Brown stringy stuff in new tank

[StrangeDejavu]

So I just noticed something in my new BioCube that I was hoping I could get an ID on. The tank has been cycled for a little over a month. Parameters can be found below, as well as pics and video. I have diatoms in the sand, back panel and on the glass right now. I don't see any bubbles that would indicate dino, but there is a lot of debris stuck in it. It reminds me of freshwater cyano with the strands and what not, but it's brown like diatoms. I know this kind of thing is normal for a brand new tank, just curious is all.

Temp 79°F
Salinity 1.026
pH 7.9
Nitrite 0ppm
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrate 2.5ppm
PO4 0ppm
Ca 390
Alk 9.6
Mag 1190

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[StrangeDejavu]

Anyone?

 

[Ron Reefman]

I believe it's a type of algae, although it could be a bacteria along the lines of cyano (not that it is anything like cyano).

I had issues with something that looked very similar in a small tank I was running. I blows of the rocks and corals very easily. I would install a new filter sock. Then try to use a fine fine fish net to collect as much of the longer 'strings' that seem to like floating up toward the surface. Then I'd pump water from the sump with a strong pump and 'blow it off'. After it was all out of the tank, I'd change the filter sock again. That would be good for 2 or 3 days and then it would grow back. I did more water changes and fed fish and corals less and after a few weeks it quit growing back.

Good luck and I hope somebody can give you a better answer.

 

[StrangeDejavu]

I believe it's a type of algae, although it could be a bacteria along the lines of cyano (not that it is anything like cyano).

I had issues with something that looked very similar in a small tank I was running. I blows of the rocks and corals very easily. I would install a new filter sock. Then try to use a fine fine fish net to collect as much of the longer 'strings' that seem to like floating up toward the surface. Then I'd pump water from the sump with a strong pump and 'blow it off'. After it was all out of the tank, I'd change the filter sock again. That would be good for 2 or 3 days and then it would grow back. I did more water changes and fed fish and corals less and after a few weeks it quit growing back.

Good luck and I hope somebody can give you a better answer.

Thanks for your reply. At this point, just about anything would be a relief over dinos. I just removed the rock and scrubbed it with a toothbrush so we'll see how it goes.

 

[StrangeDejavu]

Bump. Would appreciate some more input.

 

[Ron Reefman]

How long has your tank been set up and running?
Do you have a sump and/or a refugium?

 

[Bent]

Im battling this same issue. It really is driving me nuts.

Mine blows off easy with a turkey baster.

I'm working under the impression that it's cyano. I'm close to throwing in the towel and using chemiclean. But I think it has something to do with my nitrate struggles so I'm trying to get that under control with carbon dosing and seeing if it goes away. So far it's not working dosing about 2 mls an hour for the past month.

Have you tested your po4 and nitrates? I'd be curious to know if your readings are similar to mine.

Edit:
Sorry it helps for me to read the entire OP. What are you testing with?

 

[oseymour]

Since your tank is so new I would say it's diatoms.....All new tanks get it and it usually goes away after a couple of months.

It could also be Cyano. Did you use dry rock and sand for your tank?

 

[lifeoffaith]

Does not look like dinos to me. I'd guess diatoms as well.

 

[Bent]

I've never see slimy diatoms before. I guess anything is possible, but usually diatoms are fine particulate algae.

This stuff looks bacterial.

 

[StrangeDejavu]

I took that piece of rock out of the tank yesterday morning and scrubbed it to death with a toothbrush and put it back in the tank. Today after work i'm not see anything new, only diatoms in the sand. It really reminds me of freshwater cyano I had in a planted tank once, the way it stringed off the rock and blew in the current. PO4 is reading zero via Hanna ULR and Nitrate was 2.5ppm last I checked via Salifert. Tank is just over 1 month old, so i'm assuming new tank nasties. I used Real Reef live rock and a bag of Fiji Pink live sand. And I agree with it looking bacterial.

I'm going to do a WC tomorrow, gravel vac the sandbed and put a new batch of ROX carbon in the media basket. We'll see how it goes!

 

[mattyg18]

Hey StrangeDejavu---I've got what appears to be the exact same stuff that you have on your rock. Most of it tends to be on the one piece of LR I picked up from the LFS. There are a few smaller strands on some of my dry live rock (which was cured). I took some pics and brought it to a LFS and they weren't sure what it was. I'm about 6 weeks into a cycle now and my tank cycled pretty quick using biospira. My numbers like yours are pretty good. I added some corals last week and they are doing well. I also added some snails today. I'm hoping they feast on some of that stuff. If you want I can take some pics tomorrow and send them to you.

