What does Dinoflagellates thrive off of?

[55semireef]

Hey guys, lately I have had this redslime problem that is driving me crazy for the past month. I just finally got a Octopus skimmer 150 after not having one on my 55 gallon for 2 months . Did the redslime appear because there was no skimmer? Everyday, the redslime takes over the sandbed and goes all over the rocks and everyday I have to blow it off and stir it up with my turkey baster but the next day, its like I never touched it. Its all over again. There also seems to be lots of bubbles attached to the redslime too. Its just really annoying. How do I get rid of this?

[socalchris]

poor flow can be one of the reasons for a cyanobacteria outbreak. if you do a search for cyanobacteria you should be able to find a TON of threads.

Is your tank two months old or it's just been two months without a skimmer? If it's two months then it's possible you're still just going through your early algae growth stages also...

[graveyardworm]

Rather than just blowing the cyano around to decompose and release its bound nutrients back into the water column, try siphoning it out at the end of the day when its at its worst. Eventually you will get the upper hand.

[55semireef]

Originally posted by socalchris
poor flow can be one of the reasons for a cyanobacteria outbreak. if you do a search for cyanobacteria you should be able to find a TON of threads.

Is your tank two months old or it's just been two months without a skimmer? If it's two months then it's possible you're still just going through your early algae growth stages also...

Sorry to mislead you there. I wasn't specific in my first post.

The tank is a year old and it has two anemones, soft corals, lps and a couple of sps which are all doing fine. I have 63 lbs of liverock thats all established and about 90lbs of livesand.

I have pretty good flow in my tank. I have about 1000 gph right now and I am going to add a MJ 12 today. So I have enough flow.

About two months ago though, when the tank was about 10 months old, I took off my przm deluxe skimmer to get a better one. I went through two skimmers which both broke because they were custom made crap so I finally decided to buy a professional Octopus 150 skimmer which looks huge and I only have a 55 gallon tank.

I was just wondering if this redslime outbreak was caused by my lack of skimmer for that long. My phosphates read at .05. I don't have terribly high phosphates do I?

Rather than just blowing the cyano around to decompose and release its bound nutrients back into the water column, try siphoning it out at the end of the day when its at its worst. Eventually you will get the upper hand.

I will do that today. It should be easy. Good idea.

[graveyardworm]

Phosphates should be undetectable, cyano thrives on high PO4. Yes not skimming could've resulted in the high PO4. Were you changing water during the period without a skimmer, do you use carbon at all, have you considered setting up a refugium?

[55semireef]

I still did my regular water changes and I once in a while used carbon. No I have no considered a refugium.

Is .05 phosphates high?

[Bax]

Are you using RODI water for you water changes?

Tap water, even treated, can be a major source of PO4.

[graveyardworm]

What brand kit are you using? .05 is marginal, less would be better.

[55semireef]

Originally posted by Bax
Are you using RODI water for you water changes?

Tap water, even treated, can be a major source of PO4.

Nope. Its RO DI water that also goes through carbon and a UV filter. Really good water.

[DSMpunk]

Originally posted by 55semireef
I still did my regular water changes and I once in a while used carbon. No I have no considered a refugium.

Is .05 phosphates high?

I think .5 is pretty high. But dont take it from me, here is a quote straight from a reefkeeping magazine about phosphates.

In fact, it almost always seems to be effective, although exporting adequate phosphate is not always easy, especially if the phosphate concentration is very high (say, higher than 0.2 ppm).

If you have some time, I would read the whole thing. Its a good read with lots of information on what phosphates do and how to keep them in an acceptable range.

EDIT: Whoops my bad. I didnt see that 0 in there. Details, details. However like it was said earlier you still want your phosphates to be 0.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

[DSMpunk]

I have pretty good flow in my tank. I have about 1000 gph right now and I am going to add a MJ 12 today. So I have enough flow.

On a 55 gallon? I would say you are definitely on the low side of flow in a 4 foot tank ( I assume its 4 feet anyway). If you have Maxijets in you tank, have you thought about modding them? A lot of people claim they are getting anywhere from 1500-2400 gph per pump. That would show that cyano who's boss

[graveyardworm]

I've got a 90g 48x18x24 with a sieo 820, 2 maxi jet 1200, and about 1000GPH return flow from my sump. Thats well over 2000, and I could definately still have more.

I got my response info from the Salifert PO4 kit I use. It states that .03 is (good) it then jumps to .10 and says (critical), then .25 states (coral growth retarded).

I think some numbers are being confused here 55semini posted .05 the article states .2. Thats a big difference .05= 5/100, .2=2/10

[55semireef]

Originally posted by DSMpunk
On a 55 gallon? I would say you are definitely on the low side of flow in a 4 foot tank ( I assume its 4 feet anyway). If you have Maxijets in you tank, have you thought about modding them? A lot of people claim they are getting anywhere from 1500-2400 gph per pump. That would show that cyano who's boss

How do you mod a maxi jet? Is there a thread out there that shows you? Yes my tank is 4 feet long.

[ralphie16]

mjmods.com