Leadfooted
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I wanted to share my method/experience of battling Dino's simply because It's working for me so well. All 3 times I've dealt with Dinoflagellates, I've had the Prorocentrum species ID'd under microscope. Please note, I'm not even close to a marine biologist, I'm simply applying what I've learned and read over the past 3-4 years from the most experienced people in our hobby. I'm still learning and trying to improve so please feel free to chime in, the education never ends.
With all my experience (too much) when dealing with Dinoflagellates, I’ve found the best way to beat them is to physically remove as many dino’s in every way possible, injure them or have them consumed. It’s equally important to dramatically reduce their food source by adding competition (pods and rotifers) and continuously disrupt clumps/colonies of Dino’s where they gather when the lights are on. Fish poop is also one of the more important factors. If you don’t have a heavy fish load, I suggest adding more (preferably fish that will have larger poops, size matters here).
First step : ID a sample of the algae under a microscope to be sure it’s a form of Dino.
Test Phosphate : .05-1.0 is the target range. The higher the phosphate, the better but be mindful and keep a close eye on corals as it elevates.
Test Nitrate : 5ppm-10ppm is the target but anything detectable is a good sign.
UV Light: I ran mine every other day during the daytime, also I ran the UV for an hour during and after each time I stirred up the sand / cleaned off the rocks (turkey style baster). I firmly believe running the UV all night to be crucial to this battle and yes, I can support this case.
Daily instructions for each 200 gallon water volume:
FLOW:
Crank it up!!! Add pumps down low if possible, anything to make it difficult for the dinos to thrive in the sand or on the rocks. Push your corals to the absolute max for flow, the more the better during this process. If you have any dead spots , add a power head to keep flow moving in all areas of the tank.
Charcoal:
I ran fresh carbon (5 days each bag) the entire time. This helps with toxins while the Dino’s die off.
Skimmer:
Turn it off until you hit your target PO4 range and then use accordingly.
Micro Algae: Since many of these reduce Nitrate and Phosphate you might want to use less during this time)
Feeding:
As soon as lights come on Feed your fish ( monitor your PO4 and NO3 levels and feed to hit or stay in the target range, I tested about every 2 days )
After the fish have been fed, Turn off Return pump, flow pumps, UV and stir up the sand bed, blow off rocks/corals glass, anywhere you see Dinos clumping up.
Add: 16 oz of Rotifers
16 oz of mixed pods
*16oz of Tisbee pods (if they’re in your mixed pods you won’t need this extra 16oz)
½ dose of bacteria ( I used SEED by Aquavitro and Genesis , again you want diversity)
We want all the fish poop, pods, rotifers and bacteria to settle down together forcing a competition for space and food.
Wait 15-30 minutes depending on coral/fish load then Turn on the flow inside the tank but not the return. Let the pods and rotifers go to work in a contained environment. After another 30 minutes turn back on the return pump but leave off the UV.
Lunchtime:
At Noon each day, feed the fish, wait a few minutes.
Then, Turn on the UV for one hour (Timer) , stir up the sand bed , blow off rocks and corals where Dino’s are clumping. This breaks up their party , sends many to the filter and what makes if past the filter gets zapped with UV which either kills it or severally injures it. Fish poop is key and you need a LOT. Make sure the UV is shut back off after an hour. The UV kills good bacteria we want to build up during this time.
Around 3PM-4PM the Dinos are usually congregating / multiplying the most. This is the best time to syphon out dinos into your filter sock or a bucket. If you use a bucket, filter the water through a 5 micron sock and replace the water. Water Changes of any sorts are absolute taboo during this process, even the smallest amount should not be changed out. Syphoning out the dinos are extremely critical, do it as often as you can daily or every other day even if you only have time to syphon a little, every bit helps.
Evening hours: (3rd feeding of the day)
Before lights are off (an hour or so before ) feed the fish then use the baster to blow everything off again.
When lights go off for the night:
Add ½ dose of Bacteria
Add 8-16oz of Rotifers
Add 8 oz live Phyto
You want a diverse mix of phyto species the more the better. I primarily used phyto from Algagen Direct, Top Shelf’s Royal Flush 3 species mix and Ocean Magic from Reef Nutrition)
About an hour after lights have been out, TURN ON UV and allow it to run overnight.
Run fresh filter socks , 1-3 days max. I ran 5-10 micron filter mesh over my filter socks that are 50 micron giving me two layers to trap the dino’s. Remember, the Dino’s are swimming at night, this is when you have a great opportunity to catch and remove large amounts.
Regarding light, there’s so much conflict and opinion here. I ran less Blue light and ran for a shorter period. Don’t play to many games here, it’s not a big deal but it’s best to back off a little but we don’t want to upset the corals too much and lighting will not be a key factor (with a possible exception when the dino’s have already reached extremely high levels)
Air scrubbing / bubbler: Using any form of additional aeration will help lift dinos to the surface or towards your filter intake areas, I ran air bubbler in the sump the entire time.
Avoid dosing amino’s during this process.
My system is roughly 200 gallons total water volume, I used a little over 2 1/2 gallons of pods/rotifers and close to a gallon of Phyto during the 14 days. Keep in mind the Phyto will be needed to keep the pods and rotifers fed but it can also reduce nitrate and phosphate levels so be mindful of all the affects Pytho can have.
Here's my display at high noon 14 days after I started with the above method:
I know there's still Dino's in the display even though they are barely visible. I'll continue to add rotifers and phyto every day for the next 2-3 weeks but a much smaller amount. I'm also setting up a rotifer culture station, something I wish I did before I started this battle. Check Reef Nutrition for easy set ups and Top Shelf has some great You Tube videos on this.
