Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

[a.t.t.r]

I cant get the diatom method to work and seems every time i raise my silicates a sps takes a dive.

 

[taricha]

Hey guys. So I been dosing silicates for 2 weeks. I had a big diatom outbreak the tank is filthy but now I’m at the point where I have to decide when it’s safe to start the clean up process. Any suggestions?

always safe to do manual removal, IMO. It's efficient export, and there's no real risk that you'll eradicate the diatom population.

 

[Polyp Punk]

Take a sample and put it under the microscope to see if there are still dinos. If the dinos are gone then you can start the clean up process.

I don’t have the money right now for a microscope unfortunately… how long does it usually take for the diatoms to take over usually? My tank is infested with diatoms right now but I’m just not sure.. it’s a shot in the dark this sucks lol. It’s been about 2 weeks of dosing sponge excel and it did work preety good

 

[ryshark]

I don’t have the money right now for a microscope unfortunately… how long does it usually take for the diatoms to take over usually? My tank is infested with diatoms right now but I’m just not sure.. it’s a shot in the dark this sucks lol. It’s been about 2 weeks of dosing sponge excel and it did work preety good

That is so hard to say because the diatoms look like dinos too, with the naked eye. For me it took less than 2-weeks, but I already had diatoms and not a ton of dinos.

How much SpongExcel are you dosing? That stuff is super watered down, for silicates. With that said, I am now using SpongExcel as more of a preventative maintenance.

This is what I did here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/prorocentrum-dinos-beat-in-less-than-2-weeks.927799/

 

[blkhawk10]

Can I get confirmation on ostreopsis?

 

[taricha]

Can I get confirmation on ostreopsis?

The cells I can make out are prorocentrum.

 

[Steve2020]

I have LCA and I am dosing silicates, bacteria and phyto. I have read just about every thread/post on LCA and am confused about tank cleaning. If dosing silicates to attempt to create a diatom bloom is it recommended to clean/remove or not to clean/remove the top layer of sand? Also since dosing silicates I am getting a brown film on the glass. Should I clean or not clean the glass? Prior to starting the treatment I did remove the top layer of sand, and sand looked good for a few days until the LCA returned in the exact same locations. Also I have shut down my UV since I began treatment since LCA is not waterborne.
Recommendations would be appreciated on the cleaning aspect.
Thank you!!

 

[NickyReefs]

DINO ID?

Dino ID

youtube.com

 

[NickyReefs]

I belive I have Prorocentrum, anyone else agree?

Updated video

Dinoflagellates

youtube.com

Updated pics

 

[Aqua Man]

Here we go, again. Amazing how much like there is in a speck of water. Not sure of all what’s there. Nothing good I’m sure.

Thank you!!

 

[Steve2020]

Here we go, again. Amazing how much like there is in a speck of water. Not sure of all what’s there. Nothing good I’m sure.

Thank you!!

Is that just from the water column or did you get a sample of substrate and tank water and shake it up then pull the sample from the shaken substrate?

 

[Privateye]

Is it safe to assume nobody has suggested the "rip clean" thing yet?

Trolling of course. I'm sure this thread has been bombarded with it too.

 

[taricha]

Amazing how much like there is in a speck of water.

The main organism here, and the only organism of real concern is ostreopsis dinos.

Is that just from the water column or did you get a sample of substrate

That's going to be a sample of some brown material. If it were tank water that looks like that, then the entire tank would look tea colored.

 

[taricha]

Is it safe to assume nobody has suggested the "rip clean" thing yet?

Trolling of course. I'm sure this thread has been bombarded with it too.

Most everyone agrees that manual removal is a great tool. Just differences of opinion about how aggressive to be with the removal, whether it should be very narrow, or all inclusive, or things in between.

 

[Aqua Man]

Is that just from the water column or did you get a sample of substrate and tank water and shake it up then pull the sample from the shaken substrate?

Sample is a swab with a Q tip from glass panel and then swiped on a slide. Glass is visibly brown at water line.

Is it safe to assume nobody has suggested the "rip clean" thing yet?

That’s kinda how I gave the Dino the upper hand. Had some green cyano I was tired of looking at. Emptied tank and pulled sand out and rinsed all the green out. After a couple weeks, the cyano started coming back. I used chemi clean, second mistake.

The main organism here, and the only organism of real concern is ostreopsis dinos.

Thank you! UV back in service!

 

[KonradTO]

I mean we all say "stability is key" right? Substrate removal and cleaning is like the least stable thing you can probably do I guess. But in emergencies (like armageddon emergencies) I agree that a big reset might help

 

[taricha]

I belive I have Prorocentrum, anyone else agree?

Updated video

could be prorocentrum or large cell amphidinium - hard to make out distinguishing detail.

 

[GuppyHJD]

Salifert Si test has been a dud for several people, including me. Some have said it worked for them, but they are in the minority from what I've seen.

Taricha,
Is there a test kit you recommend or just go to the Hanna?

 

[taricha]

Taricha,
Is there a test kit you recommend or just go to the Hanna?

Hanna, hach, are the only kits that i know are reliable ones.

 

[Soey]

Around a week and a half into silicate dosing, and nearly all I see is diatoms! I have also stopped seeing new dino growth on places ive cleaned.