Dino plague in scrubbed tank.

[joelespinoza]

I actually cant send you any pictures, I ripped apart the whole thing.

I threw out all the sand, I scrubbed and scoured every surface in the display and sump, removed every bit of the crap and drained the entire tank. Then I filled it up with chlorinated tap water, turned on the pump and put 32 ounces of H2O2 in it just to make sure everything was dead. The next day I drained all that and filled the tank up with RODI water and added all the salt I have (enough to bring it up to SG of 1.010) and I added some freshwater Malasiyan Trumpet Snails (I am going to test how well they can acclimated to saltwater). Then I ordered some more kent reef salt online, which I am still waiting on.

I put some throughly scubbed live rock in a 5 gallon hex tank on my kitchen counter (that also has a mini algae scrubber that runs off the display light) I also have my few corals frags and my mandrin goby along with my damsel in there. I have been treating it daily with about 5 ML of H2O2, and even still that shit is growing in that 5 gallon tank, and I wont be able put my livestock back in the main tank until it is all dead. However I need that to be relatively soon since I am basically starving the fish in that tank to avoid feeding the plague.


EDIT: The stuff starts off growing in a clear slime and gets thicker and thicker, it is about the consistancy of snot, but smoother, without lumps. I dont think it is actually brown, I think it just gets that way from collecting crap, and it is clearly either photosynthetic or just likes light, because it definately grows better in light. On my algae screens it was about 3/8ths of an inch thick on both sides of the screen, and grew in a perfect circle where the circle of light was. It takes a while (a week maybe) before it starts gathering or producing bubbles and sending up strands like the other picture posted, but it gets there.

[RkyRickstr]

Wow.. guess u had enough.. lol

I faught that stuff for two months. Eventually it died.

[joelespinoza]

I have been fighting it since July, it showed no signs of slacking off. When I ripped apart the tank a couple days ago, it was at its most overwhelming. I probably removed 3-5 gallons of that shit from the tank and sump, and I had just cleared as best I could (without tearing it apart) about a week and a half before that.

[SantaMonica]

Sounds like almost nonexistent scrubber lighting. If the only scrubber growth on near the bulb, and the growth was only slime, this sounds like a 5 watt bulb.

[joelespinoza]

I think we are getting off the point here. These dinos are a plague and I am trying to get rid of them, this is not just normal slime growing on a little area on the screens, it is clear dino slime growing in nearly a perfect circle, slightly larger then the reflectors, covering nearly the whole screen. If they were ONLY growing on the screen I would not be bothered, but they grow EVERWHERE and smother EVERYTHING in both my tank and sump, and I cant put my livestock back in my steralized tank until I figure out how to get rid of it.

What I am is wondering is how do people with scrubbers get rid of infectious plagues like this? Since it seems H2O2, no light and increased filtering are some of the only things that even slow it down, and all these things are directly in opposition to algae scrubbers.

These are my exact bulbs, and they were replaced less than a month ago:

[SantaMonica]

Dino's require N and P to grow. Without it, they die. Dino's tend to grow when the light is very weak, or on a brand new screen. The other extreme would by the light is way too strong and close, and is only allowing a yellowish jello to grow there.

[joelespinoza]

Let me repeat, there are no nitrates or phosphates, there never have been the entire time I have been testing the tank (the last 6 months)

I have 2 full size screens each with a reflector and a 26 watt CLF 2700k bulb running 14 hours a day. The lights are about an 1-1.5 inches away from the screens.

What I am growing clearish, slightly white slime that grows on everything, it starts off looking EXACTLY like the fungus that grows on decaying matter in a freshwater tank. Anyone who has come home to a dead freshwater fish and seen the clear/white capsule knows what I am refering too.

It is the consistancy of thick snot, it grows much better and thicker in areas of high light, on the screens and on the tops of of the upper rocks. It is denser and not as thick on the screens (maybe 1/4-3/8 inch), probably due to the high flow, and thicker and less dense on the top rocks up to 1/2-5/8 inch, but clearly the same crap.

When it is left alone for a week or more (not being scrubbed off) it will start to turn brownish (and produce or collect bubbles and get those upwards bubble tendrils.

[felps]

live sand activator http://www.ipsf.com/livesand.html

Is that the source of excess N and P feeding dino`s,cyano whatever it is

Im guessing your live sand is now rotting and fuelling the dino`s

[joelespinoza]

It is not impossible, I have dumped all the sand in my main tank in the trash, we will have to see how the 5 gallon livestock tank does, because there was no activator put in there.

[RkyRickstr]

Sure your n and p will test zero, because that crap is consuming it all.. if you get your scrubber working correctly then it can starve the crap and it would die.. your focuss should be improving your scrubber.

Thats what sm is trying to tell you.. if your p and n where TRULY zero then you wouldnt have that crap.