Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

[Dj City]

I set up a 20 long frag tank.
The light you see is coming from the bare bottom 40 breeder qt tank above it.
I have an Aqueon Quietflow hob rated for 50 gallons.
I have a mp10 on the top right and a Tunze 6105 on the bottom left under the eggcrate.
I'm using 2 little fishes Stax rocks for live rock and it doubles as a stand to raise the eggcrate off the bottom of the tank. I added a bunch of bio spira and microbacter7 to start the cycle.
I think I will get some miracle mud or fiji mud for this frag tank. I have Dinos in my 110 gallon DT and I have some nice corals.
I'm setting up a brand new 180 gallon to replace the 110 gal. the corals from the 110 will go into the frag tank after a good dip and new frag plugs where appropriate.
Maybe if I can get enough biodiversity in the frag tank, the dinos will be starved out and I can add them to the new build.

Anyone have any ideas, comments, suggestions or warnings for me?

 

[._Z_.]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but...
Lights cut to half schedule, lights cut to half intensity or lights cut completely off will not help at all. Not one little bit.
It might look nicer for a day or two but nothing about lights is going to help.
It's not even a band-aid.

I think some will disagree with you here. Changing light cycle is suspected to be a contributor in convincing some strains to enter the water column, thus making them a better target for UV.

 

[Jonreefer]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but...
Lights cut to half schedule, lights cut to half intensity or lights cut completely off will not help at all. Not one little bit.
It might look nicer for a day or two but nothing about lights is going to help.
It's not even a band-aid.

I dont agree that its not useful at all.
Lights out or cutting lights is helpful to get them a bit weaker when you start attacking them in other forms. I am going dark again for a few days now because I put my UV in and I want them in the water column as much as possible to pass through it to help kill them off

 

[OpenOcean33]

I dont agree that its not useful at all.
Lights out or cutting lights is helpful to get them a bit weaker when you start attacking them in other forms. I am going dark again for a few days now because I put my UV in and I want them in the water column as much as possible to pass through it to help kill them off

Agreeeed

 

[SteveO83]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but...
Lights cut to half schedule, lights cut to half intensity or lights cut completely off will not help at all. Not one little bit.
It might look nicer for a day or two but nothing about lights is going to help.
It's not even a band-aid.

Getting them in to the water column for the uv. Also have elavatee nitrates and phosphates. Tho phos can be a tad higher

 

[taricha]

Does amphidinium grow on hair algae? After installing UV and seeing ostreopsis recede, my tank just got taken over again by other strains.

I can’t tell if I have amphidinium, prorocentrum or coolio at this point.

This sample was pulled from hair algae on rocks

The sample below is off of the sand

Have videos too. Just don’t know the best way to upload

Hair algae has mix of ostreopsis and Coolia, sandbed looks all Coolia and cyano.

 

[taricha]

Hey guys help me out here tell me what this is so I can start taking care of it.

The color is a bit odd. Do you have microscope pics?

 

[dugthefish]

What are ya'll using to dose phosphate?

 

[Dj City]

I am quite sure some will disagree.

Others that have been fighting this for years, myself included will agree.

These prehistoric beasts could care less about light.

Think of it like this, turn the lights out for a week. Total blackout.
Have the UV running during that time thinking they are in a weakened state.
What happens is you kill off algae that might have helped compete against them. You hurt your corals.
The sand looks really great for about a week after a blackout but...
The dinos start to reappear because they never went away. Killing light does not kill dinos. Killing light does not weaken dinos.
Dinos could care less about light.
They just wait till it's favorable for them to start taking over again.

I know this because I've tried it myself as well as many others.
I even went further by using my UV as a sand/dino vac. I used the intake tube of the UV and suctioned them through the UV. I did this before a blackout. I've done this during a blackout and I've done it after a blackout.
Do you think it worked?


Nope!

 

[Dj City]

If you read this extremely looooooong thread, you will find people that have done this to no good end.

I don't know what the answer is to dinos.
I just know what does not work.

Lights out does NOT work.
Not at all, not somewhat, not even a little bit.

Just makes it look better for a very short time.

 

[Dj City]

Good luck to you though.

You will find out in your own time that this approach is a waste of time and stressful on corals for no reason.

I truly wish you the best of luck.

 

[Jonreefer]

Good luck to you though.

You will find out in your own time that this approach is a waste of time and stressful on corals for no reason.

I truly wish you the best of luck.

Good luck to you though.

You will find out in your own time that this approach is a waste of time and stressful on corals for no reason.

I truly wish you the best of luck.

Someone needs to learn how to quote. Who are you even replying to. Few days of darkness does nothing to hurt corals.

 

[Dj City]

I think some will disagree with you here. Changing light cycle is suspected to be a contributor in convincing some strains to enter the water column, thus making them a better target for UV.

Someone needs to learn how to quote. Who are you even replying to. Few days of darkness does nothing to hurt corals.

Don't get in your feelings.
You are absolutely correct about corals.
A few days of darkness does nothing to hurt corals.
So you think a few days of darkness will hurt dinos?
I am just pointing out that a blackout will hurt corals which DEPEND on light BEFORE hurting dinos which do NOT depend on light.

Good luck to you.

 

[Dj City]

I am still hopeful someone can answer my question about my frag tank.

 

[Dj City]

I set up a 20 long frag tank.
The light you see is coming from the bare bottom 40 breeder qt tank above it.
I have an Aqueon Quietflow hob rated for 50 gallons.
I have a mp10 on the top right and a Tunze 6105 on the bottom left under the eggcrate.
I'm using 2 little fishes Stax rocks for live rock and it doubles as a stand to raise the eggcrate off the bottom of the tank. I added a bunch of bio spira and microbacter7 to start the cycle.
I think I will get some miracle mud or fiji mud for this frag tank.

I have Dinos in my 110 gallon DT and I have some nice corals.
I'm setting up a brand new 180 gallon to replace the 110 gal.
The corals from the 110 will go into the frag tank after a good dip and new frag plugs where appropriate.
My hope is if I can get enough biodiversity in the frag tank, the dinos will be starved out and I can add them to the new build.

Anyone have any ideas, comments, suggestions or warnings for me?

 

[saltyhog]

What are ya'll using to dose phosphate?

I use SeaChem Flourish Phosphate.

 

[Dj City]

I use SeaChem Flourish Phosphate.

Good stuff.
I use the same.

 

[mtdaly85]

So I'm back. I had ostreopsis but blasted that away with some UV. I took the UV offline and I started to notice some more red / brown snot around the tank. This stuff clings to the corals much more aggressively than the ostreopsis did, so I decided to take a look at a sample under a microscope and found:

Here is a video at 100x:
Here is a video at 400x:

Doesn't look like its a serious infestation, I see a lot more cyano than I do dinos, but none-the-less it looks like I might have coolia and prorocentrum?

 

[aras]

Can anyone help to identify these?

 

[mtdaly85]

Can anyone help to identify these?

Do they zoom around in a pulsing (expanding / contracting) motion? I'm going to guess amphidinium.