3D UV Sweeper Try out for LCA Dinos

[141918]

Hi All,

Excited to get my hands on my new 3D UV sweeper from 3D reefing. Won't be going too technical here as I believe there have been plenty of threads seeing how it works etc. This will be just so that I can input the steps I have taken for others to follow along, but also open for any questions or discussions along the way.

Tonight is the first treatment for my tank. 25 gallon 24x16x16. Re arranged rocks a bit so I can get around both sides, and front and some of the back corners. Will maybe change this method pending on progress. Uploaded the current state of my tank by taking pictures through the included yellow filter glasses. I have reviewed plenty of slides and have a positive ID of LCA Dinos as well as (some) Ostreopsis.

Day 1:
- Did 10 seconds over each spot on as much area as I could fit the UV wand. Put in about a 30 ml dose of Microbe lift Special blend as it's been a few days. No skimmer running and have changed my lighting to a more full spectrum. Nutrients are 2.5 No3 and 0.28 Po4. Yes, I know the phosphate is high but was recently dosing sponge excel which can show a false Po4 reading from what I have read.

Anyway, will continue to monitor nutrients every few days and keep sweeping daily, with a daily dose of Microbe lift Special blend. Will try to post some pictures tomorrow if I see any initial difference. However, I don't expect much to happen overnight and understand that it will take some time and labor for this to work out. Please note that pictures attached are pre treatment. I know it looks a bit yellow but have reviewed many slides, and have very little to no Diatoms. Even after heavy dosing Sponge Excel.

 

[141918]

Well, I guess the great reviews so far did not let me down. This is only 23 hours later after 1 treatment. (Pictures are attached).

I will do the same thing tonight. Sweep the sand bed for about 10 to 15 seconds per spot, trying to cover as much area as the sweeper will fit, then dose some Microbe lift Special Blend.

Will definitely post again tomorrow after treatment with an update !

 

[saltygram]

I have had mine for about 6 treatments now and my dinos are almost completely gone. I have been fighting these for 3 months and this thing fixed it in less than a week.

 

[141918]

I have had mine for about 6 treatments now and my dinos are almost completely gone. I have been fighting these for 3 months and this thing fixed it in less than a week.

Yeah, I'm honestly shocked on how effective it is. This was my last option prior to doing a RIP clean. It's looking like now that that might not be necessary. Fingers crossed ! lol

 

[saltygram]

Yeah, I'm honestly shocked on how effective it is. This was my last option prior to doing a RIP clean. It's looking like now that that might not be necessary. Fingers crossed ! lol

I'm confident you are heading in the right direction.

 

[141918]

I'm confident you are heading in the right direction.

Thank you.

I tried many ways. Dosing silicates for long periods. Extended periods of starvation and raised nutrients. Lighting spectrum changes etc. Honestly, the starvation method worked the best at removing dinos, but did nothing but starve my corals and eco system. Silicate dosing also did nothing for me. Barely produced any diatoms at all. I only seen a few in my slides after 2 weeks of heavy dosing.

My theory is as long as a system has any incoming nutrients, it's feeding the dinos, including fish waste.

The best part is that I'm still getting some minor film algae on the glass and the dinos are going away lol

Will continue to monitor nutrient levels along the way.

 

[141918]

Day 3:

Did another UV sweep for the sand band and did another dose of Microbe Lift Special Blend. Attaching pictures before treatment. Not as drastic as a change from night 1 to night 2, but definitely still a visible difference between treatments.

Will keep forging ahead until day 10, then start reviewing slides on the microscope.

Since my phosphates are still high, I also introduced some phosguard to try and lower them close to 0.1 ppm.

 

[141918]

Day 4:

Did another UV sweep and dosed the Microbe lift as directed. In the same situation as last evening. Can definitely see a difference but not all gone from visibility yet. Going to test my no3 and p04 tomorrow. Got my nitrate up to 3 ppm and po4 down to 0.18 using phosguard.

Really happy with the success so far. Things are really turning around for the better ! :D

 

[141918]

I just want to provide some re cap on my 4 days so far, jus so I can include some further information for others that are interested or facing a similar issue.

