Yet another "What am I" thread... (Diatom, Dino, Cyano... Yada yada yada)

[MSOEME2009]

Hermits and snails will eat it (if on the rocks). Can develop "hairs" that look brown on sand. Currently have 2 Halloween & 2 Trochus

2.5 Mo/old tank. Had bad green cyano in sump/fuge which I cleaned out (after the return pump distributed it everywhere). I used a sock for two days + used bubble scrubbing to help lift the garbage to the overflow.

I have (2) MP10QWD pumps running at 85% Reefcrest + Antisync (85%) on this 40G Cube.

I have not done any major water changes since start up because of below values. Have done a few 2-4 gallon ones for cleaning (last one 2 weeks ago).

Last water readings were:

Salinity: 1.0255
NO3: 6 PPM (Bounces between 4-6)
PO4: .01 PPM (occasionally have to dose, will hit 0 on ULR)
Alk: 8.0 dKH (2 part dose with DOS)
Ca: 420 Ca (2 part dose with DOS)
Mg: 1520 (used some epsom salt b/c of an eye pop)
Red Sea 4 Part dosed weekly
Coral fed with Reef Chili + Brightwell Restor

Tank has a chaeto refugium run with an H350 magenta for 8 hours daily. DT lighting is (2) A160WE's running for 70% intensity at between 13-15 and ramps up between 9-20:30.

Livestock is 2 clowns, 1 Gramma, 1 6 Line. Coral load is light. I assume most of my Alk & Ca is going to coraline as I only have 1 hammer & a meteor as far as users.

I plan to add a fighting conch today (unless there is a glaring issue why not).

Thanks!

 

[Brew12]

Hermits and snails will eat it (if on the rocks). Can develop "hairs" that look brown on sand. Currently have 2 Halloween & 2 Trochus

2.5 Mo/old tank. Had bad green cyano in sump/fuge which I cleaned out (after the return pump distributed it everywhere). I used a sock for two days + used bubble scrubbing to help lift the garbage to the overflow.

I have (2) MP10QWD pumps running at 85% Reefcrest + Antisync (85%) on this 40G Cube.

I have not done any major water changes since start up because of below values. Have done a few 2-4 gallon ones for cleaning (last one 2 weeks ago).

Last water readings were:

Salinity: 1.0255
NO3: 6 PPM (Bounces between 4-6)
PO4: .01 PPM (occasionally have to dose, will hit 0 on ULR)
Alk: 8.0 dKH (2 part dose with DOS)
Ca: 420 Ca (2 part dose with DOS)
Mg: 1520 (used some epsom salt b/c of an eye pop)
Red Sea 4 Part dosed weekly
Coral fed with Reef Chili + Brightwell Restor

Tank has a chaeto refugium run with an H350 magenta for 8 hours daily. DT lighting is (2) A160WE's running for 70% intensity at between 13-15 and ramps up between 9-20:30.

Livestock is 2 clowns, 1 Gramma, 1 6 Line. Coral load is light. I assume most of my Alk & Ca is going to coraline as I only have 1 hammer & a meteor as far as users.

I plan to add a fighting conch today (unless there is a glaring issue why not).

Thanks!

If I had to guess, I would suspect it is a strain of Dino's.

 

[MSOEME2009]

Yuck didn't want to hear that! Guess it's amazon microscope time ;Vomit

 

[jolt]

I don't see a lot of bubbles so I would have guessed diatoms and beginnings of hair algae.

 

[MSOEME2009]

No bubbles anywhere (except in sump on the cyano)

 

[kecked]

do the peroxide test to tell difference . get the scope. get on it now don't wait. My dino EXPLOSION looked very much like that when it started. Get the N and P up and let the competition get going before it gets eaten. You may be able to side step the horror if you can act fast. Do NOT try some anti this or that as it will just hasten the dino take over while everything else is killed.

Didn't see tank is only 2.5 mo old. That could be any of a number of blooms. Still dose some P and keep those nitrates right where they are or higher.

 

[Brew12]

I don't see a lot of bubbles so I would have guessed diatoms and beginnings of hair algae.

I'm fairly confident that most of it is not diatoms. I do agree that this could be hair algae.

This is very characteristic of dino's.

 

[Brew12]

Get the N and P up and let the competition get going before it gets eaten.

+1 on this. It would be my first course of action. Try to get and keep your phosphates around 0.05ppm to 0.08ppm and your nitrates >3ppm.

I also recommend running GAC. Some dino's release toxins if they die which you will want to remove using carbon.

 

[jolt]

This is very characteristic of dino's.

On closer look I would have to agree with you, diatoms do not form like that.

 

[MSOEME2009]

Here are the shells:



Congratulations, you are not a dino daddy (on shells anyway).

For the sand bed do I just take a sample of substrate with a cup or do I use a siphon.

I will have to do it tomorrow, because I stirred it up very hard, used a toothbrush on the rocks, put a new sock in, and am currently bubbling the DT to get all the junk out into the overflow.

Just added another 5 mL NeoPhos

 

[MSOEME2009]

I suspect you're all right on the dino front. I put a new sock in last night after stirring all of it up, was nice and brown... Strings are getting longer... Changed sock again this morning, will stir things up later.

I've already shortened my lighting period, eliminated whites, put a new sock in, started a 1/10 mL dose of H2O2 BID.

Checked PO4 today was at 9 ppb (0.03) again, dosed 10 mL of PO4. Will check tomorrow again to get it to around 0.1 PPM (correct?). Nitrates are dropping, just hit 3 PPM. I've altered my skimmer to shut down at night now while the refugium is on (only 8 hours). Not that it probably makes a difference, I lowered my tank temperature from 79 to 78 with the thought that the metabolism would slow.

I will probably pick up a green killing machine UV today (24W = 0.5 W/G). Will probably pick up some stump remover to try to get 10 PPM (correct?)

Sigh... Thought I was doing this nutrient export thing well... How the heck do people not have this issue with Triton or Zeo?

Microscope won't be here until Thursday. Trying to get a jump on it.

 

[sevitz5]

I feel your pain, I too was running a low nutrient system. My NO3 was 0 and PO4 was.03, it caused a Dino outbreak, after tons of reading I have come to the conclusion I am gonna shoot for PO4 at .05 and NO3 at 10. I am currently on day 2 of the Dr Tim’s treatment (from their website)

for Dino’s, I will know more when I uncover the tank.

 

[MSOEME2009]

The odd thing is that from what I read, nothing eats dinos...

I put this fighting conch in last night, he's blasting through it. Makes me think it's cyano until I get the scope.

Unless he has an untimely death from the dino toxicity ;Facepalm

 

[Brew12]

The odd thing is that from what I read, nothing eats dinos...

I put this fighting conch in last night, he's blasting through it. Makes me think it's cyano until I get the scope.

Unless he has an untimely death from the dino toxicity ;Facepalm

Lots of things eat dino's. It all depends on the strain of dino's that you have. Some dino's are very toxic, some are hardly toxic at all. Amphipods, copepods, rotifers, snails, crabs, starfish, and many types of phytoplankton can all eat dino's.

Having said that, it still could be cyano. Just like there are many strains of dino's, there are also many strains of cyano. Some look a lot like dino's until you get them under the scope.

 

[MSOEME2009]

Anyone know what this might be?

Quick search said maybe diatom type.

Cyano here?

 

[Brew12]

Anyone know what this might be?

Quick search said maybe diatom type.

Cyano here?

Agree with a diatom.
https://sites.evergreen.edu/vms-spring/licmophora-sp/

Not sure about the cyano in the 2nd pic. It's too blurry for me to make out the specific chains.