Bacterial Issues

[cham]

My fish seem to be dieing strange deaths. Eating well, no signs of stress then boom dead. I'm also seeing bacterial blooms in the water column along with cyano on my sandbed. It seems to me I've got a bacterial issue.

I've bought a large supply of Prodibio Biodigest (bacteria) and bioptim to try and steer my tank in a better direction.

Will the beneficial bacteria out compete the bad bacteria in my tank or should I get an anti bacterial reef safe medication to kill off whats in my tank and start new with Prodibio?

If so, can anyone reccomend a good reef safe medication?

 

[unhpian]

How old is the tank? Did you use live rock? Are you dosing any carbons ource? If this is an established tank, then there is no reason why the bacterial composition would suddenly change unless something chemically happened in the tank. What are your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels? If the bacterial composition is really wrong, you wouldn't be getting nitrification/denitrification - and you would likely see a buildup of ammonia, which may be what is killing the fish.

I wrote my master's thesis on bacterial competition - and there's really no easy way for you to tell which species will become the dominant species without extensive study - If the bacterial composition of your tank is truly wrong, then the root cause is likely something to do with your water chemistry - something in the water is preventing the "good" bacteria from becoming dominant, and even if you dosed the "good" bacteria, they would likely quickly die off.

 

[HighlandReefer]

I agree with unhpian.

If you are dosing the carbon source supplement from Prodibio with the bacteria and you are getting bacterial blooms, then I would cut back on the amount you dose. When you develop bacterial blooms, the oxygen levels in your tank water can drop significantly and even end up killing fish.

As stated by unhpian, I would definitely test for ammonia since it is the number one killer of fish in aquarium systems.

Hopefully your other parameters are within the recommended guidelines as noted in Randy's article listed below:

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

 

[cham]

The tank is about a year old. It was established with live rock and I use GFO, GAC, RDSB and a strong skimmer (Deltec APF600) for export.

I've noticed brown coral coloration in the past so I started dosing carbon source, originally Vodka then Vitamin C. I noticed an algea bloom anytime I did this.

I realized I was supposed to take my GFO offline but I was dosing very small amounts of carbon to try and "polish" my water and increase skimmate prodcution.

 

[cham]

BTW, the Prodibio is a new thing. I'm just starting that in hopes of better coloration. I've had good growth and great survival rates for SPS (including lots of wild & maricultured), just not good colors.

Fish is the only thing I've not been able to keep. Likely a nasty ich infestation or something similar.

Nitrates are zero
Phosphates are low enough to keep sps happy, just not low enough for great colors.
DKH 8
Ca 420
Salinity 1.026
PH stays about 8

 

[HighlandReefer]

One of the Prodibio products is a carbon source like vodka. So you will get the same results with it as the vodka if overdosed. Carbon sources are primarily applied to reduce nitrate & phosphate levels. Once these levels drop down to zero using the test kits is when you have to be careful how much you dose. It may not take much at all to maintain your phosphate and nitrate, especially if you are using a GFO or reducing your phosphate.

Changing the coral coloration as desired is a realm in itself. Many hobbyists are playing with the amino acids and vitamins to try a get colorations they like. These are not natural colorations. The light source that you use can effect coloration also. Too much light especially at the 10,000 K range will brown corals up. They may be healthier. If you decide to use amino acids or vitamins, you have to keep in mind that they are carbon sources also and can result in bacterial or algae blooms. Still other hobbyist are playing with micronutrients and heavy metals to change coral colors.

 

[cham]

Thanks highland.

I've been in SPS for a couple years now and chasing the holy grail of great coloration. The all natural way has done ok for me but I'd really love to take my tank to the next level.

I have been using KZ aminos for awhile, I've increased my bio load too recently.

I'm hoping the Prodibio will offer a more controlled method of stripping my water clean and just make it a matter of darkening corals by heavier feedins and AA's as needed.

At least thats the plan for now! Till someone writes a book on the sure fire way to gurantee great coloration & growth. :lol:

 

[HighlandReefer]

Perhaps posting your problem in the Chemistry Forum may provide more insight. Genetics has been working with the vodka, vitamin C and glucose for color changes. He has written an article on vodka. Tatu is working with the amino acids and has posted some great recommendations for color changes.

The combinations of things you are dosing are causing your bacterial or algae blooms, which will rob the oxygen from your water. You need to get to the bottom of your fish deaths and other than what I have mentioned above, getting your dosing down to proper levels is all I can think of.

The primary fish diseases are your protozoans and worms. The bacterial and fungal infestations are usually secondary infestations. If your fish do not show signs of bad exterior wounds, patches, gill damage, reddening or a few other symptoms, then I would look for other causes.

 

[tmz]

Another consideration is hypoxia. If you have increased bioload, feedings and bacterial blooms, you're fish could be suffocating ,especially at night.
Also flukes tend to take down fish suddenly with no readily apparent signs except a bit of cloudy eye which is sometimes apparent.