3D UV Sweeper Try out for LCA Dinos

[141918]

Day 8:

You know the drill lol.

Anyway, there are still some persistent dino hanging out on the sand. The only thing I notice is that their red appearance is rather dim, almost translucent/clear looking. But still has that minor red/brown tinge to them.

One good thing is that any film algae accumulating on the glass is green instead of red. I think I will continue to let it grow out, even if it gets messy. I may have said earlier that I will not scrape the glass but my tank OCD gets the best of me and I scrape it anyway. But I think it's time to let it go and get a bit ugly, if it means curbing the biome for other less annoying invaders. I will attach pics as per my progress as always.

I think this is going to take longer than expected since my tank is nitrogen limited. Without dosing, my no3 seems to stay low, but have been trying to get it up to about 10 ppm the last little while by daily dosing small amounts of neonitro. However. a disturbing trend before and during this treatment is that I notice any kind of natural nutrients in the tank do no support the dinos. But, any supplemental nutrients such as Neo nitro or Neo Phos always seem to exacerbate them. Currently po4 is holding at 0.18 even with the phosguard. I will keep monitoring it to see if it continues to climb.

 

[Moe K]

Looks great. Keep on going. It won't hurt to check the sand under the microscope every once and a while.

IME with phosguard you have to change the media out about every 3 or 4 days as it does a great job but exhausts fast.

 

[sdreefer619]

I went with the more natural approach when it came to my Dino outbreak. My nutrients went out of wack and didn’t catch it. I had to do more frequent water changes and stayed on top of my filer sock replacements and my skimmer was on and I lowered the intensity of my lights

 

[141918]

Looks great. Keep on going. It won't hurt to check the sand under the microscope every once and a while.

IME with phosguard you have to change the media out about every 3 or 4 days as it does a great job but exhausts fast.

Thanks. Been putting in the time every single day and it looks like it's paying off. Even though it's been 1 more day than a week, its still a small price to pay for how long my tank looked the other way.

One thing about the phosguard that reminded me of something.

At one point in the past when I starved the Dinos by doing daily water changes to get rid of the majority of them by vacuuming the sand, I actually went and bought rowaphos. (At this time I thought I had diatoms as I didn't have my scope yet). I just wanted to point out that for literally 2 to 3 weeks, I couldn't see a dino or anything for the matter in my tank and was ecstatic lol. The sand was pristine white and clean. However, I let the rowaphos get old and didn't replace it, and the Dinos came back. I wonder if Rowaphos could act like an aid in conjunction with the UV sweeper or was it just eliminating p04 so rapidly that it starved them? It just seems something is funny with this type of media as the Dinos can still do very well with light only. Definitely something to think about for sure.

I only wanted to include this as I understand from some of your other threads you were looking for those who were willing to experiment a little to see what works and what doesn't.

 

[Moe K]

Scrolling through the picture side by side and you can really see the progress. I should say 10-14 days should be a minimum. If you need longer, go longer. Some get very lucky in less than a week of success. I am not sure I have seen anyone needing to go longer than a month. Just to be clear.

If it becomes a tedious task after the 10-14 days I don't see anything wrong with intermittent use (2 or 3 times a week). Eventually they will not return when the tank becomes more healthy and the biome shifts.

 

[Moe K]

At one point in the past when I starved the Dinos by doing daily water changes to get rid of the majority of them by vacuuming the sand, I actually went and bought rowaphos. (At this time I thought I had diatoms as I didn't have my scope yet). I just wanted to point out that for literally 2 to 3 weeks, I couldn't see a dino or anything for the matter in my tank and was ecstatic lol. The sand was pristine white and clean. However, I let the rowaphos get old and didn't replace it, and the Dinos came back. I wonder if Rowaphos could act like an aid in conjunction with the UV sweeper or was it just eliminating p04 so rapidly that it starved them? It just seems something is funny with this type of media as the Dinos can still do very well with light only. Definitely something to think about for sure.

I only wanted to include this as I understand from some of your other threads you were looking for those who were willing to experiment a little to see what works and what doesn't.

I used rowaphos when my outbreak was the worst. It did not seem to help at all. IMO it probably did just suck the po4 right out of the water and left nothing for the dinos for a short period. Rowaphos works great but it can also leach iron.

I really appreciate the experimental spirit. We need more! The UV Sweeper is a great tool for this because of how rapidly it can sterilize dinos and a unique method can be tested to see if they rapidly return or not. But I also understand most just want to be done with the nightmare lol.

