Mass algae death

[wvned]

After using Algaefix, I never got any film algae on my glass for more than 5 yrs. I've used Vibrant as well (still have both bottles), but neither hurt my corals that I'm aware of.

Back to you, do you happen to dose hydrogen peroxide in any way? Your algae wasteland picture reminds of when I used to lower the water in my 20 gallon and spray all the algae with H2O2.

No
I dose the alk component of 2 part, Mag, Tropic Marin A+, K- and LaCl (Phosban) plus kalk.
I have recently been reducing the LaCl. It's on 5ml/day now I think.
I am down to
I had something on my hands when I was siphoning out the tank Saturday. I have no idea what.
or
Jill hit the trigger on the Swiffer Wetjet while it was pointing in the air accidentally.
or
It's something that is growing in the tank I have never seen.
The amount of goo seems to exceed the amount of algae that was in the tanks to start with. The algae has died way back. It was not as complete an obliteration as it first seemed. I have been able to clean the glass in places that was very difficult to remove though. There are pieces of Macro in the 75 that will live I think. They seem to have been in the back
of the tank where it was shaded.
I found them after cleaning the ends of the 75 which I normally don't do. They were thick with algae.
Again reminiscent of Vibrant or fluconazole that kills actively growing algae faster.

It is heavy and won't lift into the water with flow and is difficult to siphon out. It forms little piles in the bottom that move around in the flow.
After sucking out 40 gallons of dirty water the next day it has all settled to the bottom and the water is completely clear. I pump it back to the mixed water tank.
It looks like the Coraline decolorized but may be coming back. Sunday night the rocks were rock colored but last night they are pale purple again. Same in the 75.
The 180 does not seem as greatly affected but the goo is hiding under the xenia. The eels stir it up. No Idea how I will get to that.
The goo does not seem to really bother anything but I have to clean it off the gorgonian and the long spine urchin looks like he has flags all over him.

It seems like the carbon I used has worked. I am not sure it really did anything at all though. There are times when you just guess and hope in this hobby.

 

[JohnL]

There are times when you just guess and hope in this hobby.

Many times

 

[Timfish]

Ya
but even the algae on the glass?

I need to get the gook out and then survey things.
All 3 tanks are affected. All of the macro algae was in the 75 in the fish room.

No, only time I've seen hair algae on glass die off that fast was when PO4 was quickly dropped to zero. If most of your macro algae went first I'd expect the opposite to happen with PO4 and nitrates. As alluded to above there could be something microbial that was caused by the macros going first. I often see algae free irregular circles in teh algae on glass so it certainly seems reasonable to me there are microbial processes that moderate algae growth.

 

[kharmaguru]

I must have missed the reference to "goo". Without a scope you could only guess which slime it might be. I have a minimal persistent population of chrysophytes that will always glob onto dying algae. I have a 3 inch square of it right now. Regardless of what your particular goo is, I would say it's just opportunistically feeding on the dying algae and not the cause ( I know you were not suggesting it was).

Rather than a toxin that selectively took out all your algae, I'm more inclined that something meaningful but unmeasured bottomed out.

 

[wvned]

I must have missed the reference to "goo". Without a scope you could only guess which slime it might be. I have a minimal persistent population of chrysophytes that will always glob onto dying algae. I have a 3 inch square of it right now. Regardless of what your particular goo is, I would say it's just opportunistically feeding on the dying algae and not the cause ( I know you were not suggesting it was).

Rather than a toxin that selectively took out all your algae, I'm more inclined that something meaningful but unmeasured bottomed out.

What I am talking about are Coraline and that calcified green algae on the glass. The kind a Tunzze scraper won't remove and you have take a razor blade in your hand to get off. It died and came off easily. That green band you get along the gravel.

I must have missed the reference to "goo". Without a scope you could only guess which slime it might be. I have a minimal persistent population of chrysophytes that will always glob onto dying algae. I have a 3 inch square of it right now. Regardless of what your particular goo is, I would say it's just opportunistically feeding on the dying algae and not the cause ( I know you were not suggesting it was).

Rather than a toxin that selectively took out all your algae, I'm more inclined that something meaningful but unmeasured bottomed out.

I have heard of chrysophytes and read threads about them. I don't think I have ever seen them. Maybe I have now.
Your explanation fits.
If anything my N and P are rising. The LaCl went from 45ml/day to 25 and I turned it down again. I am hoping to do away with dosing it.
I turned down the sulfur reactor flow so N would rise as P did.

Perhaps the new salt brought a bonus component this stuff needed to grow. More water made with it went in yesterday.

The volume of stuff in the tank does not seem to be still increasing though.

 

[kharmaguru]

What I am talking about are Coraline and that calcified green algae on the glass. The kind a Tunzze scraper won't remove and you have take a razor blade in your hand to get off. It died and came off easily. That green band you get along the gravel.

I have heard of chrysophytes and read threads about them. I don't think I have ever seen them. Maybe I have now.
Your explanation fits.
If anything my N and P are rising. The LaCl went from 45ml/day to 25 and I turned it down again. I am hoping to do away with dosing it.
I turned down the sulfur reactor flow so N would rise as P did.

Perhaps the new salt brought a bonus component this stuff needed to grow. More water made with it went in yesterday.

The volume of stuff in the tank does not seem to be still increasing though.

Well one observation about chrysophytes vs say dinos or cyano, is it takes longer to rebound after being vacuumed out. It would not all be back tomorrow if you vacuumed it out today. It would take a few days to weeks.

Edit: Of course I'm making observations in my own tank. The kingdoms these organisms populate are huge and diverse so I shouldn't really make blanket statements about their potential behavior. Too late!

 

[wvned]

Well one observation about chrysophytes vs say dinos or cyano, is it takes longer to rebound after being vacuumed out. It would not all be back tomorrow if you vacuumed it out today. It would take a few days to weeks.

Edit: Of course I'm making observations in my own tank. The kingdoms these organisms populate are huge and diverse so I shouldn't really make blanket statements about their potential behavior. Too late!

I looked
low calcium causes these
I realized I screwed my test up the other day. I got mixed saltwater and not RODI to add to the vial. Went to the wrong vat to get it.
My Ca is 300 and not 500
Making a gallon to add
add another 1/2 of one tomorrow.

 

[shred5]

As a person who keep macro tanks I have never seen this at least not where all crash overnight and dissolve.
Algae can just crash overnight though.
Algae require certain things to grow and without them they can just crash.
They need Carbon, nitrogen and phosphate and if one leg is missing it can crash.
They also require other things like micro nutrients like Iron, magnesium and potassium etc. Iron loss especially can cause a crash.

Macro tanks can be very tough. To much nutrients and they get covered in film algae or dino, Too little and they die off.