Dinoflagellates or Cyano?

agoutihead · 11/09/2007, 01:29 AM

I have had this for about the last month or so, and it seems to only be getting worse as of lately.

I will try and get some pics tomorrow, but it is green and looks like sheets of slime, but a good majority of it has bubbles under the slime. And the bubbles pop often enough and rise to the surface.

The weird part of it is, it only covers my back glass (which I do not scrap with the mag-float) and my rubble rock area.

The rubble rock was just sitting in a box at the lfs & I picked out all of the crap & boiled it for about 10 minutes.

But my large, main piece of live rock that have been in an established tank for almost 4 years seems to be pretty much un-effected.

I had a large bowling ball size piece of chaeto in my fuge with a light, but it seemed to not be able to sustain itself, (even though I didn't have any fish,(i.e. no fish poop) I assumed the problem was because it just wasn't receiving enough light. There was a chunk of it that got to my DT and is super green & perhaps growing) so about a week ago I threw it in my DT under my MH.

I now as of today have a mandarin, so I'm hoping it's fish poop will help out with the overall ecosystem of the tank.

This tank has only had RO/DI that have all brand new filters. I have done two water changes over the last month and haven't seen any improvements.

The tank is also topped off several times a day to counter evaporation by an ATO with a solenoid valve that is in place between the main water line & the RO/DI machine.

My pods & bristle worms seem to be able to live amongst this stuff care free, some of the pods even seem to make a home under the sheets of this stuff on the back of my wall, and I see them running around this stuff all day long.

I am not running a skimmer (I prefer it this way) and have added about two cups of carbon in the return chamber of my sump under a piece of pvc coming from my pump as a throttle directing flow right on/through it as of tonight.

Do you guys think the carbon will help this situation?

I have tried the no-lights for 2 or 3 days prior to doing my intial 2 water changes, & it seemed to help, but now it's back, worse, and has smoothered some of my corals out.

What do I have? Dino or cyano?

agoutihead · 11/09/2007, 02:21 AM

I should also note, that I had gone through a diatom problem prior to this problem.

The diatoms are gone, yet this one remains.

I have xenia growing on the back glass along with this stuff, and not only are the xenia doing great, but they are splitting and growing.

Yet when this stuff covers my zoas, it seems to basically kill them off.

I have pink lithophyton that lays in the sand and touches some of this stuff, yet also seems to be un-effected.

The only thing that takes a hit really are the zoas.

agoutihead · 11/09/2007, 04:19 AM

I just had an idea, this won't help the back of my glass, but for my two areas where I have rubble rock, what if I were to cover/bury all of the live rock rubble completely with sand?

Could this smother out my problem at least with my rubble rock?

Will the pods & worms that inhabit the rubble rock area, also be smother & killed? Or would they be able to dig themselves out of about 1" of sand and be ok? (I'm more worried about the pods than the worms)

Could this have any adverse effects on my sand bed?

poppin_fresh · 11/09/2007, 07:20 AM

It sounds like Dinos to me. I got rid of it by siphoning it out religiously and cutting back on my photoperiod.

Heres an article that my have some more ideas too..

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/rhf/index.php

agoutihead · 11/09/2007, 10:29 PM

I buried a good portion of my rubble rock with sand today in order to try and smother out the outbreak on that set of rubble rock.

I'm going to give it 3 days before I un-earth the buried rubble rock, & if in fact it worked, I am going to try and isolate them on one side of the tank and go after the remaining piles of rubble rock.

Still don't know what to do for my back wall.

I guess I could use the mag float to keep the back pane clean, but that is going to be quite a chore.

But I suppose getting rid of this crap is worth it.

Keeping it gone is going to be the trick.

No one really knows what causes this huh?

Is this perhaps "new tank syndrome"?

The tank is only 4-5 months old.

