Dinos killing my tank

[LMSquire]

Guys,

Dino’s are killing my 25 gallon lagoon. Already took out a gorgeous torch and is working on another two. Zia’s all closed up, especially concerned about the gmk and stratosphere zoas and eclectus mushrooms I recently purchased that were not cheap.

Amazingly my lobo and scoly look incredible. Maybe something about the mucus on them idk

I have searched the engine and there are just sooooo many varying opinions.

It is both on the sanded and the stringy stuff coming off of the rocks and corals.

Can someone just give me some direction on this so I’m not just sitting here doing nothing but trying to manually remove this awful stuff??

 

[Stevorino]

From my understanding, Dinos can vary and identifying it can be crucial to picking the right strategy.

That being said, here's some advice on what has worked for me:

- Turn down the lights first and foremost. You have a mostly LPS tank so that shouldn't be too big a problem.

- Test nutrients and make sure they haven't bottomed out. IME, ultra low nutrients has always been the trigger.

- I had a lot of success with above two, and also Microbacter, Pods, and UV sterilizer. I'm not sure which was most impactful, but I deployed them all and it worked quicker than I expected.

Good luck!

 

[Idoc]

Do you have a microscope where you can post some pics of the dinos so they can be identified? This will help with treatment options.

 

[LMSquire]

Do you have a microscope where you can post some pics of the dinos so they can be identified? This will help with treatment options.

I can get one. Not quite sure how I would take a pic through a microscope with my iPhone but I could give it a go. But yeah, that seems to be my understanding is that it depends on what type they are.

From my understanding, Dinos can vary and identifying it can be crucial to picking the right strategy.

That being said, here's some advice on what has worked for me:

- Turn down the lights first and foremost. You have a mostly LPS tank so that shouldn't be too big a problem.

- Test nutrients and make sure they haven't bottomed out. IME, ultra low nutrients has always been the trigger.

- I had a lot of success with above two, and also Microbacter, Pods, and UV sterilizer. I'm not sure which was most impactful, but I deployed them all and it worked quicker than I expected.

Good luck!

OK definitely can turn down the lights.

My nutrients are actually a bit high in this tank.

When tested on 3/9:

Alk - 7

Po4 - .38

No3 - 13.2

Been working on bringing that phosphate down for a while.

I can go get a small UV sterilizer, but I’ve read mixed reviews on whether or not that actually works. I’m happy to do it if it works for you though. I understand that you’re not exactly sure which one of those did it but it seems I’ve worked out.

This may be a dumb question, but would not running any carbon in the tank for an extended period of time have any effect on Dino?

I guess my first step here is to get a microscope.

 

[LMSquire]

Do you have a microscope where you can post some pics of the dinos so they can be identified? This will help with treatment options.

OK, well problem solved. Just found a $40 microscope with digital camera compatible with iPhone and some petri dishes. Do you think that will suffice?

 

[brandon429]

Removing it removes the irritants

Leaving them in for further stress on the tank isn’t ideal, making the tank totally cleaned of them is ideal

Delaying for an ID doesn’t help. Here’s work completed

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

I’m so happy with that laser clear transfer pic set, so helpful for other movers planning large tank work you didn’t use any bottle bac, right? it’s so helpful to see that all reef tank cycles are linked in predictable, exact control since we are all dealing in stacks of rock in a display...

www.reef2reef.com

Run that in your tank post the update pic

We never ran one id in that whole thread, it’s all action set pics. Before and afters for evaluation, see if a fixed tank runs better.

 

[LMSquire]

Removing it removes the irritants

Leaving them in for further stress on the tank isn’t ideal, making the tank totally cleaned of them is ideal

Delaying for an ID doesn’t help. Here’s work completed

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

I’m so happy with that laser clear transfer pic set, so helpful for other movers planning large tank work you didn’t use any bottle bac, right? it’s so helpful to see that all reef tank cycles are linked in predictable, exact control since we are all dealing in stacks of rock in a display...

www.reef2reef.com

Run that in your tank post the update pic

We never ran one id in that whole thread, it’s all action set pics. Before and afters for evaluation, see if a fixed tank runs better.

