Very simply they need energy. Just have to limit its availability to them. Easier said than done obv but I think humans are smarter than dinos 
Another Dinoflagellates Experiment
- Thread starter ggNoRe
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I am currently dosing kalkwasser. I have done 2 cycles of light reduction and this definitely assist in making the dinoflagellates go away. But as soon as I go back to full power a few days they come back strong. Cardboard would be tough on my system as I have a hybrid 4T5s and a Reefbreeder's V2 from the top and giant windows surrounding the tank on both sides. Essentially light is coming in from every angle.
So far I've been lucky in not losing corals don't want to press my luck by going too far with blackouts.
Since we're here spitballin... Maybe try focusing on one single area for a bit. As the dinos retreat bacteria and film algae should take over. See if that area keeps them away. Then repeat. The issue I see is light energy availability is abundant in your setup. You gotta get crafty perhaps
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- #44
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Going to try the more laid back and natural approach for a while next. As long as my corals aren't being affected I'm going to do my best to leave things be. Will see how it goes.
I forgot I tested all parameters daily, salinity, temp, dkh, calcium, mag, nitrate, phosphate. That way you know for sure you never bottom out. It was a PITA but after the month and some it really seems to pay Off. I have not tried to add in whites or intesnsty yet but I have 3 sps that are all going great even putting on growth so if it ain’t broke don’t fix it right now for me.
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- #46
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New experiment with a fresh start
Day 1: I did a 10% water change and siphoned my sand. After I dosed about 10ml MB7. Going forward I'm going to stop turkey basting every night and try my best to just feed and leave things along. The exception will be if dinoflagellates start entangling a coral. In that case I will try to just blast them off the coral and do nothing else. Also no more carbon or hydrogen peroxide. I'm just going to let nature take it's course and only dose small amounts of MB7 if I see nitrates raising rapidly. Skimmer, UV, and filter pad will be used 24/7. Lights will stay on full power and normal schedule.
In just a few hours my system went from looking pristine after the water change to heavy brown matting on the sand bed. This was expected as dinos love water changes. Now to sit back and be patient.
Day 1: I did a 10% water change and siphoned my sand. After I dosed about 10ml MB7. Going forward I'm going to stop turkey basting every night and try my best to just feed and leave things along. The exception will be if dinoflagellates start entangling a coral. In that case I will try to just blast them off the coral and do nothing else. Also no more carbon or hydrogen peroxide. I'm just going to let nature take it's course and only dose small amounts of MB7 if I see nitrates raising rapidly. Skimmer, UV, and filter pad will be used 24/7. Lights will stay on full power and normal schedule.
In just a few hours my system went from looking pristine after the water change to heavy brown matting on the sand bed. This was expected as dinos love water changes. Now to sit back and be patient.
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I’ve heard Marco gets the worst Dino’s. I don’t know what They’re made of or if it’s something about them or coincidence.
looking forward to seeing this. Did my second water change and no sign yet
looking forward to seeing this. Did my second water change and no sign yet
Well I think the focus there is on dry Marco (not live) vs live rock and the biodiversity present or lack there of
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- #50
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Mostly dry marco. IIRC I almost got some random cheap rocks on Amazon. From what I've researched pretty much all the stuff we get now is dug up underground in Florida.
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Did an extra thorough cleaning of the tank today. Filters changed, toothbrushed rocks, got a pump and blasted rocks, sifter sand, 10% water change, cleaned pumps, and skimmer. Threw in some MB7, phytoplankton, and back to lights out. Going to do another 2 day blackout with a slow ramp up. Everyday dosing of MB7 and phyto.
I have what I think is a small dino problem (so far) in my peninsula 25g. Microscope ID was giving me trouble as the cells didn't look like the obvious ones I see in the dino guide. It is only on my sand. I also have had diatoms on the sand for a month or two that haven't really bothered me, until the other day. I decided to vacuum up a bunch of the diatoms off the sand during a water change, stir a little sand, and baste up some more the following day. Guess what took their place? Something not so rusty looking that disappears at night...
Sometimes I think it better to let sleeping dogs lie! Now I am battling the dinos which are uglier, potentially toxic, and likely harder to battle. I lost a small setosa frag this week. Maybe related to the dinos, maybe related to the 5% light increase I made. Not sure which. Everything else seems fine. I dosed some peroxide last night after they went into the water column, and added some filter floss in the AIO chamber to collect as much as possible. Today looked better than yesterday. I will stop the AB+ dosing, increase phyto I already doese, and keep with the peroxide/filterfloss at night. If that doesn't slow it down, I will consider UV. I will say my nitrates have been a steady 5 ppm for months. My phos has been .01 ppm since I recently started testing a few weeks ago.
I was also already considering adding a couple pounds of live rock and some live sand from someone like tampa bay saltwater to increase biodiversity. I miss the old days of having all the critters in the tank do the hard work, and kind regret doing the dry rock method this go around! This might be another good reason to grab some proper LR and LS.
Sometimes I think it better to let sleeping dogs lie! Now I am battling the dinos which are uglier, potentially toxic, and likely harder to battle. I lost a small setosa frag this week. Maybe related to the dinos, maybe related to the 5% light increase I made. Not sure which. Everything else seems fine. I dosed some peroxide last night after they went into the water column, and added some filter floss in the AIO chamber to collect as much as possible. Today looked better than yesterday. I will stop the AB+ dosing, increase phyto I already doese, and keep with the peroxide/filterfloss at night. If that doesn't slow it down, I will consider UV. I will say my nitrates have been a steady 5 ppm for months. My phos has been .01 ppm since I recently started testing a few weeks ago.
I was also already considering adding a couple pounds of live rock and some live sand from someone like tampa bay saltwater to increase biodiversity. I miss the old days of having all the critters in the tank do the hard work, and kind regret doing the dry rock method this go around! This might be another good reason to grab some proper LR and LS.
I had Dino’s for a while. Did lots of water changes with Lfs water and sucking but nothing worked. I eventually just stop doing water changes and lowered the light significantly. They eventually went away. Not sure what it was but it was either bacterial imbalance, the water, and or not enough flow.
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- #57
I gotta simply point you to Randy's article as I would just mess it all up lol
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