White fuzz on rocks

[12scanlon]

Sorry this took so long to do... In the last 2 months the white fuzz just started disappearing and has been replaced with a minor amount of hair algae. Right now the only livestock in my pico other than corals is a pom pom crab, mussle of some sort, and extremely small nerite snail babies. I barely test for anything on this tank because of the 100% water changes (I go off more of what everything looks like). I believe the small white fuzz is not from a nutrient issue and that might be what killed it. At one point I didn’t do a water change for about 3 weeks because of how busy I was. The algae on the glass was crazy and everything just looked bad. When I did do the water change I scrubbed the rocks with a toothbrush, stirred the sand, and cleaned the entire jar until it was spotless. since then I haven’t seen any of the white fuzz. I honestly have no clue of what caused it or what killed it just making guesses at this point. If someone has anything they’ve figured out about this since last time i was here please let me know.

[mcarroll]

Maybe just a phase of the uglies.

[12scanlon]

12 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

Maybe just a phase of the uglies.

May have been. Just weird that it up and left after months of being there.

[ReefEng]

I'm unable to get a picture of the stuff in a full tank shot however to the naked eye it looks exactly like the stuff pictured at the beginning of this thread.  My nitrates and phosphates always test as zero via the Red Sea kit.  Based on the microscope images does anybody have a positive ID?

[KittyDee]

My beloved Nerite snail Ziggy happily munching on the white fuzz ❤️

[KittyDee]

I think amphipod is right about the white fuzz, it's fungus. I read from other communities that it happens normally, especially in new tanks and on new driftwood as it is part of the decay cycle. It will go away eventually when the fungi consumes the nutrients on it. Many also said it's not harmful, just unsightly. Hence, Ziggy, the Nerite snail's right on the job to make things pretty again hehe.

[Chris A.]

I have this stuff and it is persistent, nothing including peroxide appears to make any difference. I've been keeping marines including professionally for over 40 years. I’ve not experienced anything like it in that time. I have microscopic images of it, it appears to be a fungus. It can't be bacteria, it is not the right size, it is not the right structure. It is bacteria then it is from another planet or universe.

 

Nothing will eat it. I have an Osteropsis presence in my aquarium, I suspect got it from using a natural desiccated salt. Resting cysts of Ostreopisis are not uncommon albeit I have no idea if they can survive in a pre-packaged salt. Regardless, Ostrepsis diminished the diversity of the system (6.25 UK gallon 12" cube), kills molluscs and crustacea by starving them and macroalgae via toxins. I suspect reducing the biodiversity to such an extent left a niche for this fungus to inhabit. 

 

I am currently working on ways of reestablishing diversity which I suspect will work. I have started dosing sodium silicate to create a diatom bloom which I hope with nutrient limitation, low temperature (21oC) and good practices will outcompete any Osteropsis remaining. I recommend everyone gets a microscope and regularly performs glass scrapes.  

 

With regard to activated carbon messing with corals, it will only do that if it is the incorrect grade which releases much phosphate into the water. Otherwise, corals will love it because it increases ORP and provides microparticles of carbon. A buoyant ORP and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations are an absolute requirement for livestock health. Patruclalry corals. Vigorous flow transports DO to the coral.

 

When the lights go out, within seconds, coral flesh becomes borderline anoxic. If DO concentrations are reduced on the exterior, coral flesh could become fully anoxic and microbes most likely produce hydrogen sulphide. In extreme cases, this will kill the coral. In sponges, some symbionts have enzymes which mitigate sulphide toxicity. There is no reason to suspect some coral symbionts do not have this capability. However, at tropical temperatures, only 8 mg/l (ppm) of O2 can be dissolved in saltwater. This is around the equivalent of 8 cups in an Olympic sized swimming pool. That is saturated. This is the most you can dissolve.

 

My conditions are optimal: ORP approximately 370, 0.02 ppm for both nitrate and phosphate. No one will have zero. Use Salifert test kits, they measure low enough and are accurate. I have fish in the tank.

 

Microscopic images below. 

[bahamasmls]

One word reeflux.  Ive had this happen 2 times now after a fish or 2 dies and reeflux works but takes a few weeks.