Cyno or Dyno Algae problem !!! help needed

[perikaruppan]

Dear friends,
I have been having this reef aquarium for the last 2.5 years and so far have not come across such a worst algae problem...

The tank is a 4'6" X 2' X 2' LED Lit tank, will DIY Skimmer, and tunze 6105 for circulation....

Lost lots of my corals a couple of weeks back due to increase in temp to 33C, and fish load is 1 YEllow Tang, 1 Copper Band, 2 Flame Angels, 11 Chromis, 1 Mandarin and 2 Cleaner Shrimps......

It all started off when i cut off a portion of a dead acropora and put back the remaining live piece into the tank. and off the cut portion this alage popped up...

it is very slimy.. brown in color and send out strands upto 6" long if left long without removing it from the system...

some of the images are...
this is how it forms on any dead corals in the tank...

some of the lengthy strands..

on my zoans and killing them slowly...

Seems like red slime on the sand...

another shot of red slime and brown together...

The parameters are all stable like CA @ 420, Alk at 7.6, Mg at 1320, Ph around 8.1-8.2, Nitrates are <5, Phospates are not there... all measured using salifert test kits...

I end up sucking them out of the tank every week, and the next week they are up in more places and more long..!!!

been battling this for over 3 months now... it all started slowly.. but now it is increasing heavily...

this is what i have been doing:

1. Running GFO, there is lotta churning of the GFO in the reactor... is that alright or is that a problem? they are not being tossed around, but proper churning in the bottom of the reactor.. they say lower the flow the better, more flow i will have the current problem.. is it true?
2. Using LED lighting, for the last 2 years... so now reduced the intensity also on the tank...
3. Had a small crash with temp going upto 33C, and lost a lotta corals and fish, it has been over 2 weeks now... did a 30% W/c
4. use natural sea water as W/c, been doing this for the last 1 year without a problem....
5. Not dosing any thing other than Randy' two part CA and Alk
6. feeding ONLY frozen brine shrimp, once a day... but heavy.. will reduce it
7. Was dosing Vodka with MicroBacter, But stopped as nitrates were nearly not tracable and tank was perfect.. now started vodka dosing again ... been 2 days...

KINDLY tell me what algae is it, a cyano or dyno? and what should i do to bring it to a stand still?

 

[HighlandReefer]

It does look like a dino to me.

Randy explains more in this article:

Problem Dinoflagellates and pH
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/rhf/index.php

 

[perikaruppan]

that was not wat i wanted!! dynos...

Dont have a PH meter to constantly monitor PH while raising it... added costing...

is there any other way? heavy water changes? light off routines etc.,?

 

[perikaruppan]

but they come off the rocks and sand bed easily without any sticking onto the rocks etc., so shouldn't they be diatoms variety?

 

[jimmy frag]

change your GFO and keep up with the vodka. get a clean up crew. check your di. just because you are not reading phosphates does not mean there not there

 

[bertoni]

Diatoms, dinoflagellates, and cyanobacteria all vacuum up nicely.

I would stop feeding for a week, and change out the GFO, possibly ramping up the quantity a bit. Spending a few minutes every day or two siphoning out some of the slime will help export some nutrients, too.

Better skimming often helps with such problems, too. I don't know what type of DIY you have, but it might be worth cleaning it and ensuring that the bubbles are still very small, etc.

 

[perikaruppan]

as per advice, changed the GFO today... continuing with vodka...

will do the siphoning every other day...

my skimmer is a Cone skimmer DIY....using a Reef Octopus NW 3000 Pump to run it...
These are older images of my skimmer.. but now there is corraline inside the cone area!!

 

[perikaruppan]

what will be the clean up crew for this?
I had 4 nassaurius snails... just left with 2 ... and a couple of turbo snails...

 

[saltygeek]

Does dosing Lugols fuel dinos?

 

[tmz]

That temp spike to 33 C likely killed some stuff in and on the rocks and fueled the dinoflagellates. I'd keep exporting nutrients and siphoning them out regularly and persistently. A turkey baster sucks them off well.