14-Day Aggressive Dino Eradication
With all my experience (too much) when dealing with Dinoflagellates, I’ve found the best way to beat them is to physically remove as many dino’s in every way possible, injure them or have them consumed. It’s equally important to dramatically reduce their food source by adding competition (pods and rotifers) and continuously disrupt clumps/colonies of Dino’s where they gather when the lights are on. Fish poop is also one of the more important factors. If you don’t have a heavy fish load, I suggest adding more (preferably fish that will have larger poops, size matters here).
First step : ID a sample of the algae under a microscope to be sure it’s a form of Dino.
Test Phosphate : .05-1.0 is the target range. The higher the phosphate, the better but be mindful and keep a close eye on corals as it elevates.
Test Nitrate : 5ppm-10ppm is the target but anything detectable is a good sign.
UV Light: I ran mine every other day during the daytime, also I ran the UV for an hour during and after each time I stirred up the sand / cleaned off the rocks (turkey style baster). I firmly believe running the UV all night to be crucial to this battle and yes, I can support this case.
Daily instructions for each 200 gallon water volume:
FLOW:
Crank it up!!! Add pumps down low if possible, anything to make it difficult for the dinos to thrive in the sand or on the rocks. Push your corals to the absolute max for flow, the more the better during this process. If you have any dead spots , add a power head to keep flow moving in all areas of the tank.
Charcoal:
I ran fresh carbon (5 days each bag) the entire time. This helps with toxins while the Dino’s die off.
Skimmer:
Turn it off until you hit your target PO4 range and then use accordingly.
Micro Algae: Since many of these reduce Nitrate and Phosphate you might want to use less during this time)
Feeding:
As soon as lights come on Feed your fish ( monitor your PO4 and NO3 levels and feed to hit or stay in the target range, I tested about every 2 days )
After the fish have been fed, Turn off Return pump, flow pumps, UV and stir up the sand bed, blow off rocks/corals glass, anywhere you see Dinos clumping up.
Add: 16 oz of Rotifers
16 oz of mixed pods
*16oz of Tisbee pods (if they’re in your mixed pods you won’t need this extra 16oz)
½ dose of bacteria ( I used SEED by Aquavitro and Genesis , again you want diversity)
We want all the fish poop, pods, rotifers and bacteria to settle down together forcing a competition for space and food.
Wait 15-30 minutes depending on coral/fish load then Turn on the flow inside the tank but not the return. Let the pods and rotifers go to work in a contained environment. After another 30 minutes turn back on the return pump but leave off the UV.
Lunchtime:
At Noon each day, feed the fish, wait a few minutes.
Then, Turn on the UV for one hour (Timer) , stir up the sand bed , blow off rocks and corals where Dino’s are clumping. This breaks up their party , sends many to the filter and what makes if past the filter gets zapped with UV which either kills it or severally injures it. Fish poop is key and you need a LOT. Make sure the UV is shut back off after an hour. The UV kills good bacteria we want to build up during this time.
Around 3PM-4PM the Dinos are usually congregating / multiplying the most. This is the best time to syphon out dinos into your filter sock or a bucket. If you use a bucket, filter the water through a 5 micron sock and replace the water. Water Changes of any sorts are absolute taboo during this process, even the smallest amount should not be changed out. Syphoning out the dinos are extremely critical, do it as often as you can daily or every other day even if you only have time to syphon a little, every bit helps.
Evening hours: (3rd feeding of the day)
Before lights are off (an hour or so before ) feed the fish then use the baster to blow everything off again.
When lights go off for the night:
Add ½ dose of Bacteria
Add 8-16oz of Rotifers
Add 8 oz live Phyto
You want a diverse mix of phyto species the more the better. I primarily used phyto from Algagen Direct, Top Shelf’s Royal Flush 3 species mix and Ocean Magic from Reef Nutrition)
About an hour after lights have been out, TURN ON UV and allow it to run overnight.
Run fresh filter socks , 1-3 days max. I ran 5-10 micron filter mesh over my filter socks that are 50 micron giving me two layers to trap the dino’s. Remember, the Dino’s are swimming at night, this is when you have a great opportunity to catch and remove large amounts.
Regarding light, there’s so much conflict and opinion here. I ran less Blue light and ran for a shorter period. Don’t play to many games here, it’s not a big deal but it’s best to back off a little but we don’t want to upset the corals too much and lighting will not be a key factor (with a possible exception when the dino’s have already reached extremely high levels)
Air scrubbing / bubbler: Using any form of additional aeration will help lift dinos to the surface or towards your filter intake areas, I ran air bubbler in the sump the entire time.
Avoid dosing amino’s during this process.
My system is roughly 200 gallons total water volume, I used a little over 2 1/2 gallons of pods/rotifers and close to a gallon of Phyto during the 14 days. Keep in mind the Phyto will be needed to keep the pods and rotifers fed but it can also reduce nitrate and phosphate levels so be mindful of all the affects Pytho can have.
Here's my display at high noon 14 days after I started with the above method:
I know there's still Dino's in the display even though they are barely visible. I'll continue to add rotifers and phyto every day for the next 2-3 weeks but a much smaller amount. I'm also setting up a rotifer culture station, something I wish I did before I started this battle. Check Reef Nutrition for easy set ups and Top Shelf has some great You Tube videos on this.
