scopus tang
Active Member
Originally Posted by revrick3
http:///forum/post/2924733
Alright enough of the bickering, I am going with the suggestion of cyano. Thanks from all of you. Scopus Tang, thanks for info. Not trying to start any confusion. I have had fresh water tanks for 25 years but this is first salt attempt so a lot to learn. I do have enough insight to know I am losing ground here quickly so it was urgent to get answers. At this point I have cut out all lighting, replaced all filter media and added charcoal. Stopped all food. Only thing that might have died is a purple lobster I added but he was only about 2 inches long, havent seen him in week. I have what should be plenty of flow. 1-Korelia 1 powerhead at 400gph; 1-Korelia 3 powerhead at 850gph. Sump pump is at 400gph; Have an AquaC remora skimmer at 275gph. In a 90 that should be enough I thought. I have redirected them to flow directly on the lr. Let me know if there is anything else I need to do. Thanks fro all help too. You guys are great even if there are differing ideas at times.
Revrick, don't mistake the free exchange of ideas and information for bickering - Ren and I might not agree, but after reading through the article he suggested, I must indeed concure that there is indeed a good chance that he is correct. Certainly the article in question contained information on dinoflagellates of which I previously was not aware. Of further interest is the following quote from the article in question;
Here's a series of actions besides raising pH that may help aquarists to deal with problem dinoflagellates.
1. Reduce available nutrients in the water. These include nitrate and especially phosphate. In a severe case, the concerns with driving phosphate too low may be minor compared to the dinoflagellates (and their toxins). In addition to the usual ways of reducing nutrients (skimming, growing macroalgae, deep sand beds, etc.), aquarists should consider very aggressive use of granular ferric oxide (GFO). Putting a larger than normally recommended amount into a canister filter or reactor, and changing it every few days, may help. Don't bother to measure the phosphate level, because the goal is to have it well below normally detectable levels (say, 0.02 ppm).
2. Reduce the photoperiod to four hours per day. This may help to keep the dinoflagellates under control, but by itself will not usually eradicate them.
3. Use more than normal amounts of activated carbon, and possibly ozone, to deal with toxins that the dinoflagellates may be releasing. This may allow snails and other organisms to survive while the dinoflagellates are still at nuisance levels.
4. Manually siphon out as much of the mass of dinoflagellates as possible. Daily removal would be preferable to keep populations at a reduced level.
How to Treat Problem Dinoflagellates: Elevated pH
[hr]
In order to treat problem dinoflagellates with elevated pH, I'd recommend keeping the pH at 8.4 to 8.5 until they are gone. The pH can be as high as 8.6 without causing too much stress on anything else. The process may take weeks. In desperation (i.e. if nothing else works), allow the pH to go even higher.
pH is best raised by adding calcium hydroxide, either as limewater (kalkwasser; calcium hydroxide or "lime" dissolved in freshwater), or as a lime slurry. Bear in mind that aeration will tend to lower the pH, so if maintaining high pH is difficult, reducing aeration may help a bit. pH naturally drops at night, so be sure to measure pH in the early morning as well as later in the day.
Since you are already doing most of those things, if your pH is not already in the elevated range, why not raise it in addition to doing the other things and see what happens. Its simple enough to do with a Kalc solution or a Limewater mixture (using pickling lime from your local grocery - google Lime water. After all, regardless of which one actually works, if you eliminate the problem, who cares who was right.
As the article says, I would reduce lighting to four hours per day, not eliminate it completely - as elimination for a significant period may also be stressful for corals (also, finally read all of threads on this and realized you recently added a new MH light. Increased lighting and heat are undoubtably also contributing factors. Just for future reference, we will be able to provide the best help if all such relavent info is in the thread. Generally I've found that you tend to get the quickest help in the New Hobbiest section, although the reliability of that help may sometimes be in question. HTH, and good luck on the algae issue - be sure and let us know how things turn out.
