Need Help Getting Rid of This

d9sccr · 09/23/2007, 10:39 PM

My tank has been super clean and I haven't had any problems with it until the last 3 weeks. I have been doing water changes and cleaning the filters, but I am still getting this dark green, brownish, stringy growth on my corals and live rock. A lot of bubbles are appearing on the growth, which I thought it meant that it was dying, but it is still there. I have picked it off, but it just comes back. I have attached some photos, but they don't really show the extent of the growth. Any ideas on what it could be and how to get rid of it? (It's a 55 gallon tank and I have tons of snails and crabs)

aquarius77 · 09/24/2007, 12:57 AM

What kind of water are you using? Where are you getting it if your buying it?

marineman27 · 09/24/2007, 01:12 AM

Hi,

I am curious as to this also I just got my first coral lps trumpet and it has like a clear bubble on it too, im using r/o water, I didnt mean to butt in or disrupt this thread ........Shaun

lilchris · 09/24/2007, 04:13 AM

Does it look like this?

I have this stuff growing all over my tank, on rocks, sand, and corals. It is called Dinoflagellates, from what I heard it not an algae or bacteria. It is very bad and hard to get rid of. You can do a search here on RC and there is a thread about it. I also have on posted. I am in the process of removing all my LR and cooking it. What that will do is force this stuff to eat all the nutrients in the rock that it normally feed on and once it gone the dinos will not have anything else to feed on thus die off. By cooking it you put it in a tub similar to you curing the rock but, you take all the light from it so the nutrients does not have anything to feed on and it will not continue to grow, if this makes since to you it early in the morning and my brain is not functioning..
Here is the thread I was talking about http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...inoflagellates
Good luck and please keep me informed and you can pm me w/ any suggestions that you may find, I will return the favor.

d9sccr · 09/24/2007, 08:20 AM

Ah! That's not good... that is exactly what mine looks like. The water that I am using is R/O mixed with salt from an aquarium store. Thanks for your help, I am going to look into that site and see what I can do. I just recently glued alll of my rock together, so I don't think I can take it all out and cook it.

lilchris · 09/24/2007, 08:29 AM

There is a thread also talking about turning your lights off for 3 days. I am also taking that route right now.

Also I see you are using just RO water. You may want to start using RO/DI water. Not sure if the water at you LFS is. I would ask them. Also I would test that water you are getting from them. Should be good though, but definitely worth looking into.

What are your params? Especially phosphates.

ACBlinky · 09/24/2007, 10:08 AM

I had a dino infestation a while back - PITA to deal with. I used a diatom filter to clean the water of everything down to 1 micron (which includes dinos), and turkey-basted the rockwork repeatedly while the filter was on. After a few hours, when the tank was CLEAN and appeared dino-free to the naked eye, I turned off the lights for three days. Each day I basted and used the diatom filter to remove any dead/dying dinos. On the fourth day I turned on the actinics only, filtered again, and on the fifth day I went back to the regular lighting schedule. Haven't seen a dino since.

09/23/2007, 10:39 PM	#1
d9sccr Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Miami Posts: 1,115 Blog Entries: 1	Need Help Getting Rid of This My tank has been super clean and I haven't had any problems with it until the last 3 weeks. I have been doing water changes and cleaning the filters, but I am still getting this dark green, brownish, stringy growth on my corals and live rock. A lot of bubbles are appearing on the growth, which I thought it meant that it was dying, but it is still there. I have picked it off, but it just comes back. I have attached some photos, but they don't really show the extent of the growth. Any ideas on what it could be and how to get rid of it? (It's a 55 gallon tank and I have tons of snails and crabs) __________________ Andrew Current Tank Info: 30g w/ 2 picassos Last edited by d9sccr; 09/23/2007 at 10:48 PM.

09/24/2007, 08:20 AM	#5
d9sccr Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Miami Posts: 1,115 Blog Entries: 1	Ah! That's not good... that is exactly what mine looks like. The water that I am using is R/O mixed with salt from an aquarium store. Thanks for your help, I am going to look into that site and see what I can do. I just recently glued alll of my rock together, so I don't think I can take it all out and cook it. __________________ Andrew Current Tank Info: 30g w/ 2 picassos

09/24/2007, 10:08 AM	#7
ACBlinky Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada Posts: 4,954 Blog Entries: 20	I had a dino infestation a while back - PITA to deal with. I used a diatom filter to clean the water of everything down to 1 micron (which includes dinos), and turkey-basted the rockwork repeatedly while the filter was on. After a few hours, when the tank was CLEAN and appeared dino-free to the naked eye, I turned off the lights for three days. Each day I basted and used the diatom filter to remove any dead/dying dinos. On the fourth day I turned on the actinics only, filtered again, and on the fifth day I went back to the regular lighting schedule. Haven't seen a dino since. __________________ "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen Current Tank Info: 150g mixed reef, 30g sump/refugium, LED lighting, 100lbs LR, coral beauty, flame angel, blue & yellow tangs, gobies, damsels, 6-line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, dottyback, clown pair, rabbitfish, shrimp, crabs, CUC.

09/24/2007, 12:57 AM	#2
aquarius77 Moved On Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Highland, Il Posts: 2,198	What kind of water are you using? Where are you getting it if your buying it?

09/24/2007, 01:12 AM	#3
marineman27 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Athens, Ohio Posts: 21	Hi, I am curious as to this also I just got my first coral lps trumpet and it has like a clear bubble on it too, im using r/o water, I didnt mean to butt in or disrupt this thread ........Shaun

09/24/2007, 04:13 AM	#4
lilchris Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Arizona Posts: 984	Does it look like this? I have this stuff growing all over my tank, on rocks, sand, and corals. It is called Dinoflagellates, from what I heard it not an algae or bacteria. It is very bad and hard to get rid of. You can do a search here on RC and there is a thread about it. I also have on posted. I am in the process of removing all my LR and cooking it. What that will do is force this stuff to eat all the nutrients in the rock that it normally feed on and once it gone the dinos will not have anything else to feed on thus die off. By cooking it you put it in a tub similar to you curing the rock but, you take all the light from it so the nutrients does not have anything to feed on and it will not continue to grow, if this makes since to you it early in the morning and my brain is not functioning.. Here is the thread I was talking about http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...inoflagellates Good luck and please keep me informed and you can pm me w/ any suggestions that you may find, I will return the favor.

09/24/2007, 08:29 AM	#6
lilchris Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Arizona Posts: 984	There is a thread also talking about turning your lights off for 3 days. I am also taking that route right now. Also I see you are using just RO water. You may want to start using RO/DI water. Not sure if the water at you LFS is. I would ask them. Also I would test that water you are getting from them. Should be good though, but definitely worth looking into. What are your params? Especially phosphates.