11/09/2007, 01:29 AM	#1
agoutihead Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 2,720	Dinoflagellates or Cyano? I have had this for about the last month or so, and it seems to only be getting worse as of lately. I will try and get some pics tomorrow, but it is green and looks like sheets of slime, but a good majority of it has bubbles under the slime. And the bubbles pop often enough and rise to the surface. The weird part of it is, it only covers my back glass (which I do not scrap with the mag-float) and my rubble rock area. The rubble rock was just sitting in a box at the lfs & I picked out all of the crap & boiled it for about 10 minutes. But my large, main piece of live rock that have been in an established tank for almost 4 years seems to be pretty much un-effected. I had a large bowling ball size piece of chaeto in my fuge with a light, but it seemed to not be able to sustain itself, (even though I didn't have any fish,(i.e. no fish poop) I assumed the problem was because it just wasn't receiving enough light. There was a chunk of it that got to my DT and is super green & perhaps growing) so about a week ago I threw it in my DT under my MH. I now as of today have a mandarin, so I'm hoping it's fish poop will help out with the overall ecosystem of the tank. This tank has only had RO/DI that have all brand new filters. I have done two water changes over the last month and haven't seen any improvements. The tank is also topped off several times a day to counter evaporation by an ATO with a solenoid valve that is in place between the main water line & the RO/DI machine. My pods & bristle worms seem to be able to live amongst this stuff care free, some of the pods even seem to make a home under the sheets of this stuff on the back of my wall, and I see them running around this stuff all day long. I am not running a skimmer (I prefer it this way) and have added about two cups of carbon in the return chamber of my sump under a piece of pvc coming from my pump as a throttle directing flow right on/through it as of tonight. Do you guys think the carbon will help this situation? I have tried the no-lights for 2 or 3 days prior to doing my intial 2 water changes, & it seemed to help, but now it's back, worse, and has smoothered some of my corals out. What do I have? Dino or cyano? __________________ Experience the Liquid Realm... Last edited by agoutihead; 11/09/2007 at 01:37 AM.

11/09/2007, 02:21 AM	#2
agoutihead Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 2,720	I should also note, that I had gone through a diatom problem prior to this problem. The diatoms are gone, yet this one remains. I have xenia growing on the back glass along with this stuff, and not only are the xenia doing great, but they are splitting and growing. Yet when this stuff covers my zoas, it seems to basically kill them off. I have pink lithophyton that lays in the sand and touches some of this stuff, yet also seems to be un-effected. The only thing that takes a hit really are the zoas. __________________ Experience the Liquid Realm...

11/09/2007, 04:19 AM	#3
agoutihead Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 2,720	I just had an idea, this won't help the back of my glass, but for my two areas where I have rubble rock, what if I were to cover/bury all of the live rock rubble completely with sand? Could this smother out my problem at least with my rubble rock? Will the pods & worms that inhabit the rubble rock area, also be smother & killed? Or would they be able to dig themselves out of about 1" of sand and be ok? (I'm more worried about the pods than the worms) Could this have any adverse effects on my sand bed? __________________ Experience the Liquid Realm...

11/09/2007, 07:20 AM	#4
poppin_fresh Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Vermont Posts: 1,982	It sounds like Dinos to me. I got rid of it by siphoning it out religiously and cutting back on my photoperiod. Heres an article that my have some more ideas too.. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/rhf/index.php __________________ PBITAWA! Current Tank Info: None now. Past- 180g w/ 100g basement sump and 20g 'fuge. H & S skimmer, T'5s & Tunze

11/09/2007, 10:29 PM	#5
agoutihead Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 2,720	I buried a good portion of my rubble rock with sand today in order to try and smother out the outbreak on that set of rubble rock. I'm going to give it 3 days before I un-earth the buried rubble rock, & if in fact it worked, I am going to try and isolate them on one side of the tank and go after the remaining piles of rubble rock. Still don't know what to do for my back wall. I guess I could use the mag float to keep the back pane clean, but that is going to be quite a chore. But I suppose getting rid of this crap is worth it. Keeping it gone is going to be the trick. No one really knows what causes this huh? Is this perhaps "new tank syndrome"? The tank is only 4-5 months old. __________________ Experience the Liquid Realm...