Thick brown algae in high flow areas

[skp]

What dose/gallon of microbacter7 did you use nightly? How long did you dose it?

I dosed 2 capfuls nightly from the 14th to 27th, and I have aprox 58 gallons of water.

Since my last post in this thread, I stopped dosing, the cyano took over and killed off most of the coralline and then I blew it all off the rock and did a few water changes and started dosing microbacter again a few days ago. The cyano is just on the sand and hasn't come back on the rocks yet. All that is left on the rocks is something that looks like black mould which doesn't blow or scrape off the rocks.

 

[BigJohnny]

I dosed 2 capfuls nightly from the 14th to 27th, and I have aprox 58 gallons of water.

Since my last post in this thread, I stopped dosing, the cyano took over and killed off most of the coralline and then I blew it all off the rock and did a few water changes and started dosing microbacter again a few days ago. The cyano is just on the sand and hasn't come back on the rocks yet. All that is left on the rocks is something that looks like black mould which doesn't blow or scrape off the rocks.

What have your nitrate n phosphate levels been during this time?

 

[skp]

What have your nitrate n phosphate levels been during this time?

Both undetectable in the water. I was running at between 3 and 7 for nitrates and about .02 for phosphates since my cycle until a power outage caused a cyano bloom and the brown algae and some black mould looking stuff. Now I have a bunch of nuisance algae and bacteria which seem to be sucking all the nitrates and phosphates out of the water immediately. I'm currently having a diatom bloom now that the cyano seems to be fading away. I think the power outage reset my cycle back a bit because I already had a diatom bloom which lasted 10 days right after my cycle.

 

[baitrunner]

Diatoms will come and go for the first 6 to 9 months or so in a new tank. Take a look at this: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2393211&highlight=diatoms

 

[BigJohnny]

Diatoms will come and go for the first 6 to 9 months or so in a new tank. Take a look at this: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2393211&highlight=diatoms

It's not the diatoms that bother me nor are they something I don't understand, it's the dinoflagellates or bacteria blooms [emoji6] . Hopefully everything cycles itself out. I'm dosing microbacter7, phytoplankton, and reduced photoperiod to 5 hrs a day. Seems to be helping.

 

[skp]

It's not the diatoms that bother me nor are they something I don't understand, it's the dinoflagellates or bacteria blooms [emoji6] . Hopefully everything cycles itself out. I'm dosing microbacter7, phytoplankton, and reduced photoperiod to 5 hrs a day. Seems to be helping.

I'm actually happy to be having the diatom bloom right now. I hope it chokes out all the cyano and the brown stuff and the black stuff. I know that it's diatoms because I see pods all over it. I don't see any pods on the brown stuff or the black stuff.

I also don't understand bacteria blooms. I have never been able to keep a tank going with nitrates in the water column. I have had tanks setup for 4+ years and there was always some sort of nuisance algae taking up the nitrates and phosphates so they were undetectable. I don't know how people maintain nitrates in their water for any substantial period. Even if there were algae eaters eating the algae as it grew, wouldn't cyano or dinos which don't get eaten by anything then grow to the point there are no more nitrates in the water?

Regarding the phyto, is it live? What dosage are you using and how long have you been dosing it? I read that the live phyto has fertilizer in the solution to keep the phyto alive while on the shelf. Several years ago, I turned off my pumps and let some sink onto a rock in a low flow area and in a few days I had 3 or 4 different types of algae growing taller than 2 inches just on the 1 inch diameter spot that I dropped the phyto on.

 

[BigJohnny]

Regarding the phyto, is it live? What dosage are you using and how long have you been dosing it?

No, it's reef nutrition Phytoplankton. I've been dosing it for about 2 weeks and have seen a big increase in microfauna. More pods, more sponges, feather dusters living the dream. Ive even seem increased polyp extension on my corals. I've been dosing the Microbacter7 at night and have seen a significant reduction/death of suspected "dino" or whatever it may be.

I read that the live phyto has fertilizer in the solution to keep the phyto alive while on the shelf. Several years ago, I turned off my pumps and let some sink onto a rock in a low flow area and in a few days I had 3 or 4 different types of algae growing taller than 2 inches just on the 1 inch diameter spot that I dropped the phyto on.

That's crazy, made it was contaminated. I can't comment on other phyto as this is all I have used.