Evil has a new name.......DINOFLAGELLATES

[christyf5]

HELP!
ammonia = 0
nitrate = 0
phosphate = 0
calcium = 330 (don't know what the heck is happening here)
alkalinity = 2.0 meq
temp = 24.9 C
48G tank, 2x250W Iwasaki MH, @#$%^ Berlin XL skimmer
This was beginning to be a problem about 2 weeks ago but has escalated to this. Suggestions included heavier skimming (yeah right with that skimmer ) and water changes. 25% water change done Sept 25thish, 50% water change done Oct 2, another 50% water change tonight. Water is RO/DI tests negative for phosphages.

full tank with algae in water column


my hammer coral is close to the end I think


Any other suggestions??? And I thought hair algae was bad. :x

Christy

[canadawest]

Here is my $0.02 worth.

At first glance your Alk level is too low. Your calcium level shouldn't be a contributing factor.

What do you have for clean-up crew? I suspect that a couple more snails, some hermits and possibly a tiger-tail cuke would make short work of that.

Also, try some phosphate sponge. Even though your phosphate level reads zero, it could be that the algae is consuming it all so it shows as '0'. By using a phosphate sponge you will help to starve the algae of its main food source (light being the other).

Same attack method as hair algae. Reduce phosphates, high alkalinity, reduced photoperiod, healthy sized clean-up crew, regular (but not excessive) water changes.

It'll be a couple week eyesore, but should eventually run it's course with the above help.

[EmilyB]

Hi,

In conjunction with my recent learning experience, have you checked TDS output from the DI ? I kept testing output water for phosphate too, and it never registered, but TDS was too high (cartridges spent).

[sea gnome]

Hi Christy, wondered how the tank was doing as I hadn't seen you on the board recently. I think your tank is too close to mine and has become infected by it. :? I got some phosgard from Jayson and it seems to holding it at bay at the moment, perhaps improving it. If you like you could get some off me and try it.

[titus]

Hello,

Yes I'd suspect all the algae is consumption the phosphate. Much like an equalibrium state if you want to think in terms of chemistry. I also suggest removing as much algae as you can off the corals so they won't be out grown. I don't know but maybe you can also take some snapshots of how much stuff your skimmer is pulling out, and perhaps even get a loaner skimmer off someone.

Titus

[reefburnaby]

Hi

Wow.... Don't panic....it just makes things worse. Umm....lights out for a couple of days....this should help control things a bit and gives you time to read up and get things ready. If you still haven't figure things out after a couple of days, time to get a rubbermaid tub and place all of the precious stuff (corals) in there -- make sure the dinos are cleaned off before placing in the tub. Fishes should be okay...just make sure that there is lots of oxygen exchange.

So, dinos, as you know, are a very aggresive algae that feed on nutrients. So, the best way to fight these guys is...export nutrients. Do you have a refugium ? If not...no problem...time to get that skimmer tuned up.

Well....you might need to spend a $150 to get the skimmer up and running at full steam. What kind of a pump are you using to the drive this skimmer ? If it is the regular Red Sea pump....that's probably your problem. You'll need to upgrade it to something serious like a Mag 7 with Kent Venturi. Chemical filtration might work, but I think the skimmer will make a bigger dent in to the problem. Boasting alk levels helps to.

Oh...you might want to find a local mentor to help you with this. Brad and Steve are Canreef mentors who are from the island.

Good luck.

- Victor.

[sumpfinfishe]

:shock: Ouch that's quite the bloom! I feel for ya Christy, that's gotta hurt!
I would recomend removing all corals and cleaning them free of as much alage as possible. Quaritine all corals in a seperate tank while you deal with this if possible, as your corals look like they are getting totally choked out by all that hair and slime. Then I would start from the bottom and work your way up, look at water quality(top up or water change h20), overdosing of any additives, any sudden deaths within the reef, and so on and so on. You may find that it could turn out to be something simple before something complex. (Just my 2cents) Goodluck :!:

[christyf5]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies

Andrew, my alk has always been low. I just can't seem to get it up I don't know, I use that Kent Superbuffer and it seems to go up after adding it for a week and then the very next day when I don't add it it goes right back down. I guess I don't know what I am doing.
As for the cleanup crew, I am decidedly against sea cucs. I don't seem to have much success with fish/inverts and something that big could nuke my tank. I have 6 emerald crabs, several snails (dinner for the hermits) and about 20 hermits in there as well as a queen conch (no flames please). the snails seem to kick off a few days after adding them and they just lay there and let it all hang out. The other snails seem to be having some sort of executive meeting on whether they should join the others in hanging out.


EmilyB, Hmm, TDS eh? I'll have to see what I can find at work. I'm sure someone has something, either that or I can run my water thru a spectrophotometer. I'm sure someone knows how to do it. The cartridge was just replaced in January and they usually last quite a long time. the water filters out at 18.2microns I think, 18.2 somethingorother. Hmm, I should pay more attention to the machine (its in the chemistry lab at work, I work at a marine research station).

Rachel, yep I been laying low lately. This has got me really irate tho. I need to get to a meeting so I can get excited about this again. I just got rid of the hair algae and it like this one has no competition so yahoo! Thanks for the offer of the phosguard. I have some and put it in the tank tonight after the water change.

Titus, you would laugh if you saw the puny amount of skimmate this POS puts out. Of course, that is when it is working. Its also dependent on how much water you have in the sump and lets face it my sump sucks the big kahuna. I guess I should look into buying a better skimmer since I just wasted $80 on livestock that died from this bloody algae. It should have gone towards a decent skimmer.

Well I guess I'll just keep on with these water changes. Hopefully something will click.
Thanks for the input guys!

Christy

[AJ_77]

Hi, you may remember my "Green Tank" threads from the summer.

Well, I went with Jayson's advice and shut down the lights for 2 days over the weekend after running the Kent phosphate sponge. Then the 25w UV sterilizer was plugged in with a low flow-through (thanks Mitch). Yesterday, the water became noticeably more clear, and I held my breath.

This was the beginning of my cure; my phosphates weren't registering either. But they were there aplenty, and feeding the plague. I hope you have the same result as I did then - a clear tank again. Hang in there!

Alan

[Bryan]

I battled this plague a couple of years ago, as a matter of fact my tank looked similiar in outbreak as yours. Something is fueling the dino's and they compete for nutrients better than other algea so they fluorish. Massive water changes coupled with turning off the lights for 3-4 days will help considerably. Cover the tank with a blanket so no light enters the tank. Can you add some additional circulation?

I think you are going to have to invest in a better skimmer!