What is this brown/green stuff everwhere

[iammitch3479]

Here is an album of pics I just took, I actually just stirred a lot of it up so it may not look as bad as usual. But i still think it looks bad.

http://imgur.com/a/NQHjj


This has been getting progressively worse for about a month now. This is a 10 gallon tank with 2 ocelleris, purple fire fish, and a cleaner shrimp. The tank is about half a year old, and i have tested everything continuously throughout the month and these are the results i get pretty much every time.

Ca - Fluctuates 250-350
kh - 7dkh/125.3ppm
Nitrate - 0~5
Pho - 0.25
Nitrite - 0
Amm - 0
pH - 8
Sp. Gravity - 1.024
Temp - 78

I have been told that it is just diatoms blooming and it would go away on its own but it is getting worse and worse. My xenia doesn't even open anymore, pretty sure its dead or close to it. the stuff is even growing on my fire fish's mouth and fins. If there is any other info you need just ask. What should I do?

 

[dz6t]

Do a large water change will help, may be something like 50%.
Your calcium is fluctuate too much also.

 

[iammitch3479]

I have done huge water changes and it looks good for a couple days and then it all comes back. And I know my ca fluctuates too much but I am focusing on one problem at a time, I don't have and hard corals so it doesn't really affect anything right now.

 

[mchartier]

What is your magnesium at? If mag is not where it should be you will have issues keeping alk and calcium stable.

 

[Overlook reef]

That looks like diatoms. New tanks syndrome. Dong is right. Do a big water change and it should help.

Are you sure about your Calcium? What salt are you using? That seems like a lot of fluctuation with just Xenia in your tank. (as far as corals)

As for your Xenia being closed. Take a turkey baster and blast off any diatoms that are on it and increase current in your tank.
Also, make sure you mix your water the the night before. New salt mix will stress your coral even more.
This is a phase most tanks under a year goes through.
Do not get discouraged.

 

[JohnK]

Try doing an image search for dinoflagellates and see if anything looks similar.

 

[iammitch3479]

What is your magnesium at? If mag is not where it should be you will have issues keeping alk and calcium stable.

I don't have a mag test kit :/ I'm a broke college student haha. maybe ill go look at some today.

That looks like diatoms. New tanks syndrome. Dong is right. Do a big water change and it should help.

Are you sure about your Calcium? What salt are you using? That seems like a lot of fluctuation with just Xenia in your tank. (as far as corals)

As for your Xenia being closed. Take a turkey baster and blast off any diatoms that are on it and increase current in your tank.
Also, make sure you mix your water the the night before. New salt mix will stress your coral even more.
This is a phase most tanks under a year goes through.
Do not get discouraged.

Well i have heard that API (the test kit I am using) is not good with testing calcium or ammonia so that may be the issue, I am using Instant Ocean Reef Crystals for salt, I mix it the night before and stick my heater in there and when i wake up most of it is dissolved but there is always a little pile at the bottom that never dissolves... I don't let that raw salt go into the tank but i don't know why it never fully dissolves so that also could be a reason. I test the sp. gravity before obviously so I know its still where it should be.

Try doing an image search for dinoflagellates and see if anything looks similar.

This is definitely it, the little bubbles everywhere and the gunk doesn't really vacuum out, it is too heavy for my siphon to suck out. What is the treatment/solution for this? What is the cause?

 

[Jim Tansey]

I have both API and Red Sea Pro and have been running comparisons on the Calcium test kits for a couple weeks.........Six of one half dozen of the other, though Calcium is not your problem.

Jim

 

[RichardinMA]

Try doing an image search for dinoflagellates and see if anything looks similar.

I agree with this. It looks more like dinoflagellates than diatoms to me. They are very different and getting rid of dinoflagellates is much more difficult than diatoms. Many people confuse the two but the main food source is different and while lowering silica levels will eliminate diatoms, it will have no effect on dinoflagellates.

 

[iammitch3479]

I agree with this. It looks more like dinoflagellates than diatoms to me. They are very different and getting rid of dinoflagellates is much more difficult than diatoms. Many people confuse the two but the main food source is different and while lowering silica levels will eliminate diatoms, it will have no effect on dinoflagellates.

So what should my plan of action be to get rid of it?

 

[RichardinMA]

There is no one answer. I have a slight issue with dinos in one of my tanks and it only becomes an issue if nutrients start to rise. It all but disappeared when I had some tufts of bryopsis pop up here and there. However, limiting nutrient alone will not get rid of it. Some people say black the tank out. That will knock it down but it will be back. Because my problem is fairly light I am going with raised pH to try to finally eliminate it. I am not sure if it will work or not. Here is a good link with some ideas: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/rhf/

 

[delta]

Oh no you never have a slight issue with Dino's. Please do not make that mistake. If you have any issues with Dino's you fight to the death until it is gone or you give up as sooner or later it will come to just that.

