Dino - Time to go to war

[rockstarta78]

My dino problem seems to be getting better. Currently I have a UV filter running, I am also dosing vibrant twice a week after @brandon429 's post. I seem to be finally making some progress. My sand does not look as bad as it used to. However, I am still scared to do a water change. I haven't tested my NO3 and PO4 in a while. I think they are closed to zero, if not zero.

@Ashish Patel Thank you for your post. I also started my tank with dry rocks, and I never used LR to seed my tank. I think you made a very valid point about the natural defense of your tank when the beneficial bacteria can out compete with all algae. Since my tank is less than 2yrs old, I think my rocks are not nearly as cycled as they should have been. I think that is part of the reason why I am having so much algae issue to begin with. The natural defense is just not as established as I would like it to be. And not to mention the Dino has killed all the pods I added in the tank. However, I finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, one day soon I will be dino (and algae) free.

 

[Ashish Patel]

My dino problem seems to be getting better. Currently I have a UV filter running, I am also dosing vibrant twice a week after @brandon429 's post. I seem to be finally making some progress. My sand does not look as bad as it used to. However, I am still scared to do a water change. I haven't tested my NO3 and PO4 in a while. I think they are closed to zero, if not zero.

@Ashish Patel Thank you for your post. I also started my tank with dry rocks, and I never used LR to seed my tank. I think you made a very valid point about the natural defense of your tank when the beneficial bacteria can out compete with all algae. Since my tank is less than 2yrs old, I think my rocks are not nearly as cycled as they should have been. I think that is part of the reason why I am having so much algae issue to begin with. The natural defense is just not as established as I would like it to be. And not to mention the Dino has killed all the pods I added in the tank. However, I finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, one day soon I will be dino (and algae) free.

My tanks 7 months now and I remember looking at my tank at 2 months (picture below), I honestly knew that there was no way this my dry rock was become alive with just frag rock or rubbles that I used to seed it. My rock is now just starting to cover with covering coralline algae but my sump because covered with fan worms and other creatures almost instantly after adding LR. The only drawback is now I have a few aiptasia growing in my refugium and tank aswell as vermid snails and serpant starfish - I figured LR comes with some good and some bad and knowing my luck they'll probably end up in my tank anyways.

I would not worry about doing waterchanges. the first 4 months of my tank being setup I only did 1 or 2 small waterchanges, If your tanks heavily stocked then it could be more critical but I prefer 10% every 2 weeks. Right now I'll do 1 every 7 weeks just to be safe.

 

[rockstarta78]

That's a nice looking tank. Sorry don't remember if you mentioned this before. How big is your tank?

The only reason I didn't seed with any LR because I didn't want any hitchhikers. I guess you have to pay a price regardless which route you take. If you go all dry rocks it is going to take a LONG time to become efficient enough where it has the capability to fight off algae, thus have it's own natural defense kicking in. On the flip side, LR will seed your tank faster, get your natural bio diversity kick in, your ability to fight algae increases, however, you still have the risk of hitchhiker. I am hoping to seed my tank with PODS again after I have a good handle on my Dino and Bryopsis. My tank is not heavily stocked at all. I have 5 small fishes and only 4/5 corals left (most died from dino or could be fluco), which is why I am risking the water change.

I know there is a very long thread on using fluconazzole to treat Bryopsis, but I am really questioning it's side effect. I had a discussion with @mcarroll regarding this. But my first goal is to get DIno out of my system before I tackle bryopsis. But if the bryopsis get worse, I may have to tackle both at the same time. I still have fluco left over from the last treatment, but this is the 3rd time it has come back. And every time I treat with Fluco, I feel like the Dino gets worse. Now that's a totally anecdotal statement. So take it with a grain of salt.

Btw, I see you got 3 yellow tangs, and a Flame angel. Do you have any corals? Does the flame nip on anything? I always wanted a flame, but they scare me.

 

[Ashish Patel]

That's a nice looking tank. Sorry don't remember if you mentioned this before. How big is your tank?

The only reason I didn't seed with any LR because I didn't want any hitchhikers. I guess you have to pay a price regardless which route you take. If you go all dry rocks it is going to take a LONG time to become efficient enough where it has the capability to fight off algae, thus have it's own natural defense kicking in. On the flip side, LR will seed your tank faster, get your natural bio diversity kick in, your ability to fight algae increases, however, you still have the risk of hitchhiker. I am hoping to seed my tank with PODS again after I have a good handle on my Dino and Bryopsis. My tank is not heavily stocked at all. I have 5 small fishes and only 4/5 corals left (most died from dino or could be fluco), which is why I am risking the water change.

I know there is a very long thread on using fluconazzole to treat Bryopsis, but I am really questioning it's side effect. I had a discussion with @mcarroll regarding this. But my first goal is to get DIno out of my system before I tackle bryopsis. But if the bryopsis get worse, I may have to tackle both at the same time. I still have fluco left over from the last treatment, but this is the 3rd time it has come back. And every time I treat with Fluco, I feel like the Dino gets worse. Now that's a totally anecdotal statement. So take it with a grain of salt.

