Algae smothering Zoas.

[RogueAgent94]

Hey,

Is it possible for diatom algae to smother corals? I just got a bunch of frags of zoas and palys but none have opened. It's been three days. The person that fragged them said that the diatom algae in my tank was smothering them.

Thanks

 

[reefwars]

Hey,

Is it possible for diatom algae to smother corals? I just got a bunch of frags of zoas and palys but none have opened. It's been three days. The person that fragged them said that the diatom algae in my tank was smothering them.

Thanks

any pics??


algae is known to keep polyps from opening for sure .

 

[A. Grandis]

Yes, many times controlling the algae problem is the way to go. People think if they dip or do this and that to the polyps they would somehow fight back or get relieved and that would be the end of the story, but in reality the algae problem itself needs to be addressed.
My suggestion to you is to find out what's making the algae to bloom.
Making sure you're really talking about diatoms is just the beginning.
Pics?

Grandis.

 

[RogueAgent94]

Hi,

Thanks for the responses! I'm fairly certain it is diatoms. My tank grows it quite readily. I just cut down my light from 10hrs to 8hrs a day. Here are a couple of older pictures from a day or two ago. I'll get more today when the lights come on.

This is my only coral that looks to be doing well:

 

[A. Grandis]

Sorry, look like you've got 3 different colors of cianos to me. :hmm4:
The polyps are not covered to the point to blame the algae/cianos.
I would say the main problem would be water chemistry related.
Perhaps the system is still very young?
It's aways better to add cnidarians after the system is stablished and showing some coralline algae.

Grandis.

 

[RogueAgent94]

Okay. So probably not the algae. And obviously not diatoms lol.

The tank itself is newish. I upgraded from a 5g that had been set up for 2 years. My water params are: ammonia (0), nitrite (0), nitrate/phosphates (<5), pH (8.2-8.3), salinity (1.023-1.024).

 

[A. Grandis]

The tank is not stablished yet, as we can see.
The problem with the polyps could be adaptation or infection/internal injuries.

If they were in the old system and doing good for a while it's probably adaptation.
You'll need to figure out what is causing that, besides the natural cycle of the system, if so.
It's more towards that road, once all of them have similar symptoms.

If the problem is infection a Lugol's dip would help.
Some of them are hit pretty bad, like the ones on pics 4 and 5.
I've seen similar situations when they really turn around and do good after about 3 months. Patience, maintenance and stability.
Some other times they melt and there is nothing to do because the problem is not properly addressed on time.
Good luck!

Grandis.

 

[RogueAgent94]

Okay, thanks. I'll do a Lugol's dip.

 

[A. Grandis]

As I've said before, I would think it's more towards adaptation and the system itself not yet stablished. Lugol's will do for infections and won't "cure" the algae in your system.

Grandis.

 

[RogueAgent94]

Talked to my neighbor about the ciano. He said he uses "Chemi-Clean" to get rid of it. I use that company's carbon in my tank. Any thoughts on the product?

 

[A. Grandis]

Well, I've never used that product.
Normally I just play with the organics and add some activated carbon in the sump.
Chemi-pure is a very good choice to remove organics along with a good skimmer and water changes. Also if you can improve the water flow, that would help too.
If you choose to use the Chemi-clean for the cianos you'll need to remove the chemi-pure or any activated carbon from the tank, turn off the skimmer and make sure you add some airstones because of the O2 depletion. They suggest the treatment for 24 to 48 hours.
Again, I've never used it, so would be great if someone else could give their opinion here.
Good luck!

Grandis.

 

[RogueAgent94]

Yeah, I have chemi-pure running in the tank now. Lets see if someone else has used it or not. I'll probably try it if I can find some good reviews on it.

 

[organism]

How new is the tank? You might just be getting what I call the new tank uglies, it's that time when you're still burning off a lot of the gunk from the initial cycle. Even if your test kits register 0 it could be because the algae is eating it, I think it's usually from 1-3 months after the tank is up and running. On a side note, diatoms are generally from water quality, are you using a DI canister?

 

[RogueAgent94]

The tank itself, as in the glass, is three weeks old. Everything else that is in the tank is 2years old. I just transferred everything over to a new tank with more aragonite sand. I'm not sure what a DI canister is so no I'm not using one.