Cyno or Dyno Algae problem !!! help needed

[perikaruppan]

CuC? if u mean corals. . got about 6 Acroporas, 2 monti capri's and some leather's...

Do Cyano's also send out such strands with bubbles? as these dont react to Rise in PH

 

[TruespeedEM1]

cyano is going to be a really dark purple(ish) color. Here is a algae sheet for reference:
http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=54&Itemid=81

As for CuC, i meant cleanup crew, like snails, hermits, etc.

 

[perikaruppan]

I just have 2 Turbos on the tank!!! lost most of them during a Temp rise to 33 Crash!!! and these Alage's Dyno/Cyno came in!!!

my algae is totally brownish..

 

[perikaruppan]

it is exactly that as dyno's as shown in that algae page that you had linked.

 

[TruespeedEM1]

I would definitely start with getting a complete, solid group of cleaners. IMO it would be pointless to try and get rid of this without something to possibly keep it gone. They arent too expensive and certain websites (reefcleaners.org) can take a custom order and suggest what they think you need based on tank size and algae problems.

If its brown did you see one that matched from that link? I do agree with everyone else that it looks like dino

 

[Sensei ClamMan]

I had a similar problem on an old softie tank 100g. The consistant growth means a consistant food source, low PO4 reading may only mean that the dino's are using it up as fast as it is entering the system so you're led to believe that there is no PO4 problem. GFO can load up in a few days and the only way to starve out the dino is to change it frequently (3 time a week for me). The live rock in bucket test mentioned earler will give you a good idea of how much PO4 your rock leach out. I spent a couple hundred bucks on GFO over a few months but it worked with no reoccurances. Do you have an algae refugium? This was the best thing I had done at that time, I used to pull out a pound or so a week. Had it on a reverse light cycle and it added a huge level of stability to the tank.

 

[Sensei ClamMan]

You may want to run a UV sterilizer for a spell if you can borrow one or buy a cheap one. This will kill spores. Just another angle in the battlefeild.

 

[bertoni]

People sometimes are successful find animals that eat this type of microbial bloom, but more often they aren't. Dinoflagellates can be particularly painful.

I am skeptical that a UV unit will help much. Lots of people seem to run UV and still have bad blooms.

Cyanobacteria comes in many colors, so color is not a reliable indicator of the type of infestation.

 

[Sensei ClamMan]

People sometimes are successful find animals that eat this type of microbial bloom, but more often they aren't. Dinoflagellates can be particularly painful.

I am skeptical that a UV unit will help much. Lots of people seem to run UV and still have bad blooms.

Cyanobacteria comes in many colors, so color is not a reliable indicator of the type of infestation.

Yes, I aggree it's somewhat limited, I would only suggest it along with other methods to help interupt the cycle, I've kept one handy and it's been helpful.

 

[perikaruppan]

been battling for over 6 months now, and i know people are battling over 2 years and more.. but what can be done?

i am seriously thinking of resetting the tank... so kindly advice.. what to do.. keep the rocks? change the water totally? or both?

I know that there is high probability of other kind's of algae comming, in the new setup, but i am willing to take that risk!!!! as this dyno's is driving me nuts!!! nothing is happening to the corals...

actually phospates was 0.18, reduced to 0.08 with 50% w/c and now it is 0.02 with Lanthanum choloride dosing once (2ml in 5 litres of water dosed over 8 hours)!!!....

haven't done that test with removing the rock and testing the phospates in dark!!!...

 

[chercm]

i used to be in this situation , i turned to Zeovit and it works and my po4 is 0

 

[perikaruppan]

my phospates are under 0.03 so i suppose that is good!!! .... still final shot again...same process

1. 3-5 day light out.. started 12:00 today... All covered up with 3 bedsheets!!! pitch dark it is inside...
2. trying to maintain PH around 8.4 to 8.5 or slightly higher... using CAHO2 slurry dosing
3. Do hydrogen Peroxide? or No?

Do this for the first 3 days, when the dyno's will die during the first few days.. then on the 4th day:

Thinking of Acid Washing the Rocks in Stages after the 3rd Day:
I have 3 islands... and Dyno's are mostly on the top few rocks and a couple of middle rocks in the left 2 islands.. so slowly will remove the left and center island of Rocks - Acid Wash Them and throw them back into the tank.... then, do it for the right side island.... the next day. dont want to remove my entire rock system.

