help with slime on zoanthids!

[redemer123]

my tank has been up for about 7 months now and everything has been going good up until now. Im starting to get hair algae and all this brown slime is getting on my zoanthids and making them very upset...its pretty annoying because zoanthids are my favorite coral. not sure what would be causing this because it seems like this is something that happens when you cycle the tank.


as you can see this brown crap is making my candy apple reds all mad...same goes for other polyps as well

http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa460/Redemer123/DSC_0232.jpg

[litttlelondyn]

Are there strings coming from the Zoas?

[redemer123]

no none of its coming from the zoas its all on top of them making them close up...

[jimsflies]

Most likely a water quality problem. Among the typical things to try are running phosphate media, carbon, water changes and make sure your skimmer is working well.

[redemer123]

ok, I run carbon...I do keep up on my water changes and my skimmer skims :)

[reeferdale]

What are your tank parms - specifically TDS, phospate, nitates? If it is algea, something is there for it to feed on. Could even be ols food. Do you have a protien skimmer? what about water changes? (although if you have a problem, water changes are not going to fix the root cause)

[Mr. Microscope]

What kind of carbon are you using. I find Chemi-Pure Elite really helps. How big is your tank? Did something die recently? A few bigger water changes should help along with using any chaeto in a fuge. Using other macros will help combat the algea.

[redemer123]

ok, im not sure what kind of carbon. I bought it at reef paradise from Andy its sold by the pound there. I put it in a filter sock connected to my drain. I also have chaeto in my fuge. However my pseudo chromis did die a few days ago, not sure if this is the problem because this was occurring on a lesser scale prior to the fish dying.

[Mr. Microscope]

How long has it been since you've replace it?
Are you also running anything like phosphoban?
Have you tested your water lately?
I would guess that your fish dying was more of a symptom of the bigger problem and perhaps not the cause. Though, if you didn't get it out fast, I'm sure that didn't help. I'd do a big water change, use chaeto or some other macro, and change your carbon or add chemi-pure elite. Also, what's your lighting schedule like? You could reduce that to help a little.
Another thing you could check is your pod population. Are you still seeing lots of pods? If not, you definitely had a crash of some sort and will need to repopulate.

[jimsflies]

ok, I run carbon...I do keep up on my water changes and my skimmer skims :)

Algae needs nutrients to grow (specifically phosphorus and nitrogen)...so just because you're doing everything it may not be enough. Typically the controlling nutrient is phosphate...algae is so efficient at processing it, that it needs to be nearly zero to prevent algae from growing.

I know you've added several fish to your system fairly recently. It can take a system awhile adjust to the increased bioload. Bacteria present in the system need to increase in numbers to process the additional waste. It is also possible that you have reached the point without adding more/better waste removal processes that your system can't process more. I don't know that this is the case, but I'm just saying...

[Mr. Microscope]

+1. If you're doing everything almost right for a long time, the 2% that you're doing wrong will eventually become a problem.

Macros will help to use the excess nutrients in the water and eventually starve out the bad algae.

[reeferdale]

remember, the algae is going to be using the phosphate all day, so just becasue you do not see any in a test does not mean it is not there. Test in the morning or even try in the middle of the night when the photo cycle is reversed. You or someone mentioned water changes, I have never seen a response to what parms you are testing for. Do you test your replacement water before you use it?

This looks like algae and until you get a handle on the food source, it will not go away

[jolson10450]

I changed the thread title to this post to help get better answers so please do not be confused by it.

I have not read through it fully yet but i get this from time to time on my plugs, the hair algae is usually caused from bad made plugs. the slime sometimes is the zoanthid actually shedding its outer skin layer, leathers do this as well. a lot of times you can just scrape it off or use a turkey baster to blow it off if it is shedding enough. usually takes about 2 weeks to fully shed.

[Mr. Microscope]

Another point. Are you using an RO/DI system? If not, there's your problem. If you are, how long has it been since the filters were changed? If your RO/DI system isn't working well you're probably getting excess nutrients (phosphates/nitrates) from your water supply.

[redemer123]

yep I have a RO system built into my sink, I know when the filters need to be changed because the water will have a sulfur or egg smell because I get well water where I live. also this isnt happening to just one plugs its happening to all of them. I was considering taking all my zoos out of my 55g and putting them in the 15g where I could enjoy them more. But then I thought maybe that stupid slime would get into my 15g which is in pristine condition at the moment. Also another thing to note: while all this slime crap is getting on my coral there has been no build up of things on the glass its perfectly clean.

[jimsflies]

Regarding RO filter changes, I'm not sure the nose test is your best bet. Ideally you should have a TDS meter to check your RO performance. I'd also say that the sulfur smell may be more indicative of the carbon stage needing to be changed than the RO membrane itself.

Given that its not in your 15 gallon, it may not be the RO filter.

Regardless of the reason (bioload, RO unit, etc.), you can add some phosphate media in a filter sock to your sump and also mix it with some carbon. It won't hurt and will likely help. Change it out weekly for a few weeks and see if it helps.

[Sir Patrick]

Those polyps look unhappy, pinched and the algea looks more like a bacteria/fungus to me....possibly an infection?

How are these polyps doing? Any updates?

[redemer123]

Ok, Im thinking about getting a reactor and putting some GFO into it, that should remove phosphates I believe.

[schminksbro]

The carbon you are using in BRS Lignite carbon. The slime looks to be bacteria likely fed by phosphate. I would take a turkey baster and blow it off the polyps while you are preparing to combat the problem with a reactor and GFO.

[Wy Renegade]

Also try scrubbing the polyps off with a very soft toothbrush. Waiting for it to die off without treating the polyps while trying to address water quality will likely result in the loss of the polyps.