 

[141918]

Scrolling through the picture side by side and you can really see the progress. I should say 10-14 days should be a minimum. If you need longer, go longer. Some get very lucky in less than a week of success. I am not sure I have seen anyone needing to go longer than a month. Just to be clear.

If it becomes a tedious task after the 10-14 days I don't see anything wrong with intermittent use (2 or 3 times a week). Eventually they will not return when the tank becomes more healthy and the biome shifts.

Is there anything you can recommend out of past experience that may help with the transition? Like pods, reef mud etc? One thing I understand about this method is that creating the biome needed to keep these things at bay is the smoking gun for the long term solution lol.

 

[Moe K]

Not really. Purple non sulfur bacteria along with the UV Sweeping as stated in the directions was the best method I found personally.

I tried different bottled bacterias like Dr Tim's Waste Away and Microbacter Clean but those seemed to be too aggressive and almost like it backfired. Almost like they clean out your microbiome and not just the detritus.

I see lots of reports of having good experiences with Microbacter7. Also have heard a lot of good reports about Tropic Marin Nitribiotic.

 

[141918]

Hey everybody. Day #9:

Did another UV sweep and dosed Microbe Lift Special Blend.

Overall, looks like most of the Dinos are gone and not visible. However, have some persistent spots in the front corners of my tank and along the back where I can't reach.

I did have a pretty bad invasion at the start, and even after 9 days, this is a significant improvement. However, I think this will take another week of UV sweeping as I want to ensure I get to the point where I'm actually looking for Dinos to sterilize. For now, I will keep sweeping where the persistent spots are and try to angle the sweeper into these areas.

In a few days, I will review some microscope slides to see how things are progressing. I reviewed some a few days ago but can still see some. however, no where near as bad as before.

 

[saltygram]

Day 8:

You know the drill lol.

Anyway, there are still some persistent dino hanging out on the sand. The only thing I notice is that their red appearance is rather dim, almost translucent/clear looking. But still has that minor red/brown tinge to them.

One good thing is that any film algae accumulating on the glass is green instead of red. I think I will continue to let it grow out, even if it gets messy. I may have said earlier that I will not scrape the glass but my tank OCD gets the best of me and I scrape it anyway. But I think it's time to let it go and get a bit ugly, if it means curbing the biome for other less annoying invaders. I will attach pics as per my progress as always.

I think this is going to take longer than expected since my tank is nitrogen limited. Without dosing, my no3 seems to stay low, but have been trying to get it up to about 10 ppm the last little while by daily dosing small amounts of neonitro. However. a disturbing trend before and during this treatment is that I notice any kind of natural nutrients in the tank do no support the dinos. But, any supplemental nutrients such as Neo nitro or Neo Phos always seem to exacerbate them. Currently po4 is holding at 0.18 even with the phosguard. I will keep monitoring it to see if it continues to climb.

Curious how much Microbe lift Special Blend you have been dosing? Is it specified by sweeper protocol that I'm missing or are you following the step therapy on the bottle?

 

[141918]

I think at this point I'm just looking for the tank to shift in the right direction. Need to get that sweet spot where the not so annoying consumers come to the market and start squatting on land lol

Curious how much Microbe lift Special Blend you have been dosing? Is it specified by sweeper protocol that I'm missing or are you following the step therapy on the bottle?

It's one of the bacterias mentioned to provide the best results. I dose about 15 ml after every treatment, and the last few days 15 ml in the morning to coat the sand pre dino awakening.

But honestly, just gonna stick with the after treatment dose. I've got to a point where 95% of the dinos are gone. I think at this point, it's all about shifting the biome and encourage alternate invaders. The sweeper does work awesome without a doubt. But the biome shift is the smoking gun for long term. Being at this point, I think it's important to keep sweeping until a point where I can't see them anymore, by eye or microscope and play the waiting game

 

[141918]

Hey all. Day #10

I sure missed a day in reporting but did not miss a day in sweeping and dosing bacteria.

Seem to be stuck in a state where most of the Dinos are gone. However, there are still some winning in the corners and at the back of the tank.

Unfortunately will be gone for the weekend away until Monday. So that means no sweeping on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I guess I will see the tank in its state this coming Monday when I return. Unfortunately don't have anyone that can sweep for me while I'm away. As always, will attach current state pics pre treatment.

