dinoflagellates

[yenniffer]

could this be dinoflagellates? It’s brownish stringy. i had a bad case of gha about a month ago and was able to get rid of it with reeflux. Now i have all this stuff in my sand bed.

 

[Reef.]

Looks like I could be.

 

[yenniffer]

How do i get rid of it. I’m doing a water change tomorrow.

 

[Lavey29]

What are your current water parameters?

 

[Uncle99]

could this be dinoflagellates? It’s brownish stringy. i had a bad case of gha about a month ago and was able to get rid of it with reeflux. Now i have all this stuff in my sand bed.

Water change may make that worse, they come when nutrients zero out.

Hard to tell without magnification.

If they disappear every night, but back when lights are on, then yes, Dino, likely golden type…..use Dino-X and UV.

Suck out as much as possible.

Ensure nutrients, are available in trace quantities.

Use Dino-x, an algaecide, to wipe them out.

Takes about 6 days.
You got to make sure nutrients are correct or they will return in some weeks.

 

[Spare time]

List your phosphate number

 

[yenniffer]

List your phosphate number

looks like 0

 

[MNFish]

If they are dinos and the dinos go away at night and then build back up uv sterilizers are usually very efficient.

 

[yenniffer]

If they are dinos and the dinos go away at night and then build back up uv sterilizers are usually very efficient.

No it doesn’t disappear at night

 

[Idech]

Do dinos always disappear at night ? I seem to have them too and there is no difference night or day.

 

[MNFish]

They may still be Dinos but it is more hit an miss if UV will help if they do not disappear.

 

[MNFish]

Do dinos always disappear at night ? I seem to have them too and there is no difference night or day.

No some do and some do not, the ones that do disappear however usually are effective most by UV.

 

[melonheadorion]

there is a way to test this, from what ive found in these forums and online. get a sample of the algae and filter it through papertowel into a clear jar, and shake it very well, then let it sit. if it is dinos, dinos will reform to look like a mucus. here is the thread in R2R about doing this test, that you might find useful.

Helpful Method for Identifying Dinoflagellates

There have been dozens (probably hundreds) of posts from people trying to identify dinoflagellates in their aquarium. I have posted this in other threads but figured it might be helpful to start a thread explaining this method. Dinoflagellates are single-celled organisms that aggregate to form...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Spare time]

looks like 0

Which test kit?

 

[Losirk]

Just had the same problem, stop doing water changes, start feeding double. Blackout tank using cardboard for 24 hours, remove when dinos are gone. Avoid chemicals

 

[Forty-Two]

Another option is to dose frozen phytoplankton and rotifers. There is some evidence (although more is needed) that as they breakdown they outcompete the Dino’s cyano etc.

 

[yenniffer]

Which test kit?

Salifert

 

[Spare time]

Salifert

Ok. You could consider dosing phosphate but i often highly recommend the hanna ulr phosphorus or phosphate for this.

 

[yenniffer]

So I think my tank is crashing! I had dose chemiclean on thursday and didn’t do the water change until yesterday (which I should’ve done on sat). I’ve had used it in the past without issues. I had some cyano alone with what I think is Dino’s. The cyano is gone the dinos are still there. My corals are ticked off though. Most of the zoas are closed, the elk horn that I had in there turned white, one of my anemones is dead and the other in bad shape and this morning I woke up to a dead cleaner shrimp! Ugh I hate myself right now. I don’t know what else to do, I already did a big water change yesterday and added carbon back in the filter socks. Help!

 

[kriskool123]

Your tank is way to clean and has low competing algae and bacteria so the dino is beating everything in the compeition for nutrients. You need to keep nitrates around 10 ppm and .10 phospate, high levels will help you grow a competing algae and raise your good bacteria.. Dont do waterchanges and dont use any amino supplements. I did this last week and it fueled Dino like crazy.

A $15 microscope helped me verify the strain (osteoporosis dino) for this type a UV sterilizer 9 watt called green machine for $44 seems like is getting rid of them quickly. After trying everything and 2 months of fighting its well worth the price.