Dinoflagellates.

[TampaSnooker]

That's typical with CC use. I maintain several aquaria in their second and third decades and find that it is a nice cheat on occasion on tanks when they start to lose efficiency processing nutrients. Dial back the skimmer and skim wet for a few hours when it is time to remove the CC. It comes out quickly. I thought it was an oxidizer; some claim it is simply EM in another form.

I now have an infestation that is likely Gambiordiscus - an autotroph that was initiated by the customer's sloppy use of cleaning products. Several months of warning about using far too strong solutions on the floor and the possibility of sterilizing the bacteria in the tank and here we are. I'd just been following the thread for fun as of late, looks like I'm back in... Started with blackout since it is an autotroph, but day 3 and we still don't have much to report. I want to use H2O2 but the tank is full of RBTA and I understand they are sensitive to peroxide.

 

[mannyhernz]

Started dosing h202, see how that works oit


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PorkchopExpress]

I thought it was an antibiotic.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

no one knows what exactly is in it but most think it's basically erhythromycin, the same stuff we take for bacterial infections

and no it doesn't look like soap by itself (karim, did you overdose?)...it's an oxidizer and makes your skimmer go nuts hence the bubbles...if your skimmer was off and you add cc, it would not look like that...i sometimes will add a spoonful of cc into fresh saltwater once a month or so and it keeps the cyano away

 

[taricha]

no one knows what exactly is in it but most think it's basically erhythromycin, the same stuff we take for bacterial infections

..it's an oxidizer and makes your skimmer go nuts hence the bubbles

Ok. The other big caution I've heard thrown out a few times (without evidence) was that it causes a rapid dramatic DROP in dissolved oxygen, which is totally contradictory to it being an oxidizer.
Has anyone seen any evidence/measurements to support any of these guesses?

 

[bertoni]

Erythromycin is an antibiotic, not an oxidizer. It's more likely to be a bit of a reducing agent, actually. I've never measured oxygen in conjunction with dosing an antibiotic, but I doubt there's be much change unless there was a very large amount of decaying cyanobacteria remnants in the water column.

That said, adding oxidizers can lead to a drop the oxygen level in a tank if the oxidizers kill enough organisms.

 

[karimwassef]

My tank is different than most. I have an extreme level of oxygenation/surface agitation and I've just added even more.

I lowered my skimmer down to 6 "feet"... To be clear = 72" of water and foam. That's down from the usual 10ft. I have 2000gph flowing through the skimmer and circulating foam inside it at ~4500gph and sucking in about 5gal/min of fresh air.

I use a surge that agitates 40gals in 3 seconds

I have 4 x WP60s creating 3" waves

I use 4 x surface flow diverters

I just added a 24" x 24" ATS screen that creates a thin film surface over 8 sqft of mesh flowing at 3000gph

So... With all that, my oxygenation is probably ridiculous.

The CC caused a thick foam and ALL my coral polyps to open up to the extreme. It was ridiculous. Like a polyp party...

This stayed for three days with actual noticeable growth in some of my SPS. I can't describe it, but it's as if they were being held back and then suddenly sprung out...

It slowly subsided and I ran a water change last night... Skimmer back to normal.

Everything looks fantastic!

Cyano completely gone- even under the sand / against the glass - wish I had taken some before pics.

The black algae I had broke apart... I think it was a matrix organism made of cyano, hair and other things. But the cyano was the binding agent since it can grow over other organisms.

In 24hrs, the stuff was blowing away and the crabs were feasting on the material underneath it. They were literally mobbing the areas where it had been. Why didn't they do that before???

Anyway... My tank's response to chemiclean was outstanding...

My corals never looked so good. Heck, the algae in my chaeto box and ATS look better and healthier!!!! Yes- I am excited about the health of my algae..

I don't know what's in it but I bet it's a combination antibiotic and flocculant. It has a visibly power effect of the air/water interface ... Almost like a clear film.

I don't know how other tanks react to it, but if I am pretty sure that this stuff can kill a tank without surface agitation. It would "seal" up the tank's surfaces and suffocate it without the hyper-surface agitation.

If you want to try it, I recommend creating a reactor region where you pass the water through a large volume container (maybe a Rubbermaid tub?) and agitate it like a blender with powerheads, air stones, and dump surges... And then circulate as much water through this "lung" as you can. You should agitate the surface of your tank too, but if you're not getting the "soap" bubbles effect, you're probably not there yet.

