Day 10 in war against dinos: they're back after I thought I defeated them

[Mr. Acantho]

Recap of war:

- 3-day blackout
- dosed Fritz Turbo Start Live Nitrifying bacteria. Enough bacteria for 500 gallons compared to 217 gallon system
- Dosed Brightwell NeoNitro & NeoPhos to increase nitrate & phosphate. 2.1ppm & 0.06 ppm, respectively
- Water change + vacuumed sandbed

Results:
- Dinos were a minimal threat through day 8
- Rebuilt my cleanup crew & added two new LPS corals
- Dinos returned meaningfully on day 9, smothering two corals

Next steps:
- Added some copepods on day 9. Expecting a larger order from Algae Barn soon.
- Two-day blackout until Tuesday (day 11)
- Lights back on at 30% intensity on Wednesday (day 12).
- Aquarium Technician will also be visiting on Wednesday

Any further suggestions welcomed!

 

[Reefer Matt]

If the dinos appear to go away when the lights are off, I recommend a uv sterilizer.

 

[Seven Year Nap]

Do you know what type of Dinos you have? That can help with treatment. UV can be an option depending on the type of dinos.

You can blow the dinos gently off corals with a turkey baster if they are being smothered.

How old is your tank? You might just need more time for competitive organisms to build up.

 

[Mark Goode]

I had ostreopsis (or so I was told). Nothing worked, they always came back within hours. I finally listened to advice and installed a UV unit. The next day they were gone.

 

[Mr. Acantho]

Do you know what type of Dinos you have? That can help with treatment. UV can be an option depending on the type of dinos.

You can blow the dinos gently off corals with a turkey baster if they are being smothered.

How old is your tank? You might just need more time for competitive organisms to build up.

13 months (Jan '22)

 

[Seven Year Nap]

Ok then, have you ever added other bacteria to the tank besides nitrifying bacteria? I would consider adding other bacteria such as Microbacter 7 to help things along.

While the blackout will knock the dinos back, they can continue to grow if the underlying issues haven't been solved.

Diverse bacterial culture, higher nutrients for these bacteria to thrive, and time are key I believe. Took me around 1 month to get rid of dinos completely. Physical removal and blackouts are great at knocking dinos back if they start to overwhelm things.

 

[Ziggy17]

Blackouts in itself does nothing to defeat dinos. If it’s ostreo that just encourages them to stay in the water column. So unless you are using a UV, it won’t help. If you LCA or SCA, they just cyst in the sand bed and return once the light comes back on. For LCA or SCA, the only thing that works is silicate dosing. Don’t clean your sand bed. You need it as dirty as possible as you need bacteria and diatoms to out compete them.
Attached is the Dino gospel.

 

[Mr. Acantho]

Day 22: no dinos

Light cycle is now 6 hours a day & lower intensity at 30%

I have +6 jars worth of copepods that I think is the biggest different. Algae Barn's Ecopods

I did a water change on day 20, but did not vacuum the sand. Letting my sand softers do it without disturbing the live organisms competing against dinos.

Will post a pic tomorrow or later in the week. Everything looking good except an indophyllia I moved recently.

 

[Mr. Acantho]

Tank looking good and no dinos so far. Copepod army + bacteria in the sand appears to be effective competing against dinos

All corals open & plump except orange indophyllia on the left that looks shriveled up