All during light outs.. will this work? or will the alage spread onto the bottom few rocks? ... during this period, might move the SPS to my friend's tank to save them.

Will this work? or it is just a waste of time as Dynos will be in the water column?

 

[austin93]

I am going to shutdown the tank. I will reuse the rock after 10 days cooking and replace all the water. I cant afford all new rock. Hope this takes care of it. This is terrible stuff. Good luck.

 

[Sensei ClamMan]

Just because it's not visibly blooming on all surfaces doesn't mean it's not everywhere. It sound like your still treating the symptoms and not the disease though. You have to find the source of the phosphates , and deal with that. Your rocks have been taking them in while it was high in your tank once you lower PO4 in the water the rocks will leach it back to maintain equilibrium, as long as your actively lowering it you'll get low test results, but it's still feeding the dino. Turning off the lights will not kill dino's, they have an unusual ability to "hibernate" in the dark. Stressful situation can cause this including starvation, it's a bit of a metamorphisis that makes them bulletproof, they revert to a free floating organism at this time, what you'll see it it disappearing from the rocks but it will just resume once the tank returns to normal, thus the persistence. The lack of light will benefit you only in the sense that a UV sterilizer will destroy it while in the free floating form. This worked well for me in my old tank and I've kept a UV on hand ever since just in case.

 

[perikaruppan]

thanks sensei.. got the point of a UV... will run the UV also now... so from my understanding, the dyno's are basically in the water during the light's off period...

may be my rocks are leaching phospates, as my Natural Sea Water had phospates ranging from 0.03 to 0.15 some times.. and i used NSW to change water.. hence the high level of phospates.

about couple of weeks back the phospates were in the range of 0.15, and did a major 50% W/c with Salt (mixed-RO) water and phospates dropped to 0.08, then changed the GFO and now phospates are 0.03.. and it can still mean that the phospates are being absorbed by the dynos and are not showing in the water column.

So, if i can acid wash about 75-80% of the rocks, and do the UV.. the phospates being leached back can be reduced as per this theory. and quicker it will recover. Is this ok?

 

[Sensei ClamMan]

Yes, the rocks loaded up when the PO4 was high and are now feeding your algae. I changed the PO4 3-4 times per week and it really took alot. I think all the ideas here are effective , but it's the combination of different tactics that will work best. I think everyone's just trying to keep you from the point of ripping apart the aquarium, it's such a shame to go that far, the benefical fauna of your live rock will be destroyed, if you have alot of sponges and other life you may have a big ammonia problem as well when you restart. Do you test your sea water before using it, or filter it?

 

[perikaruppan]

Well, i did test my sea water with Salifert test kits that showed Zero Phospates... but with my Hanna test kit it showed 0.15.

The tank properly feeding my filter feeders such as my mandarin's perfectly as there was so much life in the tank.. which still exists.. thats why i dont want to reset the tank. But this dyno's is driving me so much mad that i wanna get rid of it.

PH oscillating between 8.3 and 8.5 ... during the day ... so hopefully i will be able to maintain...

adding the UV today... Day 2 it is of light's off.

 

[bertoni]

If the Hanna kit is correct, and it might well be, I'd recommend upping the GFO slowly. You might need to replace it frequently, as well. It'll likely deplete in a day or so with the level that high, but I'd worry about animals reacting to a sudden parameter change badly if the GFO were replaced every day.

Getting a third opinion on the phosphate might be useful, as well.

 

[perikaruppan]

Jon, i tested the water in the lab and it had phospates of 0.04. I replaced the GFO again today. 10 days since previous replacement.

Will re-gerenating GFO also work?

 

[bertoni]

GFO can be regenerated, which might help cut costs.

Depending on how quickly phosphate is being dumped into the water column, you might need to change the GFO fairly rapidly. I don't know any easy way to measure that in your case, since 0.04 ppm is fairly low, and I'm not sure you want to use the lab every day. I though the Salifert might be able to resolve that. You could try the double-resolution version of the test.