Btw, I see you got 3 yellow tangs, and a Flame angel. Do you have any corals? Does the flame nip on anything? I always wanted a flame, but they scare me.

Thanks! The tank is 115gallon (actual water volume is around 135gallons). I have about 10 sps corals and 5 LPS, I will take some more current pictures but not too proud with the tank after having a bad experience dosing nitrates. Always been a fan of Flameangels and never had an issue with LPS softies, however 2 days back I have narrowed down my lack of PE to the flame angel, DO NOT EVER get one of these if you want to be a SPS reefer. They are stunning however will fool you into thinking they don't do anything but they graze for no reason. lol I never see it bother the corals but have ruled out everything else. I've never had bryopsis or perhaps I have and not paid much attention to it. I have some hair algae growing around the tank hopefully its just hair algae. Have you tried removing 50% of your sand and rinsing it clean and replacing? I found this helps alot especially b/c most of the problems start in the sand!

 

[rockstarta78]

The tank is 115gallon (actual water volume is around 135gallons). I have about 10 sps corals and 5 LPS, I will take some more current pictures. Always been a fan of Flameangels and never had an issue with LPS softies, however 2 days back I have narrowed down my lack of PE to the flame angel, DO NOT EVER get one of these if you want to be a SPS reefer. They are stunning however will fool you into thinking they don't do anything but they graze for no reason. lol I never see it bother the corals but have ruled out everything else. I've never had bryopsis or perhaps I have and not paid much attention to it. I have some hair algae growing around the tank hopefully its just hair algae. Have you tried removing 50% of your sand and rinsing it clean and replacing? I found this helps alot especially b/c most of the problems start in the sand!

LOL. I like your all caps "do not ever" get a flame. I think flames need to be fed at least 3 times a day and have nori in the tank to graze. Gorgeous fish tho, but it scares me.

So if running UV, dosing Vibrant, sand siphoning and dosing h2o2 fails, my next plan is to take out half the sand, rinse it in RODI, let it dry for few days and take the other half out while put the dry one in. I really don't want to go through that painful process if I could avoid it. hopefully my current process will work. But if everything fails, yes, that's my last attack plan.

 

[Ashish Patel]

LOL. I like your all caps "do not ever" get a flame. I think flames need to be fed at least 3 times a day and have nori in the tank to graze. Gorgeous fish tho, but it scares me.

So if running UV, dosing Vibrant, sand siphoning and dosing h2o2 fails, my next plan is to take out half the sand, rinse it in RODI, let it dry for few days and take the other half out while put the dry one in. I really don't want to go through that painful process if I could avoid it. hopefully my current process will work. But if everything fails, yes, that's my last attack plan.

After I got the flame I actually found a coral vendor who would trade it for 3 frags but later decided against it since I hate to catch fish... Plus the fish is super happy in my tank and I've always kept them without issues! I spoke to another coral vendor who told me to get rid of the angelfish but I brushed him off - this was 4 months back! The colors of the flame are absolutely stunning and I hate how my tanks looks without one! However, its not worth the risk, especially with what corals cost these days we want to maximize they growth and potential. So I'd stick with small docile fish, anthias, chromis, and few tangs. Though My 3 tangs and wrasses could also be contributing to the lack of day time PE sine they are peckers aswell.

 

[Ashish Patel]

LOL. I like your all caps "do not ever" get a flame. I think flames need to be fed at least 3 times a day and have nori in the tank to graze. Gorgeous fish tho, but it scares me.

So if running UV, dosing Vibrant, sand siphoning and dosing h2o2 fails, my next plan is to take out half the sand, rinse it in RODI, let it dry for few days and take the other half out while put the dry one in. I really don't want to go through that painful process if I could avoid it. hopefully my current process will work. But if everything fails, yes, that's my last attack plan.

You know what I did to the sand.. during a waterchange I just syphon as much top layer as I could, Rinsed it with a hose until I was left with just sand. Did not see any increase in nutrients and phosphates.

 

[Mark Brugh]

I battled Dino's for several months, partly of my own fault. I misdiagnosed the Dino's for something else. Once I diagnosed it correctly my local dealer recommended Vibrant. He gave me a small sample to start and I ordered a couple of bottles directly from the company that produces it. Long story short, I followed directions on the bottle and my 180g. tank was clear of Dino's in 10 days! Now I dose a maintenance amount once a week with no sign of Dino's for several months now.

 

[Hedrick99]

I had a Dino outbreak recently after putting a tang in my tank to deal w/ red and green hair algae outbreak. The tang decimated all algae pretty quickly 3-5 days, enter the dinos. I've been turkey basting and running a 57 watt uv. All of this is in a Red Sea reefer 65 gallon. I think I'm winning this battle w/ turkey baster and uv only. It's been 3 weeks and the Dinos are really slowing down. My 2 cents.