BTW Ren, thanks for the info
http:///forum/post/2924733
Alright enough of the bickering, I am going with the suggestion of cyano. Thanks from all of you. Scopus Tang, thanks for info. Not trying to start any confusion. I have had fresh water tanks for 25 years but this is first salt attempt so a lot to learn. I do have enough insight to know I am losing ground here quickly so it was urgent to get answers. At this point I have cut out all lighting, replaced all filter media and added charcoal. Stopped all food. Only thing that might have died is a purple lobster I added but he was only about 2 inches long, havent seen him in week. I have what should be plenty of flow. 1-Korelia 1 powerhead at 400gph; 1-Korelia 3 powerhead at 850gph. Sump pump is at 400gph; Have an AquaC remora skimmer at 275gph. In a 90 that should be enough I thought. I have redirected them to flow directly on the lr. Let me know if there is anything else I need to do. Thanks fro all help too. You guys are great even if there are differing ideas at times.
Revrick, don't mistake the free exchange of ideas and information for bickering - Ren and I might not agree, but after reading through the article he suggested, I must indeed concure that there is indeed a good chance that he is correct. Certainly the article in question contained information on dinoflagellates of which I previously was not aware. Of further interest is the following quote from the article in question;
Here's a series of actions besides raising pH that may help aquarists to deal with problem dinoflagellates.
1. Reduce available nutrients in the water. These include nitrate and especially phosphate. In a severe case, the concerns with driving phosphate too low may be minor compared to the dinoflagellates (and their toxins). In addition to the usual ways of reducing nutrients (skimming, growing macroalgae, deep sand beds, etc.), aquarists should consider very aggressive use of granular ferric oxide (GFO). Putting a larger than normally recommended amount into a canister filter or reactor, and changing it every few days, may help. Don't bother to measure the phosphate level, because the goal is to have it well below normally detectable levels (say, 0.02 ppm).
2. Reduce the photoperiod to four hours per day. This may help to keep the dinoflagellates under control, but by itself will not usually eradicate them.
3. Use more than normal amounts of activated carbon, and possibly ozone, to deal with toxins that the dinoflagellates may be releasing. This may allow snails and other organisms to survive while the dinoflagellates are still at nuisance levels.
4. Manually siphon out as much of the mass of dinoflagellates as possible. Daily removal would be preferable to keep populations at a reduced level.
How to Treat Problem Dinoflagellates: Elevated pH
[hr]
In order to treat problem dinoflagellates with elevated pH, I'd recommend keeping the pH at 8.4 to 8.5 until they are gone. The pH can be as high as 8.6 without causing too much stress on anything else. The process may take weeks. In desperation (i.e. if nothing else works), allow the pH to go even higher.
pH is best raised by adding calcium hydroxide, either as limewater (kalkwasser; calcium hydroxide or "lime" dissolved in freshwater), or as a lime slurry. Bear in mind that aeration will tend to lower the pH, so if maintaining high pH is difficult, reducing aeration may help a bit. pH naturally drops at night, so be sure to measure pH in the early morning as well as later in the day.
Since you are already doing most of those things, if your pH is not already in the elevated range, why not raise it in addition to doing the other things and see what happens. Its simple enough to do with a Kalc solution or a Limewater mixture (using pickling lime from your local grocery - google Lime water. After all, regardless of which one actually works, if you eliminate the problem, who cares who was right.
As the article says, I would reduce lighting to four hours per day, not eliminate it completely - as elimination for a significant period may also be stressful for corals (also, finally read all of threads on this and realized you recently added a new MH light. Increased lighting and heat are undoubtably also contributing factors. Just for future reference, we will be able to provide the best help if all such relavent info is in the thread. Generally I've found that you tend to get the quickest help in the New Hobbiest section, although the reliability of that help may sometimes be in question. HTH, and good luck on the algae issue - be sure and let us know how things turn out.
BTW Ren, thanks for the info
