next days light cycle almost brings it right back to where it was.
 

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