Prior to treatment, I'm going for a more whiter, full spectrum, which has been discussed in other similar threads and recommended. Not going crazy on par, but at least ensuring I have about 80 to 100 at the sand bed, which is well within normal ranges.

I introduced phosguard to lower my phosphates. Phosphate is a nutrient. I understand that having nutrients is necessary to curb the biome to create other critters. But having too much is just completely unnecessary and likely aiding the Dinos. They eat the same stuff in my opinion and will continue to outcompete other organisms by eating the same food in larger numbers. I truly believe, from my own personal experience, that once Dinos are present and dominant in the tank, that they will continue to out compete any or all other similar sized organisms in the tank regardless of nutrient levels. I think the main goal for this sweeper method is to use it as an eviction tool to make room for better tenants. I've had above detectable nutrients for a few months now, and made absolutely no difference in Dinos.

For now, I'm scraping my front glass, but leaving the sides and back. This will possibly add enough film algae that will consume excess organics. As I said before, having nutrients is necessary but too much is just problematic no matter the case.

Been also using the sweeper on my rocks as I also have a minor case of Ostreopsis. However, I am not covering all the rock area. Only the small spots that have thick mats.

Hopefully by covering some of these items and what is working vs not will be helpful to others in the same situation. Obviously there are many right ways to do things. But in the end, the rightest way is always the best. With this information, it can be reviewed and some things may work better than others, which can be concluded at a later point.

 

[141918]

Hey everybody. Day 5:

Did another UV sweep and dosed Microbe Lift Special Blend.

Not much of a difference tonight. At least one that I can tell. The substrate does look a tiny bit better. Seem to be very similar to last evening. However, will stay the course and keep sweeping and dosing for a total of 10 days

 

[saltyfish24]

I have had mine for about 6 treatments now and my dinos are almost completely gone. I have been fighting these for 3 months and this thing fixed it in less than a week.

Do you guys have a watt meter on hand to measure the wattage of your UV sweeper? Mine is only using 7 watts, while it's supposed to be 13W according to the box info.

 

[141918]

I have had mine for about 6 treatments now and my dinos are almost completely gone. I have been fighting these for 3 months and this thing fixed it in less than a week.

Do you guys have a watt meter on hand to measure the wattage of your UV sweeper? Mine is only using 7 watts, while it's supposed to be 13W according to the box info.

I don't have a watt meter myself.

I understand that 6 watts is a big difference here as 13 over 7 is approximately 86% more powerful. However, and for the distance above the sand when sweeping, I wonder if a total of 13 is needed or will 7 suffice?

 

[141918]

Day 6:

Again, did the UV sweep of the entire tank and dosed Microbe Lift Special blend.

In all honesty, the difference isn't that much, but by placing pictures side by side, there is still a noticeable difference between last evening and this evening.

I got at least 4 more treatments for the recommended 10 days for initial treatment.

Will continue to sweep daily and dose bacteria until I am unable to see any more visible Dinos. Then I will start reviewing slides on the microscope to see the accuracy of the current state.

 

[141918]

Just had a thought that I wanted to share.

Was thinking on the purpose and effect of the bacteria dosing along side the UV treatment.

My theory is that I still believe that it's necessary to get this bacteria in after sweeping the sand. However, I'm thinking if it would be beneficial to dose this when the lights are off?

My thoughts on this is that this will allow the bacteria to reach a sand bed surface when the Dinos are not present, pre occupying the area before they rise out of the sand. As I understand that Microbe Lift is a cleaning bacteria that helps reduce nutrients, this may allow the bottled bacteria to eat some of the nutrients etc from the sand, essentially opening up a empty restaurant for when the Dinos awake when the lights come on. I do get that LCA for the matter can photosythensize with light. But any removal of fuel in reason, for the Dinos could possibly act like a double edged sword, creating a more effective treatment along side the sweeper.

