Please Help!

[ejdustin]

I have made this post on the reef forum also and havent gotten much of a resonse so maybe someone else will see it here and have an idea of what this is? I cant seem to figure out what it is or why it is in my tank. I have been fighting it for about 2 months. The stuff doesn't seem to expand really just stays it the 3 "spots" it has popped up. If I do leave it the green seems to get thicker though.

First I tried manual removal with a siphon, this gets everything out but within about 5 days it comes back.

I also ran some gfo which I normally don't... no effect.

I have tried large water changes also no effect.

My lights are LED about 8 months old so I am pretty posotive its not a light issue. Nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia are all undectable. Phosphates are about .01ppm. pH 8.2. I run a reef octopus skimmer 800L, with a sock and carbon.

Any ideas on what this is, what is causing it, and how to fight it are greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance.

 

[brandon429]

Need a full tank shot to show other areas

For the area pictured you would simply remove that layer of substrate, wash under hot water until clean, and reinstall. We will know more with more pics of the other areas.

 

[brandon429]

Siphoning is leaving some in the system maybe, a true attack on the organism is likely to beat it.

Peroxide spot treatments will certainly fix it, we already have pics of a similar kill in the nanos forum under the thread ' pest algae challenge' but it may require other options depending on what other pics show

 

[RA]

With rock rubble like that on the bottom, it is just going to trap any waste and algae will be the net result.

 

[brandon429]

Good call

Even if the water column is relatively clean there's an underlying p pump

 

[ejdustin]

Thank you for the quick responses! Here is one more picture... for another shot I would have to take one later tonight. One spot is to the left of the plate coral, another to right right of it in the corner, and the close up picture is from the spot in the back of the tank. Those are the only 3 spots in the tank with the green "stuff".

If I were to remove and wash with warm water should I just use fresh water and throw it right back in? This seems way too easy and I'll be angry at myself for all of the other techniques I have tried before asking on this forum.

If I had to use peroxide spot treatment would I just use a turkey baster to blast that area? How much should I use, I know the normal peroxide treatment is 1ml per 10 gal but I should need that much as I wouldnt be trewating the entire tank right?

I used the aragonite rubble on purpose for natural filtration. It is very porous so it pretty much like having the much more live rock in there. I like the open look in the tank and didn't want too much rock also now the fish have more room to swim. I see what your saying about it getting trapped but I siphon it a decent amount to counter that.

 

[ejdustin]

If I were to dose my tank with hydrogen peroxide at 1ml per 10 gal do I do this daily for a week or something or a few days? What schedule should I use for this approach?

 

[sneaton]

i have the same stuff....my t5 bulbs were 11 months old when it showed up so i just changed them a couple days ago...(hope that works)......it almost looks like a green cyno....i just have it in certain areas too....its just on 2 rocks and a spot on the sand in my system.....i hope we can figure this stuff out

 

[ejdustin]

Hopefully the lights work for you definitly let us know. I don't have anything on any of my rocks, I am leaning towards it being a build up of detritus in those spots stuck in my rubble substrate. I can get rid of it by siphon or hydrogen peroxide or washing the rubble but the stuff keeps coming back so there has to be something else going on. Detritus is about the only thing I can think of... my lighting is good, flow is good, levels are spot on nothing has died in those spots. It would make sense that it settles in certain spots too which could be why the stuff doesnt seem to expand. I might actually move my rubble to the sump and get sand. I love the look of what I have but it certaintly isn't worth having a green carpet of garbage in my tank.