cmn3
Well-known member
its some kind of alge I guess but what eats it nitrate is still at just under 10ppm so thats my problem but tank is only a couple of months old just want somthin that eats this stuff
whats this green stringy crap
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Somethings Fishy
Well-known member
looks like it may be hair algae.
Krish
RF STAFF
Hard to tell what it is by the picture although it can be hair algae. You'd need a more focussed picture to positively identify it.
cmn3
Well-known member
I will put up a better one later... Not hair alge ive seen that. This is stringy and kinda slimy
Your description leads me to believe it's either Cyanobacteria (which isn't always red and can be green) or Dinoflagalettes. They can look very similar and are often confused, however, there's a real easy way to tell them apart.
In the morning, does the tank look great, with no, or very little of the slimy algae visible, but by midday, you've got "snotty strings" growing? OR, Does it look the same, from morning to afternoon, with the snotty strings always present?
Dinos die off every night. As they die, they rob oxygen from the water. This behavior, along with the fact that they're toxic, can eventually lead to the death of fish and motile inverts, especially herbivorous fish/inverts. Because they die off, every night, in the morning, the tank will look great. However, they grow very fast, throughout the day, so by midday, you'll have slimy snot everywhere.
Cyano won't appear to change, from morning to midday.
Treatment will be very different, depending on which you have.
Cyano is typically very easy to treat. Increase flow, manually remove it, by siphoning it out, do water changes and feed your tank less.
These treatments will NOT work, for Dinos.
There are two, somewhat successful treatments, for Dinos. One is more successful, but also much more difficult.
Treatment 1. Increase your pH to 8.4 and KEEP it there, for a week or 2. This requires dosing baking soda, several times per day, which makes it difficult.
Treatment 2. Turn ALL lights out and keep them out, for 5 days. On day 6, turn your lights on for 4 hours. Day 7, 5 hours. Increase your lighting period, by one hour, each day, until you're at your regular photo period.
Treatment 2 sounds scary, if you have SPS/Clams/Anemones. However, they will all be just fine. I've gone this route, in 2 different tanks, which were both predominately SPS/clams. All inhabitants were just fine and Dinos never reappeared.
Another observation....
For almost all tank problems, water changes are the best course of action. NOT with Dinos. For some reason, it's believed that frequent water changes actually fuel Dinos. Do NOT blow it around, with a turkey baster, do not do water changes, until after you've returned to your full photo period.
In the morning, does the tank look great, with no, or very little of the slimy algae visible, but by midday, you've got "snotty strings" growing? OR, Does it look the same, from morning to afternoon, with the snotty strings always present?
Dinos die off every night. As they die, they rob oxygen from the water. This behavior, along with the fact that they're toxic, can eventually lead to the death of fish and motile inverts, especially herbivorous fish/inverts. Because they die off, every night, in the morning, the tank will look great. However, they grow very fast, throughout the day, so by midday, you'll have slimy snot everywhere.
Cyano won't appear to change, from morning to midday.
Treatment will be very different, depending on which you have.
Cyano is typically very easy to treat. Increase flow, manually remove it, by siphoning it out, do water changes and feed your tank less.
These treatments will NOT work, for Dinos.
There are two, somewhat successful treatments, for Dinos. One is more successful, but also much more difficult.
Treatment 1. Increase your pH to 8.4 and KEEP it there, for a week or 2. This requires dosing baking soda, several times per day, which makes it difficult.
Treatment 2. Turn ALL lights out and keep them out, for 5 days. On day 6, turn your lights on for 4 hours. Day 7, 5 hours. Increase your lighting period, by one hour, each day, until you're at your regular photo period.
Treatment 2 sounds scary, if you have SPS/Clams/Anemones. However, they will all be just fine. I've gone this route, in 2 different tanks, which were both predominately SPS/clams. All inhabitants were just fine and Dinos never reappeared.
Another observation....
For almost all tank problems, water changes are the best course of action. NOT with Dinos. For some reason, it's believed that frequent water changes actually fuel Dinos. Do NOT blow it around, with a turkey baster, do not do water changes, until after you've returned to your full photo period.
cmn3
Well-known member
Wow that realy sucks.. I dont like the sound of either cure and it does look like it dies off a little over night... I will post better pics tonite.. And if thats what it is I will do the light thing I have clams and nems it wont kill em?
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No, it won't kill them, though they may suffer some. That's why you acclimate them back to full photo period, after the 5th day. They may experience some bleaching, though none of mine did.
cmn3
Well-known member
What about a uv sterilizer
thatguy559
Well-known member
here is a picture of the green cyano 
here is red
hair algae
bryopsis
Dinoflagellates
here is red
hair algae
bryopsis
Dinoflagellates
A UV Sterilizer will have very little, if any, impact.
cmn3
Well-known member
ok so I am home now and it looks from those pictures to be cyno.... it came off of rocks very easily and does not look much like the pic of the Dinoflagellates at all and I belive I found the main cause.. it seems to only be inline with the canister that I was suposed to remove a week ago... even just using it with a micron cartridge it just adds nitrate and must feed this stuff... I stopped using it last night and will check nitrate levels again and see where its at