Going to try this out for the next 5 or 6 days and see what happens. I honestly see no harm in this as long as nutrients are monitored and detectable. I have also dose all kinds of Microbe lift special blend into my tank with absolutely no side effects.

 

[141918]

Day 7:

As always, another UV sweep and a dose of Microbe Lift Special Blend.

Today the tank is really, and overall looking 1000% better than before. Will include a tank wide shot within the message.

Took some slides today and viewed them on the microscope. Still definitely have Dinos, but it's about 50% LCA and 50% Ostreopsis, and very minimal observed on the sand. Either way, my rocks are clean as a whip except for some spots at the back which are impossible to reach without rearranging my entire rock work.

 

[TheWB]

I had a similar, although not quite as bad, situation to yours. I didn’t order the uv sweeper because my tank is acrylic and therefore not recommended. What I did was add PNS purple sulfer bacteria directly to my sand bed. I removed scoops of sand, soaked it for 15 minutes in the bacteria and then replaced the sand. It took about 10 days but the problem went away. You mentioned adding bacteria so that’s one you might consider trying.

 

[141918]

Hey thanks for the info. looks like microbe lift special blend has that same bacteria in it. Here is a copy and paste of the ingredients in it.

Microbe-Lift Special Blend contains a proprietary consortium of live, photosynthetic, aerobic, and anaerobic bacteria designed to break down organic waste and reduce nitrate/ammonia in aquariums. Key bacterial types included are
purple sulfur bacteria (e.g., Thiobacillus), non-sulfur purple bacteria (e.g., Rhodopseudomonas), and heterotrophic strains, which remove sludge and improve water quality.

All I do know is that it reeks lol. But seems to work well.

 

[TheWB]

Hey thanks for the info. looks like microbe lift special blend has that same bacteria in it. Here is a copy and paste of the ingredients in it.

Microbe-Lift Special Blend contains a proprietary consortium of live, photosynthetic, aerobic, and anaerobic bacteria designed to break down organic waste and reduce nitrate/ammonia in aquariums. Key bacterial types included are
purple sulfur bacteria (e.g., Thiobacillus), non-sulfur purple bacteria (e.g., Rhodopseudomonas), and heterotrophic strains, which remove sludge and improve water quality.

All I do know is that it reeks lol. But seems to work well.

I’ve heard that before but who knows what’s in a lot of the things we buy for our tanks. Soak some of your sand in it. You won’t be sorry.

 

[jackhoekstra]

Glad to hear this worked for you. I looked it up and it's official product name is "Sandbed 3D UV Sweeper"

Does this imply that it only works for Dinos in the sand?

I ask this because I noticed a very small amount growing on some of my rock work. Not sure if a "sandbed" sweeper would work on dinos growing from rocks.

 

[141918]

Glad to hear this worked for you. I looked it up and it's official product name is "Sandbed 3D UV Sweeper"

Does this imply that it only works for Dinos in the sand?

I ask this because I noticed a very small amount growing on some of my rock work. Not sure if a "sandbed" sweeper would work on dinos growing from rocks.

Honestly, the best thing to do when battling Dinos is buying a microscope. I had so many issues before buying one. Kept wondering is it cyano?, is it diatoms?, is it dinos? I kept going in circles. Once I got the scope, ID was very quick and very painless lol. I was able to get a positive ID and then was able to determine the best way to proceed. Unfortunately, all other methods didn't do anything for me. This UV sweeper is the only thing that worked. I dosed bottles of silica, tried raising nutrients etc. Some days I'd see some improvement just to watch it fade away a week or so later with consistent input and monitoring. Was not sure how the sweeper would work out but its literally like buying a magic wand lol.

To be quite honest, it will work for all Dinos that we know of, or I am aware of. However, the issue is that if they are on your rocks, its a good chance they are ostreopsis which go into the water column at night. These are typically best handled with a properly sized UV filter. You can get the hang on type, plumbed into your sump plumbing etc. Ive used the sweeper on rocks that don't contain corals with pretty great results. The only spaces left that have some on the rocks is at the back of my scape. But I'm hoping that once I shift the biome, it will eventually out compete them.