PrestoChang
New Member
I am writing to you all because I would like to discuss what I believe algaecide has done to my tank and figuring what to do now.
Let me first begin by explaining my hypothesis as to the reason that drove me to use API Algaecide in the first place.
The Algae Bloom
1. I introduced ~15 Mexican turbo snails and ~ 15 Margareta snails in the past year
2. Strangely none of these ever lived and I neglected to collect any shells out of the tank (I believe the reason is due to aluminum leaching from my marine pure block)(I know I can't know for certain unless I do an icp test
3. This excess of deteriorating biomass caused a hair algae bloom that I couldn't manage by nutrient export, manual removal, or light deprivation
The Algaecide Experience
1. I began to dose the measured dose every few days
2. As I began to witness the algae weakening I would siphon it off the rocks
3. Instead of maintaining the same thing consistently I would begin to just pour a little bit in by eye
4. I was running about 4 types of nutrient export to get rid of the phosphates that I knew the algae would release when killed (GFO, Purigen, Skimmer, Refugium)
5. Bottomed out Po4 & No3
6. Dinoflagelate explosion
7. I have now been dealing with extreme dinoflagellates that clump together and formed a new monster on par with hair algea
8. for the past few weeks I have been dosing Brightwell Nitrogen and Phosphorus, once again eyeballing the recommended dose every day
9. still no results...
10. My conclusion after research is that the chemical used within algaecides binds to the surfaces within the water... because of my likely overdosage of API Algaecide I believe that it is not allowing green algae to outcompete and by proxy eliminate the dinoflagellates, as there are just a few patches where I can see short tuffy hair algae that I hope is not bryopsis...
The Plan?
Well I hope somebody can help me find a solution by spitballing.
I am about to do a 20% water change and try to manually remove as much as I can (I have been laying off water changes because I was trying to raise nutrients to combat the Dinos)
maybe I should do a 3 day blackout?
Pictures Earliest to Latest
JULY
September (towards the end of algaecide process)
October/Present
Sorry for the low context clips, one normally doesn't like taking pics of their tank when its at its lowest haha...
However, after treating for algae in august or so, September yielded an exceptionally clean tank before dinoflagellates slowly overtook. And still, suck them all up and clean the glass it looks good but only for a day or two.
Let me first begin by explaining my hypothesis as to the reason that drove me to use API Algaecide in the first place.
The Algae Bloom
1. I introduced ~15 Mexican turbo snails and ~ 15 Margareta snails in the past year
2. Strangely none of these ever lived and I neglected to collect any shells out of the tank (I believe the reason is due to aluminum leaching from my marine pure block)(I know I can't know for certain unless I do an icp test
3. This excess of deteriorating biomass caused a hair algae bloom that I couldn't manage by nutrient export, manual removal, or light deprivation
The Algaecide Experience
1. I began to dose the measured dose every few days
2. As I began to witness the algae weakening I would siphon it off the rocks
3. Instead of maintaining the same thing consistently I would begin to just pour a little bit in by eye
4. I was running about 4 types of nutrient export to get rid of the phosphates that I knew the algae would release when killed (GFO, Purigen, Skimmer, Refugium)
5. Bottomed out Po4 & No3
6. Dinoflagelate explosion
7. I have now been dealing with extreme dinoflagellates that clump together and formed a new monster on par with hair algea
8. for the past few weeks I have been dosing Brightwell Nitrogen and Phosphorus, once again eyeballing the recommended dose every day
9. still no results...
10. My conclusion after research is that the chemical used within algaecides binds to the surfaces within the water... because of my likely overdosage of API Algaecide I believe that it is not allowing green algae to outcompete and by proxy eliminate the dinoflagellates, as there are just a few patches where I can see short tuffy hair algae that I hope is not bryopsis...
The Plan?
Well I hope somebody can help me find a solution by spitballing.
I am about to do a 20% water change and try to manually remove as much as I can (I have been laying off water changes because I was trying to raise nutrients to combat the Dinos)
maybe I should do a 3 day blackout?
Pictures Earliest to Latest
JULY
September (towards the end of algaecide process)
October/Present
Sorry for the low context clips, one normally doesn't like taking pics of their tank when its at its lowest haha...
However, after treating for algae in august or so, September yielded an exceptionally clean tank before dinoflagellates slowly overtook. And still, suck them all up and clean the glass it looks good but only for a day or two.
