DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
I suspect that sooner or later you may need to resort to some form nitrogen addition to control phosphates and organic carbon to control nitrates (if you decide not to use any macro algae and/or media).
Learning/rebuilding from my epic fail
- Thread starter reefmutt
- Start date
I suspect that sooner or later you may need to resort to some form nitrogen addition to control phosphates and organic carbon to control nitrates (if you decide not to use any macro algae and/or media).
reefmutt
Active member
Well, it's been just over two weeks without any biopellets or carbon dosing at all..
Pretty much right after removing the aio pellets, cyano started creeping in.. - yes that's counterintuitive- I hear more about people having cyano when using pellets.. Anyways..
I also have a solid infestation of bubble algae and the bryopsis is still threatening a comeback.....
However, the corals are doing fine.. Ok pretty well. I haven't had any ill effects or color changes from removing the pellets and maybe a couple of corals are beginning to grow a bit more.. Growth is generally slow but some corals are starting to push.
As promised, a fts.. Although very recently I have added a few Fiji mini colonies which I haven't photographed yet.. They will no doubt change colour dramatically..
Since removing the pellets, sits at 5ppm with 14 ml potassium nitrate added daily (seachem flourish nitrogen) and p sits at .07.
Couple shots: pearlberry and Darryl Vanaker's 'kushberry':
Vermiculata:
This piece I have had as a brown turd for easily 10 months.. It has recently begun to change and color up..
I'll post some more later..
Pretty much right after removing the aio pellets, cyano started creeping in.. - yes that's counterintuitive- I hear more about people having cyano when using pellets.. Anyways..
I also have a solid infestation of bubble algae and the bryopsis is still threatening a comeback.....
However, the corals are doing fine.. Ok pretty well. I haven't had any ill effects or color changes from removing the pellets and maybe a couple of corals are beginning to grow a bit more.. Growth is generally slow but some corals are starting to push.
As promised, a fts.. Although very recently I have added a few Fiji mini colonies which I haven't photographed yet.. They will no doubt change colour dramatically..
Since removing the pellets, sits at 5ppm with 14 ml potassium nitrate added daily (seachem flourish nitrogen) and p sits at .07.
Couple shots: pearlberry and Darryl Vanaker's 'kushberry':
Vermiculata:
This piece I have had as a brown turd for easily 10 months.. It has recently begun to change and color up..
I'll post some more later..
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Looks fantastic! That's going to be jaw dropping when those frags fill out. As far as bubble algae, carpet bomb with emerald crabs!Well, it's been just over two weeks without any biopellets or carbon dosing at all..
Pretty much right after removing the aio pellets, cyano started creeping in.. - yes that's counterintuitive- I hear more about people having cyano when using pellets.. Anyways..
I also have a solid infestation of bubble algae and the bryopsis is still threatening a comeback.....
However, the corals are doing fine.. Ok pretty well. I haven't had any ill effects or color changes from removing the pellets and maybe a couple of corals are beginning to grow a bit more.. Growth is generally slow but some corals are starting to push.
As promised, a fts.. Although very recently I have added a few Fiji mini colonies which I haven't photographed yet.. They will no doubt change colour dramatically..
Since removing the pellets, sits at 5ppm with 14 ml potassium nitrate added daily (seachem flourish nitrogen) and p sits at .07.
Couple shots: pearlberry and Darryl Vanaker's 'kushberry':
Vermiculata:
This piece I have had as a brown turd for easily 10 months.. It has recently begun to change and color up..
I'll post some more later..
As far as cyano is concerned, I have given up trying to figure out how to eliminate it completely and for the most part just ignore it. In the past I eradicated it for a while with an aggressive Cyanoclean treatment protocol my LFS uses- double doses 4 days apart. After the third treatment it went away for months.
reefmutt
Active member
Looks mighty fine. I'm still sticking with biopellets and the cyano comes and goes, not sure what makes it fade or come back.
Thanks. Yeah.. No clue, either. Mark, I'm not saying biopellets are bad or don't work. Clearly they do. They did my system just fine. I just came to the realization that my system is more than large enough to be able to handle nutrients on its own.. Removing biopellets is removing one more thing for me to keep track of..
Thanks Matt, I've been thinking about emerald crab.. I heard it's really only the females that eat it..