 

[karimwassef]

Or just put your skimmer in your sump and run it open top (as many have commented).

I just think the more suds, the better.

 

[karimwassef]

My skimmer: (sorry- needs multiple shots)

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/BBC3548B-3CF2-44DF-9B5C-65B388EAFB33_zpshpfnzb51.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/BBC3548B-3CF2-44DF-9B5C-65B388EAFB33_zpshpfnzb51.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo BBC3548B-3CF2-44DF-9B5C-65B388EAFB33_zpshpfnzb51.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/89C9221E-105A-4837-8AE1-27C2971F523D_zpsnm8hsaql.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/89C9221E-105A-4837-8AE1-27C2971F523D_zpsnm8hsaql.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 89C9221E-105A-4837-8AE1-27C2971F523D_zpsnm8hsaql.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/320F8392-4BE8-4695-B1E9-F0C67309ABDC_zpstpgbvfnu.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/320F8392-4BE8-4695-B1E9-F0C67309ABDC_zpstpgbvfnu.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 320F8392-4BE8-4695-B1E9-F0C67309ABDC_zpstpgbvfnu.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/FC19F6E3-4EDC-4186-9971-A607076A04BE_zpsfppdvfbp.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/FC19F6E3-4EDC-4186-9971-A607076A04BE_zpsfppdvfbp.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo FC19F6E3-4EDC-4186-9971-A607076A04BE_zpsfppdvfbp.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/32E0B442-C949-4CE5-B0C1-5FF9C353E0A9_zpshuoz8y0d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/32E0B442-C949-4CE5-B0C1-5FF9C353E0A9_zpshuoz8y0d.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 32E0B442-C949-4CE5-B0C1-5FF9C353E0A9_zpshuoz8y0d.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/26F0C07C-EF53-4952-9591-5200D91049BE_zps5huozlyp.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/26F0C07C-EF53-4952-9591-5200D91049BE_zps5huozlyp.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 26F0C07C-EF53-4952-9591-5200D91049BE_zps5huozlyp.jpg"/></a>

My waterfall ATS:

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/AC326EA1-8A5C-4D8F-A019-DBEBBB9C1CF6_zps8e0e1sxt.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/AC326EA1-8A5C-4D8F-A019-DBEBBB9C1CF6_zps8e0e1sxt.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo AC326EA1-8A5C-4D8F-A019-DBEBBB9C1CF6_zps8e0e1sxt.jpg"/></a>

My surface diverters:

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/0297F2A0-44C3-432B-9386-24A33284C805_zpsz2gj5mo6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/0297F2A0-44C3-432B-9386-24A33284C805_zpsz2gj5mo6.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 0297F2A0-44C3-432B-9386-24A33284C805_zpsz2gj5mo6.jpg"/></a>

My surge:

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/23a7c041-0ac6-4b01-bc5c-a86c935e04ae_zpstaonouj1.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/23a7c041-0ac6-4b01-bc5c-a86c935e04ae_zpstaonouj1.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 23a7c041-0ac6-4b01-bc5c-a86c935e04ae_zpstaonouj1.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/74E799A6-59B9-4CCE-90DA-30AFF48D0554_zpsty4m3yrf.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/74E799A6-59B9-4CCE-90DA-30AFF48D0554_zpsty4m3yrf.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 74E799A6-59B9-4CCE-90DA-30AFF48D0554_zpsty4m3yrf.jpg"/></a>

My powerheads:

 

[karimwassef]

last night, after dark, I noticed that one of my corals was still really extending its polyps and producing a ton of mucus.. no idea if it's related to the CC

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/31CC22EA-F24C-43D1-AB31-EBF15E260F81_zpsrzy8r6gr.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/31CC22EA-F24C-43D1-AB31-EBF15E260F81_zpsrzy8r6gr.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 31CC22EA-F24C-43D1-AB31-EBF15E260F81_zpsrzy8r6gr.jpg"/></a>

 

[Ted_C]

Thats no skimmer. Its a space station. Holy Crow!

 

[jason2459]

Karim since you dosed the chemiclean check out Dr. Tim's Eco Balance. Dump some in mid afternoon as it will plummet the pH as I've found there to be lots of active bacteria and not a bunch of other filler stuff. Of the few I've looked at up close it's the only one I'd recommend so far. I want to buy more bacteria in a bottle and look at them too.

 

[karimwassef]

I tried Dr Tim's last month. I bought two bottles. Each is 2 treatments for my tank. I tried it three times but without much benefit that I could see. I still have half a bottle left.