 

[landlubber]

I know there is a very long thread on using fluconazzole to treat Bryopsis, but I am really questioning it's side effect. I had a discussion with @mcarroll regarding this. But my first goal is to get DIno out of my system before I tackle bryopsis. But if the bryopsis get worse, I may have to tackle both at the same time. I still have fluco left over from the last treatment, but this is the 3rd time it has come back. And every time I treat with Fluco, I feel like the Dino gets worse. Now that's a totally anecdotal statement. So take it with a grain of salt.

i had the same result after using fluccanozole. a month of bare rock following its use which was replaced by dinos on everything. it was just a balance shift to the next suitable issue.
i'm not 100% certain but i also feel that the treatment also had a pesticide effect on my pods and microscopic fauna.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I had a Dino outbreak recently after putting a tang in my tank to deal w/ red and green hair algae outbreak. The tang decimated all algae pretty quickly 3-5 days, enter the dinos. I've been turkey basting and running a 57 watt uv. All of this is in a Red Sea reefer 65 gallon. I think I'm winning this battle w/ turkey baster and uv only. It's been 3 weeks and the Dinos are really slowing down. My 2 cents.

I had a different cause but my instinct told to me to do the same thing as you mentioned, especially after watching Youtube videos of dinos under a microscope. I was concerned about the spreading but running more flow to the 36watt UV ensured all the tank water turned over at least 2-3 times per hour. Its been 5 days have only seen a few possible dinos so i just bastered them offer again.

 

[mcarroll]

Something worth a review before nuking your tanks:
Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

 

[rockstarta78]

I battled Dino's for several months, partly of my own fault. I misdiagnosed the Dino's for something else. Once I diagnosed it correctly my local dealer recommended Vibrant. He gave me a small sample to start and I ordered a couple of bottles directly from the company that produces it. Long story short, I followed directions on the bottle and my 180g. tank was clear of Dino's in 10 days! Now I dose a maintenance amount once a week with no sign of Dino's for several months now.

Do you know what type of Dino you had? I just started dosing Vibrant. Hopefully it works.

 

[rockstarta78]

i had the same result after using fluccanozole. a month of bare rock following its use which was replaced by dinos on everything. it was just a balance shift to the next suitable issue.
i'm not 100% certain but i also feel that the treatment also had a pesticide effect on my pods and microscopic fauna.

That's what I've been saying. So I am not the only one to observe this. I can't prove my theory since I also had dino, which is toxic and would kill my pods. But I'm leaning towards, fluco had a hand in Dino outbreak.

 

[Ashish Patel]

What are some noticed side effects of using Vibrant or fluccanozole?

 

[rockstarta78]

@Ashish Patel Haven't noticed anything bad with Vibrant yet. Then again, I've been using it only for a week now. As far as Flucoazzole goes, as I said before it's purely anecdotal. but I think Fluco kills your pods, and it helped accelerate dino growth. I don't have any proof to backup my statement, this is just my personal opinion based on observing my tank.

 

[Africangrey]

I used Vibrant to eradicate Osteo and it worked like miracle. I too had battled dino for a long time did bleach before Vibrant saved my tank. You need to go over some of people did on that long dino thread, but I did dose 2x concentrated for the first 2 wks then the 1x maintenance dose

 

[rockstarta78]

I used Vibrant to eradicate Osteo and it worked like miracle. I too had battled dino for a long time did bleach before Vibrant saved my tank. You need to go over some of people did on that long dino thread, but I did dose 2x concentrated for the first 2 wks then the 1x maintenance dose

You are giving me home dude. Hopefully mine will be gone too........... one day.

 

[rockstarta78]

Finally did a big water change this Saturday. I see bryopsis are starting to take over. However, I also finally see a white-ish sand bed. I think the dinos are dying down. Keeping my fingers crossed. I do see patches of it here and there.

As for the Bryopsis I was thinking about dosing Fluconazzole. But for now I am sticking with Vibrant. My GHA is turning brown and 70% is gone. I think in few months I could potentially have an algae free system. One thing I have done on regular basis is, I have vacuumed the sand every other day. I would start a syphon and put the water back in the sum while catch algae with a mesh net. That seemed to have helped a lot. For past one week I have not dosed any H2O2.

@Africangrey How often and how much did you dose Vibrant before you were able to get rid of your Osteo?


If anyone has any idea as to what I should do with Bryopsis? Since last time Fluco killed my pods (assumption - could be the effect of dino... who knows!), should I try Fluco again or stick to Vibrant? Or should I let Bryopsis grow while I just focus on Dino? @mcarroll

 

[Africangrey]

I completely wiped out all the osteo dino after 6 weeks of Vibrant dosing, used 2x of recommended dosed for the 1st 14 days (2 weeks) then the maintainese dose after that.