I consider my tank in transition... Once again.. So , I'm just going to watch it for now..
Cyano.. Also.. Just going to watch. I've been doing zeobac/sum/food twice a week without much champ success.. I'll keep it up though..
You mentioned the words jaw dropping.. Here's a piece of the infamous jaw dropper... Not so jaw dropping in my tank... Maybe I need to photoshop it a bit more!
This 'deep water' has been in the tank a few weeks:
Couple macros..
This one is growing well..
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
When I had a real bad bubble algae infestation I just bought 15 of the emeralds and tossed them in- I only saw one touch the bubble algae but within weeks it was pretty much gone. A little manual removal helped it along- I use a dental tool to remove them from the rock then net them out.
cugly
Dansreeftank
Hm. That's an issue.. Vancouver is as far from Montreal as Chula Vista is from New York..
It's a small detour.
Lol I guess thats a bit of an issue ...looks great my friend.. ya i didn't know you were on that side of the map.
.Chris.
Member
In regards to bubble algae, I have never personally seen an emerald crab eat it. We threw about 15 into one of the tanks I look after, and the infestation has only been kept at bay by manual removal.
By contrast, my personal tank has zero bubble algae present in the display after adding a Goldrim (which took me several months to confirm he was actually eating it). The overflow, however, is completely infested. A friend of mine has a Naso tang that eats it.
I think it's hit or miss, honestly. Though I probably have a few female emerald crabs at the store. I'll check next time you drop by.
By contrast, my personal tank has zero bubble algae present in the display after adding a Goldrim (which took me several months to confirm he was actually eating it). The overflow, however, is completely infested. A friend of mine has a Naso tang that eats it.
I think it's hit or miss, honestly. Though I probably have a few female emerald crabs at the store. I'll check next time you drop by.
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
I love your latest FTS Matt. Thanks for sharing it. Please upload your FTSs regularly, so that we can see your corals' development. I wish my tank was large as your tank.
I have made very good progress with cyano. I think that the time is right to share my strategy with you.
As I reported in my tank thread a while ago, since I started to use Tropic Marin NP bacto balance at the beginning of last March, cyano on my sand bed have completely gone. However, the presence of bacteria persisted on some sections of the live rock and some sections of my overflow box despite regular syphoning of the slime and blowing rocks with a turkey baster.
At the end of last month, I decided to use KZ biomate after reading users' report that it clears live rock from mulm and detritus (I do not know what the difference is!). I hypothesised that if this product really clears detritus from live rock surfaces, then cyanobacteria should loosen their foothold on these surfaces and will eventually be outcompeted by bacteria contained in KZ biomate. Having read the prominent zeoheads' advice on dosing on the zeovit forum, I started to dose KZ biomate twice the recommended dose twice a week. I supplemented the dosing with KZ coral snow and zeobak mixture twice a week too. I am happy to report that my live rock surfaces are now 95% clear from cyano. The only surface that still harbours cyano is one section of my overflow box. This is a massive improvement. It seems that nearly four years of struggle with cyano may be coming to an end. Watch this space.
As for bubble algae, I have found that excessive organics exacerbate their presence. Similar to aptasia, I firmly believe that you cannot completely eradicate this particular algae. Its spores seem to survive any assault on its presence. Manual removal without bursting is reported to be the most effective method. If you cannot remove it, do not try too hard, just let it grow as big as it can. Once it gets really big, then it will be very easy to just lift it from live rock without any risk of bursting it. If you resort to biological means, then some reefers have reported success with foxface rabbitfish (Siganus vulpinus). Use of emerald crabs is a hit and miss at best. These crabs will try to have a go at your fish once they grow. Trust me they will grow...
I hope this helps.
Bulent
I have made very good progress with cyano. I think that the time is right to share my strategy with you.
As I reported in my tank thread a while ago, since I started to use Tropic Marin NP bacto balance at the beginning of last March, cyano on my sand bed have completely gone. However, the presence of bacteria persisted on some sections of the live rock and some sections of my overflow box despite regular syphoning of the slime and blowing rocks with a turkey baster.