If you happen to find out what it is please let me know and I will do the same.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I have turbo snails and porcelain crabs in my frag tank along with a yellow tang who will eat nori and hairy algae, but none of them show any interest in this snotty, stringy, brown slime. BTW, I'm inclined to think it's a bacteria as well.

The really curious thing is, this is a real issue in my 25g frag tank, but it shares a big sump (75g) and refugium (15g) and a 65g shallow reef DT. The 65g shallow reef and sump/refugium seem to be completely uneffected! I recently emptied the frag tank completely, cleaned inside the tank with vinegar as well as the frag rack. Put it all back together and it took about 2-3 weeks for it to start to appear again. But the 65g shallow reef shows absolutely no signs of it at all.

 

[StrangeDejavu]

Hey StrangeDejavu---I've got what appears to be the exact same stuff that you have on your rock. Most of it tends to be on the one piece of LR I picked up from the LFS. There are a few smaller strands on some of my dry live rock (which was cured). I took some pics and brought it to a LFS and they weren't sure what it was. I'm about 6 weeks into a cycle now and my tank cycled pretty quick using biospira. My numbers like yours are pretty good. I added some corals last week and they are doing well. I also added some snails today. I'm hoping they feast on some of that stuff. If you want I can take some pics tomorrow and send them to you.

If you happen to find out what it is please let me know and I will do the same.

After scrubbing the rock with a toothbrush, i've yet to see even a shred of it come back. It's a long shot, but I think I know where it came from in my scenario. I've been soaking my LRS in Seachem GarlicGuard the last few days and dumping all of it in. Seems like it showed up around the same time I started, and since i've stopped, i've not seen it since. The other night, I was researching Dinos and someone in a thread mentioned how Vitamin C fuels Dino growth. I checked the GarlicGuard and it says contains Vitamin C. I could be grasping at straws here, but that's the link i've made. My friend said he also had something very similar when he first set his tank up and he said snails made quick work of it, so keep us updated!

Hope you get yours figured out too, Ron. I've been inspecting my rockwork like a hawk but i'm not seeing anything anymore.

 

[Bent]

Interesting.

Mine never showed up until i put flake food with garlic in it in the autofeeder.

Garlic actually has a very large amount of vitamin C.

 

[erika crawford]

I've been out of the hobbie for a few years ( so I'm no expert) and was scrolling the newbie thread ....but as soon as I saw your post description i knew exactly what it was ...and when I saw your pics it confirmed it ......dinoflagellates ...I tried vodka dosing ....scrubbing ..everything ....I had them for a year with my first set up ..the only thing i could do was suck the pieces out constantly and one day they just disappeared ...I thought it was cyano for a while before I discovered what it really was ...best of luck to you!

 

[mattyg18]

The snails are definitely going to work on the stuff. Hopefully they can take care of it quicker than its growing.

erika crawford - how did you suck the pieces out? With a turkey baster?

 

[Bent]

I've been out of the hobbie for a few years ( so I'm no expert) and was scrolling the newbie thread ....but as soon as I saw your post description i knew exactly what it was ...and when I saw your pics it confirmed it ......dinoflagellates ...I tried vodka dosing ....scrubbing ..everything ....I had them for a year with my first set up ..the only thing i could do was suck the pieces out constantly and one day they just disappeared ...I thought it was cyano for a while before I discovered what it really was ...best of luck to you!

I really don't think it's dinos. While it's a possibility, dinos seem more snotty to me and much more invasive than this stuff, at least mine. Plus I think people have a tendency to over diagnose invasive dinos when in actuality it's a pretty rare occurrence. I think lots of cases of suspected dinos are actually just cyano blooms.

I mean, it could be and you may be right, and the vit C is contributing, but I'm not going to go down that path until I've exhausted the cyano treatments.

 

[StrangeDejavu]

Looks like I spoke too soon. I see a little bit of it near the same rock in the video/photos. Not nearly as much as last time but it's there. I also think i'm seeing a touch of cyano just above it. Looks slimy and is a red rust color. I've not used GarlicGuard in a few days so we'll see what a 25% WC and a gravel vac gets me this Friday. I also plan on getting a handful of Trochus and Ceriths this weekend so maybe they'll eat it.

 

[Xpoza]

Looks like a strange form of cyano bacteria