Which of the 2 is causing this algae?

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ChiTownRomeo

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I recently started using distilled water and dosing Microbacter7. Now all of a sudden I have this real fine white hair algae.....

Which of the 2 caused it?
 
I've been using distilled in my tanks without much issue for years. I'd want to point at the Microbacter7. Can you take a picture? Just want to make sure it isn't a pest that is growing from the increase of nutrient levels.
 
I've been using distilled in my tanks without much issue for years. I'd want to point at the Microbacter7. Can you take a picture? Just want to make sure it isn't a pest that is growing from the increase of nutrient levels.

good call, good call!
 
I've been using distilled in my tanks without much issue for years. I'd want to point at the Microbacter7. Can you take a picture? Just want to make sure it isn't a pest that is growing from the increase of nutrient levels.


+1


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that white hair gets nasty seems to spread fast , i've been taking out 6x6 sections its like a block as it also fills the sand with big stick like stalks and makes the sand crusty and nasty looking very invasive
once its all out I'll add new sand the hair will smother any coral on sand bed so be aware
never in my saltwater years have I seen this stuff till I started up my 90g
 
Well this started 2 weeks ago and I was told to stop the microbacter7 and see what happens. I turn on the lights today and I can see where its receeding. But the strange thing is, where the white hairs were, the rock is clean now. So I'm wondering was it just a bacterial bloom from the Microbacter7 that was eating whatever is decaying on the rock. It's going way now....
 
I'm glad 54seaweed found this thread as his experience was what I was directly thinking about in being cautious. Keep us posted on this please. This is a very interesting matter.
 
This white algae I have looks more like a fungus or bacteria which made me think it was such. It EASILY comes off with a tooth brush. But comes right back. It was contained to just my real reef rock. I dosed Microbacter7 so the enzymes could eat away any dead matter. Just never expected it to bloom so much. My sand is clear and still fluffy so no hard stalks. The hair I have is very white and fine and maybe the length of a eye lash.
 
Water with absolutely nothing in it will obviously not cause algae. That would,make no sense whatsoever. It is the doseing. I would cut it back and see it that helps
 
Sounds like a bacterial bloom. Heavy skimming should help remove the water born bacteria.


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Sounds like a bacterial bloom. Heavy skimming should help remove the water born bacteria.


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A benifical bacterial bloom is not a bad thing at all, actually a good thing. I wouldn't remove it as it is an extremely important part of the chemistry in your tank. Also it is good for the fish and will go away on it's own in a short amount of time.
~Zac
 
If it gets out of control it can rob the system of oxygen and crash the tank. Keep aeration as good as you can get it and the bacteria will die back. Is the water cloudy? Reduce the use of the microbacteria. JMO


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While doing some leisure reading on vodka dosing, it appears I have stumbled upon this very topic. Source:Vodka Dosing by 'Genetics' and 'Stony_Corals' - Reefkeeping.com
Bacterial Blooms - High additions of carbon sources at once are noted as production of slimy white strings upon rocks or in sumps that become noticeable a few hours to a day after addition. There is no clear evidence that this is detrimental to your tank. If this is observed dropping your dose by 50% will result in the disappearance of these strands. Additionally, these strands may have given rise to the notion of "bad bacteria". By this forum users mean pathogenic bacteria. But there has not been any documented evidence of such yet. If you happen to overdose your tank with an organic carbon dose, you will stimulate a bacteria bloom, this appears like a snowstorm in your tank. After a day, the tank will clear up. During this time people have reported mixed results on survival from this snowstorm. Stony_Coral has purposefully caused this on one tank and while ORP readings dropped, no loss of livestock was observed. However, people have mentioned loss of more delicate fish such as anthias during the visualized bloom. In general, a visible bloom will not occur if vodka is dosed as per the instructions above.

Edit: As this is only a clip, it should also be noted that increases in bacteria populations will create increase on oxygen depletion. This is discussed earlier in the thread and ways they addressed it, to include use of oxygenators and the like. I want to say that Greg is currently experimenting with a way of adding oxygen to a system as well.
 
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I would just keep aeration up and reduce the dosing a bit. It's really common for this to happen when someone starts using carbon for the first time. Using a skimmer helps a lot. It will remove the excess bacteria from the water and reduce cloudiness. The colonies you are seeing are harmless. Only if it gets out of control should you worry about O2 content.


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if its anything like the white hair I had it spread fast , sand had a sponginess white hair everywhere , I removed 95% of the sand little by little it was almost a spongy brick
it had tons of these hard tub like things intertwining through out the sand and the hair like stuff was coming out of them , it kills coral by smothering it , this stuff is no joke
at first when I fist noticed it I ignored it thinking oh it will go away , then the next thing I knew it took over , heres a pict of the tub like stuff I found in my sand hundreds of thousands of them ,
img_3172677_0_6e37bc11d478059cdbc23dc1780278d4.jpg
 
Here is 2 pics of mine. Its real real fine white hairs that easily come off on the rock. I have cut dosing all together and it went away a little but came back. doesnt harm any corals or anything and I added a Skimmer rated for double the size of my tank to help with areation.

2nba8ol.jpg


j15bvq.jpg
 
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