At the end of last month, I decided to use KZ biomate after reading users' report that it clears live rock from mulm and detritus (I do not know what the difference is!). I hypothesised that if this product really clears detritus from live rock surfaces, then cyanobacteria should loosen their foothold on these surfaces and will eventually be outcompeted by bacteria contained in KZ biomate. Having read the prominent zeoheads' advice on dosing on the zeovit forum, I started to dose KZ biomate twice the recommended dose twice a week. I supplemented the dosing with KZ coral snow and zeobak mixture twice a week too. I am happy to report that my live rock surfaces are now 95% clear from cyano. The only surface that still harbours cyano is one section of my overflow box. This is a massive improvement. It seems that nearly four years of struggle with cyano may be coming to an end. Watch this space.
As for bubble algae, I have found that excessive organics exacerbate their presence. Similar to aptasia, I firmly believe that you cannot completely eradicate this particular algae. Its spores seem to survive any assault on its presence. Manual removal without bursting is reported to be the most effective method. If you cannot remove it, do not try too hard, just let it grow as big as it can. Once it gets really big, then it will be very easy to just lift it from live rock without any risk of bursting it. If you resort to biological means, then some reefers have reported success with foxface rabbitfish (Siganus vulpinus). Use of emerald crabs is a hit and miss at best. These crabs will try to have a go at your fish once they grow. Trust me they will grow...
I hope this helps.
Bulent
.Chris.
Member
I've found that it's actually the opposite. From what I understand, pristine water conditions are what bubble algae needs to thrive.
-
If you want to accelerate the process, use BioMate with ZeoZym instead
of Coral Snow. It's much more effective that way.
-
If you want to accelerate the process, use BioMate with ZeoZym instead
of Coral Snow. It's much more effective that way.
-
I love your latest FTS Matt. Thanks for sharing it. Please upload your FTSs regularly, so that we can see your corals' development. I wish my tank was large as your tank.
I have made very good progress with cyano. I think that the time is right to share my strategy with you.
As I reported in my tank thread a while ago, since I started to use Tropic Marin NP bacto balance at the beginning of last March, cyano on my sand bed have completely gone. However, the presence of bacteria persisted on some sections of the live rock and some sections of my overflow box despite regular syphoning of the slime and blowing rocks with a turkey baster.
At the end of last month, I decided to use KZ biomate after reading users' report that it clears live rock from mulm and detritus (I do not know what the difference is!). I hypothesised that if this product really clears detritus from live rock surfaces, then cyanobacteria should loosen their foothold on these surfaces and will eventually be outcompeted by bacteria contained in KZ biomate. Having read the prominent zeoheads' advice on dosing on the zeovit forum, I started to dose KZ biomate twice the recommended dose twice a week. I supplemented the dosing with KZ coral snow and zeobak mixture twice a week too. I am happy to report that my live rock surfaces are now 95% clear from cyano. The only surface that still harbours cyano is one section of my overflow box. This is a massive improvement. It seems that nearly four years of struggle with cyano may be coming to an end. Watch this space.
As for bubble algae, I have found that excessive organics exacerbate their presence. Similar to aptasia, I firmly believe that you cannot completely eradicate this particular algae. Its spores seem to survive any assault on its presence. Manual removal without bursting is reported to be the most effective method. If you cannot remove it, do not try too hard, just let it grow as big as it can. Once it gets really big, then it will be very easy to just lift it from live rock without any risk of bursting it. If you resort to biological means, then some reefers have reported success with foxface rabbitfish (Siganus vulpinus). Use of emerald crabs is a hit and miss at best. These crabs will try to have a go at your fish once they grow. Trust me they will grow...
I hope this helps.
Bulent
Tank looks great, Matt. Love your aquascape. It looks like the tank will turn out to be like your old tank in no time. :thumbsup:
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
I tried ZEOzym with with both KZ cyanoclean and ZEObak on separate occasions in the past. In my case, it aggravated cyanobacteria every time I used it. Prominent zeoheads told me that this was not their observation, but they advised me not to continue with ZEOzym treatment. Moreover, some users reported increase increase in PO4 readings shortly after ZEOzym dosing. I did not quite understand how and why enzymes in ZEOzym impacted on phosphates.
