Algae ID / Help

[noobiereef]

Hi,

 

I have been battling what I thought was cyano for a while. I had an imbalance of high nitrates but low phosphates (0) and since have leveled it out a bit. Now this seems to come back shortly after when I do a water change and clean it off and I can't seem to get rid of it. Has this evolved to something else besides Cyano?

 

Tank is a 25 gallon peninsula that I've been running for about a year.

TDS	0
Salinity	34
Nitrates	15
Phosphate	0.03
Alk	8.4
pH	8
Calci	435
Mag	1310

 

[seabass]

Sounds like it could be dinoflagellates (dinos).  I assume that it's worse when your tank lights are on.  If so, supporting photosynthetic life by increasing phosphate levels even higher (like at least 0.10ppm) often helps.  Getting rid of dinos is usually a long battle.

 

You can try to confirm dinos by collecting a sample of the slime with some tank water.  Shake up the sample to break up the slime and pour it through a paper towel to filter out larger pieces of debris.  Now put the filtered water under your tank lights for at least an hour.  If the cells rejoin to form a mass or strings, then you probably have dinos.

 

There are different types of dinos, and you'd need a microscope to verify which variety you have.  Certain strains are more susceptible to UV sterilizers.  Also, filtering them out with a micron filter (Marineland Magnum Internal Polishing Filter) can help too.

 

However, supporting photosynthetic life with higher nutrient levels is often the most important thing you can do.  Introducing competition like by adding a piece of live rock from the ocean (or even from a healthy and mature reef tank with good biodiversity) can also help.  Some people even culture their own pods to aid in the battle against dinos.

 

It's a relatively complex topic which warrants some research into possible treatment plans.  Like I said, there's no quick fix.  This will likely change your whole perspective about reef keeping.  However, you can beat this.  I wish you the best of luck.

[noobiereef]

2 hours ago, seabass said:

Sounds like it could be dinoflagellates.  I assume that it's worse when your tank lights are on.  If so, supporting photosynthetic life by increasing phosphate levels even higher (like at least 0.10ppm) often helps.  Getting rid of dinos is usually a long battle.

 

You can try to confirm dinos by collecting a sample of the slime with some tank water.  Shake up the sample to break up the slime and pour it through a paper towel to filter out larger pieces of debris.  Now put the filtered water under your tank lights for at least an hour.  If the cells rejoin to form a mass or strings, then you probably have dinos.

 

There are different types of dinos, and you'd need a microscope to verify which variety you have.  Certain strains are more susceptible to UV sterilizers.  Also, filtering them out with a micron filter (Marineland Magnum Internal Polishing Filter) can help too.

 

However, supporting photosynthetic life with higher nutrient levels is often the most important thing you can do.  Introducing competition like by adding a piece of live rock from the ocean (or even from a healthy and mature reef tank with good biodiversity) can also help.  Some people even culture their own pods to aid in the battle against dinos.

 

It's a relatively complex topic which warrants some research into possible treatment plans.  Like I said, there's no quick fix.  This will likely change your whole perspective about reef keeping.  However, you can beat this.  I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you so much for the thoughtful reply. I'll give that test a try and see what happens! I've been working to bring the phosphates up so hopefully that and maybe a small UV will help. THanks!

 

[seabass]

3 hours ago, noobiereef said:

maybe a small UV will help

As I said, getting rid of dinos can be a complex subject.  I've read where UV can be effective against ostreopsis; however, not all species release fully into the water column at night, so UV isn't effective on all types.

 

I'm not 100% sure on the sizing; but a small unit might not be enough.  You need so many watts per gallon with a flow rate that allows sufficient contact time.  Sorry, I can't recall the details right now.  Maybe someone can chime in.  An appropriately powerful UV sterilizer can be expensive (and large), so it might or might not be a good solution for you.  Do some research on the recommended specifications, not everybody agrees on what's needed.

 

Also, I failed to mention in my first response, that when dealing with dinos, water changes tend to make matters worse.  There are a number of things like this, which might sound counter intuitive at first.  But most people recommend no water changes during treatment.

 

Finally, to get more responses, you might wish to edit the title to add the word Dinos somewhere in it.

[mcarroll]

On 4/29/2023 at 7:47 PM, noobiereef said:

I see what you mean in wondering if it's something "more" than just cyano now.....

 

It's not very red like cyano usually is.....and it's not very orange/brown like Dino's usually are.

 

IMO, if possible, get a sample and look at it with a microscope.

 

Also IMO, with the color and look of the tank, I don't think you have a dino bloom happening, even if you do find "some" dino's under the microscope.

 

+1 to the nutrient adjustments recommended – that will prevent things from gravitating in the wrong direction while you figure out what's going on...and in the long run will help balance the system.