Maybe I’m missing the part about Dino’s in that thread?

 

[saltcats]

I'm in the same boat right now. Nutrients look good; from what I understand it's about helping the competition as well as making sure your corals aren't being stressed out by low nutrients at the same time.

The microscope will be very helpful so you can ID your exact type of dinos; you need 400x magnification I believe. I found it was pretty easy to just hold my phone up to the eyepiece to get photos, personally!

There's a few good threads on dinos you can check out if you haven't already; good info in there!

A Dinoflagellate Treatment Guide

As the title suggests, this is intended as a short guide on what to do when you suspect dinoflagellates are trying to overtake your system. It is an attempt to boil down the protocols discussed across 11,000 posts in this "Are you Tired" thread along with thousands of other dino threads. I did...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[QuickrdenU]

In my tank thread towards the end I explain how I got rid of mine. I should have done it sooner as it started to affect my corals and snails.

 

[Mikeltee]

OK, well problem solved. Just found a $40 microscope with digital camera compatible with iPhone and some petri dishes. Do you think that will suffice?

Probably not. You need the $100 Amscope. I can probably save you the trouble though. First of all, you need Carbon. I suggest ROX 0.8 in a Reactor and using the BRS recommended amount accounting for displacement. This will get rid of the toxins. Make sure you thoroughly rinse the carbon before subjecting your animals to the fine dust. If you have tangs, consider using 50% as I've killed a Tang with carbon.

As far as IDing your dinos is concerned, there are two strategies. If the strain goes into the water column at night, an oversized UV set at a proper kill flow rate will address them.

Most likely they do not go into the water column which is what 90% of us deal with. You need to dose silicates at 2-3ppm. If you use UV and silicates together, the silicates will not proliferate. I use the Hanna LR silicate Checker. I dose 1ppm 38% waterglass to a 40g tank 2 days in a row and then take a day off. All tanks are different though dependant upon how much sponge you have.

You want to introduce more beneficial bacteria. I use Microbacter7 and dose daily. Twice a week, I use coral snow with the MB7 dose in it. I'll mix it up, scrub the rocks with a toothbrush, and then dose with return and skimmer off after it sits for 5 minutes. I also suggest blowing off all of the dinos daily with a turkey baster.

This is a slow process. I've had dinos that I fought for 2.5 years and gave up and started over. My recent bought I've fought for 6 weeks and they are 95% gone.


-- Silicates --

Technical Grade Sodium Silicate Solution or Water Glass, 16oz for sale. Buy from The Science Company

Sodium silicate (water glass) is a clear, colorless liquid with a viscosity of 42 degrees Baume. Used in soaps, detergents, adhesives and in waterproofing.

www.sciencecompany.com

Dose 2-3ppm
.1ml/15g for 1ppm
Add to RODI and shake well
Pour over wavemaker
Rinse container and pipette well and don't get on your hands.

 

[Idoc]

OK, well problem solved. Just found a $40 microscope with digital camera compatible with iPhone and some petri dishes. Do you think that will suffice?

OK, well problem solved. Just found a $40 microscope with digital camera compatible with iPhone and some petri dishes. Do you think that will suffice?

I haven't had much luck with the $40 scopes for clarity of images. You can usually find a good Amscope with good optics around $70 though. Just put a little bit of the debri on a slide and then look at the edges of the debri when attempting to take a photo so the dinos can be seen more clearly and openly. I've just held my camera lens over the scope's ocular and taken a picture with pretty good success...just need a steady hand.

 

[saltcats]

I got the emarth kid's microscope for about $70 (cheapest I found with decent reviews) and I thought the image quality was not too bad. It's definitely made of plastic but it got the job done.

 

[brandon429]

checking updates to reef invasion work

is this tank still covered in dinos/very curious

curious to know what this tank looks like today. can u post an updated tank picture
B