If you break the back of Dino's it will not be back, that is sounds like advice you've read on nutrient based algae issues or cyanobacteria. The key is staying on top of it. Dinos will smoother everything in your tank if left unchecked. But that is if you actually have Dino's and not Cyano. Cyano doesn't just vanish after lights out while Dino's does and comes back fairly quickly after lights on. Dino's is also snot like and tend to get stringy with bubbles in it. Do not mistake it for an algae as it is photosynthetic organisms and nutrient control will not wipe it out.

If you have dino's then raising your PH will help. I found dripping kalk water most effective for this. But Depending on how bad it is it may take doing that until you see it dying back and then lights out. If it s real bad then you might have do several roll out of lights out. When it is real bad when you turn the light on you can see it in the water column and then with in minutes it starts to cover everything. And when you stick you arm in the tank it is covered immediately.

IIRC it was Moe K that dubbed Dino's the scourge of death.

 

[JohnK]

Yup, blackout for a few days, keep an elevated PH (this has worked for me in the past), or some people report that hydrogen peroxide dosing works.


*Edit, Greg sometimes I think you wait until I start typing before you post

 

[The Reef Pit]

I agree with RichardinMA There is no one answer, I can tell you what I did. Scrap off and siphon what you can out, What ever you are using to siphon the water out with ,use a filter sock on the drain end, put that water back in your tank, repeat again if it is real bad, I did do the lights out for three days after I siphoned the water out threw the filter sock, Change your carbon every four days for 6 weeks. I was told not to do any water changes in this time period, I thought it was crazy, but the theory that you would be adding nutrients that could feed it back in to the system. After the six weeks I did do a water change,That is what worked for me Hope this helps ,,Dom

 

[RichardinMA]

The reason I say slight is because it is just that, slight. The last bout of dinoflagellates I had in this tank were thick and snotty, rising up every day to try and were particularly thick in some areas. I manually sucked it off a couple times a day, and that eventually brought the levels down. I am sure there was a concurrent chemistry change that I was oblivious to that also caused this. The frustrating part is that these chemistry changes are still a mystery. There are lots of suspicions, however it is certainly not just a simple nutrient or light issue. Understand that excess nutrient can certainly make it worse, but good water conditions will not automatically eradicate them. I tried dosing H2O2 but that had virtually no effect on the dinos, even at relatively high doses. Sparkling water, yes, but the dinos were unaffected.

Currently, the dinos are not in thick strands like last time. They are in much lower densities and are not carpeting things to the same extent as last time. They are obviously being kept in check by some limiting factor. That is why I am hopeful that the high pH will knock them out for good this time. I am only about one week into it so it is still early.

 

[iammitch3479]

I have tried H2O2 and i think thats how I lost my purple fire fish, either it did not like that or I think the other cause could have been when i stirred it up it started attaching to it. i saw some in its mouth and on its fins so.... still mourning that loss. It is definitely dino's, it looks alright in the morning then when i get back from class its horrible. I will try siphoning what I can out with a filter sock on the end and then lights out and changing carbon.

Do you have any input on the food I'm feeding? it is "Ocean Nutrition Formula One Pellets, Food for Carnivorous and Omnivorous Marine Tropicals"
Link -> http://www.oceannutrition.eu/products.aspx?Product=formula-one-marine-pellets
I also feed Mysis Shrimp occasionally too but i make sure to rinse it first.

Another question. should I be taking my LR out and scrubbing it? I was told this was bad since it is my filter and I was told it was good to get rid of gunk on them.

 

[iammitch3479]

Update! After doing a 3 day lights out I have (so far) successfully rid myself of the pest algae. Here is an album of before and after pictures. I noticed a little brown stuff on the sand but it just looks like some diatom/detritus i just did a small water change and everything looks so much better, my xenia still looks pretty bad but its definitely still alive (I can see it get larger and smaller but definitely not what it is supposed to look like).

http://imgur.com/a/fhWs2

any advice on the xenia? I still haven't tested my water (just no time today) but I will test tomorrow and update

 

[nemodan]

I had a similar issue when my 14G Biocube was cycling. Added an important cleaner crew and waited a week. All clean. At that time I added Pulsating Xenias and all died in 1-2 weeks. After reading in internet, I found that they are very sensitive to water quality. My testings were OK, but a second batch of Pulsating Xenias failed again. I decided to forget about them. After 2 months I saw a small growing were I glued the previous rocks with the Xenias. Now they growth like crazy.

This past week-end I gave a lot to a BRS member. If you still have issues with the Xenias, PM me in 2 weeks and if I can take a colony I gave it to you for free. We are just 1 town of distance.

This is what was left after the pruning, but it will growth and will cover a nice space 1-3 weeks. Keep in touch if interested.

http://s1106.photobucket.com/user/dematosdg/media/20131028_220057_zps2baa44e3.mp4.html

BTW, you have done a nice landscaping and that tank is already looking great !!!

Daniel

 

[iammitch3479]

So what changed in those two months that allowed the xenias to grow?

 

[nemodan]

So what changed in those two months that allowed the xenias to grow?

I do not have an answer to that.

Probably 2 months more of maturity for the tank, could be I was doing something wrong without knowing it.........I really do not have any idea. Just telling you my experience