 

[abhishek@1985]

Hi pk,
Even I got a similar but much less problem in my tank after the same powercut in my area.. hopefully didn't loose many corals except for 2 tubanaria...I guess its the powercut that helped the cyna out( I hope its cyna and not dino!!!!!!)...

Was thinking if the vodka is doing worse than good to feed the cynaos..Have also changed the gfo and doing large water changes...

But the problem persists..

Will stopping vodka dosing help to eradicate the cyanos?

What do you guys think?

 

[Brian DeGolier]

Also try covering the tank for 3 days and lights out, and let the heat escape. I had a similar problem for 2 years, did not want to go chemical warfare, but I finally did with chemi-clean, which targets and suffocates the bacteria so this will work for most dia-dino-cyno's, but use as a last resort. The advice above is good re: the GFO. The skimmer may be an issue too, may want to consider an upgrade or at least removing, soaking the inside with vinegar since there's coraline algae. The clean smooth plastic skimmer will help the bubble slide to the top. It's a nasty frustrating process, be patient and good luck.

 

[bertoni]

Lugol's will not fuel cyanobacteria and similar pests, but it can be toxic. I stopped dosing iodine years ago, but if I were to dose, I'd use an iodide-based supplement. Lugol's contains elemental iodine.

There's no particularly useful cleanup crew for such blooms, although sometimes, people get lucky with some animal or the other. A few Nassarius in the tank might turn over the sand a bit, which helps esthetically.

I'd probably give the GFO and siphoning a few weeks to get the job done, and if that doesn't work, I'd look at some of the more drastic alternatives.

 

[perikaruppan]

doing the lights off routine... 2 days gone now... should i cover the tank with black cloth to totally make it dark?

it wasnt the spike in temp, the browns where there before but restricted and in smaller quantity, but after the 33 C, it was far more and more quicker to grow after siphoning...

 

[perikaruppan]

changed the GFO's on a regular basis... and added Activated Carbon also on the system...

then did a 3 day light of routine.. and zoom they all vanished all clear off... it has been 3 weeks since... another thing that i noted is that the turbo snails are still alive.. i just have 2 in my tank.. and they are healthy... isint Dyanos supposed to kill the snails?

and now again they are back!!!

I added zeovit components to the system again ... and it started to bloom... now i have stopped the zeovit (Coralsnow 5ml, Zeobak 5 drops aminoz 5 drops and Coral vitalizer 8 drops) ...

I have been sucking them off the rocks... using a 1/2" hose... and also i see on the rocks there are lots of bubbles ....

so another 3 days light off will work? is this dyno's then? or is it cyano?

 

[tmz]

Looks like dinos to me based on earlier pictures . They may be getting a boost from some element in the supplements. Snails don't always die.

 

[bertoni]

I'm not sure what that is, but I'd probably stop the supplements and get ready for another three-day lights-out run. Sorry to hear about your renewed troubles.

 

[perikaruppan]

thanks tom and bertoni.

i have stopped the supplements... been 2 days... and will start the light turn off... from today... should i stop feeding also?

I only feed frozen brine shrimp, once a day... the fish load is :
1. one Copper band, my priced fish.. as it eats aptasia and have trained it to eat brine shrimp
2. one yellow tang
3. one flame angel
4. 11 chromis
5. 3 cleaner shrimps

just worried about my copper band if i dont feed for 3 days...

there is a outdoor glass that brings in sunlight into the tank.. but not heavy... so should i cover the tank completly with black cloth to eliminate that light also, or can throw a curtain on the glass to eliminate that light... but still there will be light from the room, but bare minimum into the tank...

 

[tmz]

I personally would not stop feeding and allow ambient light. I've never used a lights off treatment though since I don't favor stressing the corals but others use them. Stopping teh supplements and persistent cycling may do it.

 

[perikaruppan]

tom, didnt get what you meant by "persistent cycling"