Maybe after CC, the tank is better prepared for a different strain of bacteria...

 

[karimwassef]

Thats no skimmer. Its a space station. Holy Crow!

Yes. When I look up at it, I hear the "2001 A Space Odyssey" theme

 

[jason2459]

I tried Dr Tim's last month. I bought two bottles. Each is 2 treatments for my tank. I tried it three times but without much benefit that I could see. I still have half a bottle left.

Maybe after CC, the tank is better prepared for a different strain of bacteria...

Which Dr. Tim's? I did not like the look of what was in the One and Only. I didn't see anything alive at all and lots of detritus.

The Eco Balance was full of life and clean looking liquid.

Only reason I suggest it is if the chemi clean is an antibiotic an infusion of lively little cells may be good.

 

[jason2459]

Yes. When I look up at it, I hear the "2001 A Space Odyssey" theme

More like...

 

[karimwassef]

I am big into automation, Aqua-HAL with blue eye instead?

I tried Dr Tim's Waste-Away

 

[jason2459]

I am big into automation, Aqua-HAL with blue eye instead?

I tried Dr Tim's Waste-Away

I'll get that next and check it out. I need to finish playing with my new skimmer first. The eco balance I know is alive.

 

[karimwassef]

ok.. it's been 4 days and nights since I added the CC and with a 100gal water change... I still have foam. No negative effects, but still got foam.

My sump has three zones..

the first is turbulent crashing in and has the skimmer inlet.
the second is the scrubbers with some wave action and has the skimmer and chiller outlet.
the third is the calm sensor zone with almost no surface motion before being returned to the tank.

This is the same water flowing through the sump - but look at the difference in water surface

CRASH
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/8A3250DF-464A-40E3-8FC0-B68316CA479E_zps0vvn1h1z.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/8A3250DF-464A-40E3-8FC0-B68316CA479E_zps0vvn1h1z.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 8A3250DF-464A-40E3-8FC0-B68316CA479E_zps0vvn1h1z.jpg"/></a>

SCRUB
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/F7C963BE-EDEE-4BD6-AD88-DCBC7A7C3238_zpsgu2k6quv.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/F7C963BE-EDEE-4BD6-AD88-DCBC7A7C3238_zpsgu2k6quv.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo F7C963BE-EDEE-4BD6-AD88-DCBC7A7C3238_zpsgu2k6quv.jpg"/></a>

CALM
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/F1447E7E-C0FF-4AC7-8669-6781F5E31627_zpsvxos0duy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/F1447E7E-C0FF-4AC7-8669-6781F5E31627_zpsvxos0duy.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo F1447E7E-C0FF-4AC7-8669-6781F5E31627_zpsvxos0duy.jpg"/></a>

The last stage looks like it has an oily film almost.. I tried to show it better here
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/0C7966BE-3A7D-40CF-AF3D-70A8A1E093C4_zpsgbe3t00a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/0C7966BE-3A7D-40CF-AF3D-70A8A1E093C4_zpsgbe3t00a.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 0C7966BE-3A7D-40CF-AF3D-70A8A1E093C4_zpsgbe3t00a.jpg"/></a>

My new waterfall ATS has nice smooth flow on one side but splashes more on the other, look at the water surface on either side

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/E6F8CF3B-43A3-4E95-BAB8-36F11F3ACD4C_zpsgspiiceu.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/E6F8CF3B-43A3-4E95-BAB8-36F11F3ACD4C_zpsgspiiceu.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo E6F8CF3B-43A3-4E95-BAB8-36F11F3ACD4C_zpsgspiiceu.jpg"/></a>

Sure there are lights on the right, but you can tell the difference in water surface "gloss?"

I'll make a video of my surface agitation - that might explain a few more things about the use of CC.

 

[karimwassef]

Here's a look at the open polyps and mucus at night

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UZEqb-4wTCU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[StrangeDejavu]

I'll get that next and check it out. I need to finish playing with my new skimmer first. The eco balance I know is alive.

I would be curious to hear your evaluation of Microbacter7. I'm usually not a fan of bottled bacteria products but I absolutely love this stuff. I've had unforseen emergencies pop up which required the total tear down and bleaching of a QT while a fish was halfway through TTM. I dosed ammonia after setting it back up and on day 6 it was completely cycled, just in time for the fish. I've had consistent experiences with this product, unlike Dr. Tim's which I tried twice in the past: one bottle worked, the other was completely dead.