 

[141918]

Hey all. Day #10

I sure missed a day in reporting but did not miss a day in sweeping and dosing bacteria.

Seem to be stuck in a state where most of the Dinos are gone. However, there are still some winning in the corners and at the back of the tank.

Unfortunately will be gone for the weekend away until Monday. So that means no sweeping on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I guess I will see the tank in its state this coming Monday when I return. Unfortunately don't have anyone that can sweep for me while I'm away. As always, will attach current state pics pre treatment.

Just wanted to add that I was adding arctipods every few days this last week as my clowns love them. But going to stop and just stick with the vitalis pellets as I think with the increase of dino activity in the corners, is due to the amino acid enriched pods coming into the tank which is just feeling Dinos. A bit of a set back but will continue on the straight and narrow.

 

[jonelder68]

Love your documentation! Wish we could create a Dino’s sub section here exactly for this as we could all learn from it/study it in a way. I’ve been battling Dino’s since tank start. Will be a year old in 2 weeks. Tried it all! A black out with uv helped mine. Keeping UV running kept it away/not noticeable. Still a few on slide samples under the scope though.

Unfortunately my tank just caught a bad flukes outbreak so had to turn UV off to dose prazipro.

48 hours later and look at that Dino’s sand bed .

Prazi’s done so UV back on. Really wanting to take it offline . Last hail Mary as Moe has even noticed a lot of special grade sand tanks have issues with Dino’s. So ordered 7lbs to top dress sand bed with some TBS live ocean sand. We’re 2 days in so far we’ll see if it last

Same order added 20ish lbs more of there LR to create a remote cryptic fuge.

Wishing you luck on your fight! Stay strong

 

[saltygram]

Hey all. Day #10

I sure missed a day in reporting but did not miss a day in sweeping and dosing bacteria.

Seem to be stuck in a state where most of the Dinos are gone. However, there are still some winning in the corners and at the back of the tank.

Unfortunately will be gone for the weekend away until Monday. So that means no sweeping on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I guess I will see the tank in its state this coming Monday when I return. Unfortunately don't have anyone that can sweep for me while I'm away. As always, will attach current state pics pre treatment.

I was gone for a week about day 7 of my sweeping. It got swept a couple times while I was gone. By the time I got home they had returned quite a bit. But with just 3 days sweeping I'm caught back up. So you should be ok.

 

[141918]

Love your documentation! Wish we could create a Dino’s sub section here exactly for this as we could all learn from it/study it in a way. I’ve been battling Dino’s since tank start. Will be a year old in 2 weeks. Tried it all! A black out with uv helped mine. Keeping UV running kept it away/not noticeable. Still a few on slide samples under the scope though.

Unfortunately my tank just caught a bad flukes outbreak so had to turn UV off to dose prazipro.

48 hours later and look at that Dino’s sand bed .

Prazi’s done so UV back on. Really wanting to take it offline . Last hail Mary as Moe has even noticed a lot of special grade sand tanks have issues with Dino’s. So ordered 7lbs to top dress sand bed with some TBS live ocean sand. We’re 2 days in so far we’ll see if it last

Same order added 20ish lbs more of there LR to create a remote cryptic fuge.

Wishing you luck on your fight! Stay strong

I respect your determination. This is a tough battle for some of us that get in these crappy situations.

Keep up the good fight and don't give up. I also read a ton and try to find many methods and try them out to alleviate/solve the issues.

So far, the UV sweeper has been an extremely effective tool in this dino battle. Im not rid of them yet but the elimination since inception has been tremendous.

But as good as the UV sweeper is, it alone I don't believe at this point is the smoking gun in dino eradication for my case. The fostering and maintaining of an environment that creates a biome that naturally keeps the Dinos away is the ultimate solution. In layman's terms, a mature, healthy ecosystem that provides a chance for other organisms to flourish.

Im going to keep sweeping until the end of next week, even after the weekend and see where things are at.

I honestly don't know anything about flukes, can you clarify? Are there any effective methods to keep it at bay?

 

[jonelder68]

I respect your determination. This is a tough battle for some of us that get in these crappy situations.

Keep up the good fight and don't give up. I also read a ton and try to find many methods and try them out to alleviate/solve the issues.

So far, the UV sweeper has been an extremely effective tool in this dino battle. Im not rid of them yet but the elimination since inception has been tremendous.