Every reef tank is based on different checks and balances. Cyanobacteria are very opportunistic to exploit any changes/shifts in this regard. Some people observe cyanobacteria outbreak when they change their salt brand and blame their new salt, and some people get outbreaks when they start organic carbon dosing and some when they stopped dosing (or when they reduce dosing). Having read different scenarios and different treatments (successful/unsuccessful), nothing surprises me anymore. Nevertheless, dealing with cyanobacteria gives one a good opportunity to learn about different checks and balances that exist in his/her reef, which some reefers may take for granted. Every setback is a good learning opportunity. In my opinion, you become much more knowledgable if you devise a plan and execute it with patience rather than just dumping antibiotics (e.g. chemiclean) because you lose the opportunity to understand the biological boundaries of your reef tank.
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
Hey Matt, coral colours are looking good.
As far as the cyano is concerned, I dont find it surprising that its appeared; the pellets were doing their job. In their absence the filtration has been passed onto the rest of the system. It will take some weeks but in time it will subside.
At one point I used Zeolites to tweak nutrient levels...nutrients did start to reduce, and corals got pale. I didnt like the whole thing with dosing daily etc and removed the zeolites. Within a few days cyano appeared, but it went away on its own.
Some of the KZ products described can and do help; but the results are not always guaranteed as our systems differ. Thats why one person says use A+B and another says use B+C.
Anyway, now you just need to grow these corals so we can have a TOTM of your tank in the future.
As far as the cyano is concerned, I dont find it surprising that its appeared; the pellets were doing their job. In their absence the filtration has been passed onto the rest of the system. It will take some weeks but in time it will subside.
At one point I used Zeolites to tweak nutrient levels...nutrients did start to reduce, and corals got pale. I didnt like the whole thing with dosing daily etc and removed the zeolites. Within a few days cyano appeared, but it went away on its own.
Some of the KZ products described can and do help; but the results are not always guaranteed as our systems differ. Thats why one person says use A+B and another says use B+C.
Anyway, now you just need to grow these corals so we can have a TOTM of your tank in the future.
reefmutt
Active member
Dan, let me know if you're ever east..
I've never tried emeralds.. Chris, if you have any, I'll give them a shot, for sure..
reefmutt
Active member
I love your latest FTS Matt. Thanks for sharing it. Please upload your FTSs regularly, so that we can see your corals' development. I wish my tank was large as your tank.
I have made very good progress with cyano. I think that the time is right to share my strategy with you.
As I reported in my tank thread a while ago, since I started to use Tropic Marin NP bacto balance at the beginning of last March, cyano on my sand bed have completely gone. However, the presence of bacteria persisted on some sections of the live rock and some sections of my overflow box despite regular syphoning of the slime and blowing rocks with a turkey baster.
At the end of last month, I decided to use KZ biomate after reading users' report that it clears live rock from mulm and detritus (I do not know what the difference is!). I hypothesised that if this product really clears detritus from live rock surfaces, then cyanobacteria should loosen their foothold on these surfaces and will eventually be outcompeted by bacteria contained in KZ biomate. Having read the prominent zeoheads' advice on dosing on the zeovit forum, I started to dose KZ biomate twice the recommended dose twice a week. I supplemented the dosing with KZ coral snow and zeobak mixture twice a week too. I am happy to report that my live rock surfaces are now 95% clear from cyano. The only surface that still harbours cyano is one section of my overflow box. This is a massive improvement. It seems that nearly four years of struggle with cyano may be coming to an end. Watch this space.
As for bubble algae, I have found that excessive organics exacerbate their presence. Similar to aptasia, I firmly believe that you cannot completely eradicate this particular algae. Its spores seem to survive any assault on its presence. Manual removal without bursting is reported to be the most effective method. If you cannot remove it, do not try too hard, just let it grow as big as it can. Once it gets really big, then it will be very easy to just lift it from live rock without any risk of bursting it. If you resort to biological means, then some reefers have reported success with foxface rabbitfish (Siganus vulpinus). Use of emerald crabs is a hit and miss at best. These crabs will try to have a go at your fish once they grow. Trust me they will grow...
I hope this helps.
Bulent
Thanks for that, Bulent.. I will try the bio mate.
reefmutt
Active member
Thanks, Dan! I'm seeing some better growth.. Just have to wait it out..
Thanks, Dom. I'm looking for a few more females. I'd like to get 4 females and let one turn. I did this in the spring befor loosing them to a major disease outbreak.. It took almost very long time for a male to emerge but it was very interesting to watch it happen..
I am using zeozyme already, so I will get the biomate and continue with my 2/week dosing.. Thanks!
