Dino’s and their relationship with phytoplankto. Is phyto working where peroxide failed?

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Long story short.

I was about to be extremely busy so I increased my skimmers run time, incorrectly. I shut off the timer and let it run full bore for a few weeks. The algae I welcome to grow on my glass stopped growing and ultimately vanished. My white substrate became new looking and before I realized it, Dino’s. I had stripped my tank clean.

I started over feeding and was dosing perixide 1mm/gal/day. Half broadcast in the evening at lights out. And the other half diluted with tank water .5 ml h2o2 : 10 ml tank water. Then spot treated the worst with all the pumps off and let that sit for about 5 minutes. Also did physical removal and the 3 day black out with this regimen going. It wasn’t working. Maybe keeping the dinos at bay. But that’s it.


2 days ago I started doing the .5 h2o2 broadcast. But instead of the peroxide dilution spot treatment, I gave my daily dose of phyto as a spot treatment to the most effected areas, injected into the substrate with the syringe.

the dinos aren’t coming back. Is my head deceiving me? Is phyto plankton eating or taking it out dinos?

 

[Ryan3313]

I'm curious to know. I just started adding phyto to hopefully help with dinos.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I should have taken photos and done this in a more controlled manner. It was just an off the cuff thought. I may as well try it because what I was doing wasn’t working.

I am also considering diluting the phyto with tank water so that I can cover more space with the spot treatment.

 

[Ryan3313]

I just put like 5ml of ocean magic on this spot on the rock I should've taken picture but honestly I didn't think is was going to do much.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

5mm is a single dose for my tank lololol

it’s why I am thinking I may dilute with tank water to use as a spot treatment. It’s hard to control a dose that small.

 

[Ryan3313]

I had all the pumps off and just used a plastic syringe to apply. Im also using uv to help fight the dinos.

 

[Reef Puncher]

Long story short.

I was about to be extremely busy so I increased my skimmers run time, incorrectly. I shut off the timer and let it run full bore for a few weeks. The algae I welcome to grow on my glass stopped growing and ultimately vanished. My white substrate became new looking and before I realized it, Dino’s. I had stripped my tank clean.

I started over feeding and was dosing perixide 1mm/gal/day. Half broadcast in the evening at lights out. And the other half diluted with tank water .5 ml h2o2 : 10 ml tank water. Then spot treated the worst with all the pumps off and let that sit for about 5 minutes. Also did physical removal and the 3 day black out with this regimen going. It wasn’t working. Maybe keeping the dinos at bay. But that’s it.


2 days ago I started doing the .5 h2o2 broadcast. But instead of the peroxide dilution spot treatment, I gave my daily dose of phyto as a spot treatment to the most effected areas, injected into the substrate with the syringe.

the dinos aren’t coming back. Is my head deceiving me? Is phyto plankton eating or taking it out dinos?

So phyto is an excellent method of combating dinos. But its not because they eat the dinos, its because they outcompete them. phyto/diatoms consumes nutrients, and replicates and sits/fills in on substrate leaving less room for dinos to propogate, also consuming light as well. they just outcompete the dinos. Phyto is also great food source for copepods, and there is a species, acartia, that is proven to eat dinos. There is alot of anecdotal evidence that apoc pods eat dinos as well.

I have not confirmed with any sources that Tisbe or Tigre consumes pods, but there does seem to be some anecdotal evidence out there. But ill stick with the proven, microscopic video evidence of acartia pods eating dinos, and dose those pods and phyto to my tank.

Also mexican turbos will eat dinos but if the outbreak is too bad, it could be toxic to the snail. In small qtys they do a great job.