But as good as the UV sweeper is, it alone I don't believe at this point is the smoking gun in dino eradication for my case. The fostering and maintaining of an environment that creates a biome that naturally keeps the Dinos away is the ultimate solution. In layman's terms, a mature, healthy ecosystem that provides a chance for other organisms to flourish.

Im going to keep sweeping until the end of next week, even after the weekend and see where things are at.

I honestly don't know anything about flukes, can you clarify? Are there any effective methods to keep it at bay?

ya natural biome building is my goal. I’ve tried everything! And while everything worked Dino’s would shortly return after. I’m a big fan of UV and blackouts. It’s seemed most effective. Dino’s eventually leave the sand looking for light/photosynthesis and massive UV cooks them. If mild cases I’m sure several other things work just fine. My tanks has always gone from none to brown sand overnight. It’s pretty mind blowing.

Flukes is part of proper QT. Usually do 30 days of copper and then 2-1 weeks worth doses of prazipro to treat for flukes. Though seems some flukes are becoming immune to prazipro treatments it seems. I bought from a pre-quarantined vendor or have done quarantine myself. Last fish order shortly after my tangs started acting lethargic. Next day they were scratching on rocks rubbing themselves raw trying to rid themselves of the flukes. Of course I was out of prazipro so took two days to get more. By then both tangs laying on sanded heavy respiration. By then too late. Happens quick. Trying to save the rest of fish still. After flukes they’re all getting bacterial infections from the flukes. It sucks!

 

[141918]

I was gone for a week about day 7 of my sweeping. It got swept a couple times while I was gone. By the time I got home they had returned quite a bit. But with just 3 days sweeping I'm caught back up. So you should be ok

Thanks for the reply/update.

I kinda figured as much with the effectiveness of the sweeper.

However, my persistent late concern regarding the Dinos is that I don't think they will every be truly gone until my system is able to keep them at bay naturally.

The UV sweeper without a doubt does its job with extreme effectiveness. But unless you're able literally toreach every single one, I don't think its going to be the end solution for my dino case. At least as per the last 4 or 5 days observations.

Only issue is now that I need to ask all and myself is "what the heck is missing?". Nutrients have been detectable for a long time, most Dinos are gone, all tank params have been stable etc. What is the missing ingredient? lol.

I want to give the UV sweeper another 7 to 14 days of sweeping as I'm just curious to see how it pans out. So far, tank and corals looks so munch better/happier

 

[141918]

ya natural biome building is my goal. I’ve tried everything! And while everything worked Dino’s would shortly return after. I’m a big fan of UV and blackouts. It’s seemed most effective. Dino’s eventually leave the sand looking for light/photosynthesis and massive UV cooks them. If mild cases I’m sure several other things work just fine. My tanks has always gone from none to brown sand overnight. It’s pretty mind blowing.

Flukes is part of proper QT. Usually do 30 days of copper and then 2-1 weeks worth doses of prazipro to treat for flukes. Though seems some flukes are becoming immune to prazipro treatments it seems. I bought from a pre-quarantined vendor or have done quarantine myself. Last fish order shortly after my tangs started acting lethargic. Next day they were scratching on rocks rubbing themselves raw trying to rid themselves of the flukes. Of course I was out of prazipro so took two days to get more. By then both tangs laying on sanded heavy respiration. By then too late. Happens quick. Trying to save the rest of fish still. After flukes they’re all getting bacterial infections from the flukes. It sucks!

Im sorry to heat that, and that surely sucks. Hoping everything makes a great recovery.

I can feel your pain. Had my last clownfish 12 years. The pair I bought originally somehow got brook. Unfortunately here in Canada, you can't buy formalyn through a store and need to get it from a veterinarian. (obvious reasons why, but still).

Male clown died before the stuff could get here. But was able to save the female.

 

[Idech]

I have had Dino’s on and off for almost 5 years, ever since I started my tank. Prorocentrum and lately, LCA. UV sweeper on its own did work but they returned immediately.

So I had to use full force to battle them and towards the end, the UV sweeper finished the job. I started the battle in November but did it more seriously in January. I think they might be gone but I am keeping the UV sweeper by the tank in case I need it.

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.

Oh yes, it works very well on the rocks. I can attest to it. Just be careful because it will nuke every coral you touch with the light also. Ask me how I know. But at this point I didn’t care, I was going to shut down the tank if I didn’t get rid of them.