Dinos or something else

K.miller · Dec 5, 2019

Thanks for the ID. Much appreciated. Im going to get to searching and see if there are any success stories beating this kind

K.miller · Dec 5, 2019

Looks like these dont go into the water column as much as others. I think i will try another 2-3 day black out now that my UV bulb is working. Its a 36w turbo twist on a 120gl tank. Hopefully that is big enough? Also i have been keeping nutrient levels up with Brighwell Neonitro and Neophos. Should i continue these? Use something else? I was considering trying the Elegant coral method. Haven't been able to find any info that it has worked or not with this particular kind though.

dwest · Dec 5, 2019

K.miller said:
Looks like these dont go into the water column as much as others. I think i will try another 2-3 day black out now that my UV bulb is working. Its a 36w turbo twist on a 120gl tank. Hopefully that is big enough? Also i have been keeping nutrient levels up with Brighwell Neonitro and Neophos. Should i continue these? Use something else? I was considering trying the Elegant coral method. Haven't been able to find any info that it has worked or not with this particular kind though.

I would keep nitrates and phosphates measurable. Run the UV from DT back to DT at a rate of 100-300 gph. Siphon out dinos and blast the rocks as often as you can. I haven’t used the elegant coral method, but the only other thing I would consider is bacteria, like microbacter7, etc. I think if you are aggressive with getting them into the water column and keep nutrients up, you’ll succeed here.

good luck

K.miller · Dec 7, 2019

Well i went to move the UV into a place where it could be fed from the DT and i noticed the bulb wasnt working. I opened it up and the sleve had cracked and fried the bulb. Luckily it is still under warranty so i have a new one on the way. So im kinda at a stand still with the Dino battle right now as i dont want to start sturring everything up with no UV. I have been dosing waste away one day and MB7 the next. Not seeing any changes yet

K.miller · Dec 8, 2019

Im thinking about trying the ELegant coral method. Anyone know what type of vodka to use? Think i could us MB7 instead of ATM ?

Neoalchemist · Dec 8, 2019

I battled multiple strains for a long time and came to the conclusion that the tiny bit that water changes fueled the dinos meant very little compared to the effect of frequent small water changes for removal. Frequent manual removal with UV and balanced nutrient management can and will turn the tables quickly.
I found that filters down to 1 micron did very little and I would end up dumping water that was rusty red with dinos back in the tank. So I gave up on filtering and returning the removal water and went back to removal with small frequent water changes (like every other day or so at first).
Another thing that I feel makes a big difference was going back to kalkwasser to maintain a higher ph.
I really think you should start looking for a much more powerful uv. As you are probably will be running one from now on, it really makes sense to find the biggest one you can possibly hide in the sump or behind the tank and make no mistake, winning this battle without a properly sized uv (in the case of your tank, 60 watts or more) is difficult to impossible. When you are convinced the initial battle is over then you can move the uv supply and feed into the sump to become just another part of the system.
Silicate dosing can be another powerful tool for the more stubborn strains. It works by fueling a diatom outbreak which although almost as ugly is not toxic and will eventually burn itself out(Also edible to many reef inhabitants). The diatom bloom will overrun the dinos (they won't really grow together like dinos will with cyano or gha).
Another important note on manual removal, don't vacuum the sand as you normally would. Instead use the vacuum to suck out the entire top layer. The dinos will clump the top layer, take it all. I let that removed sand dry in the sun then wash it well and return it later when things are back under control.

K.miller · Dec 8, 2019

I sucked out the top layer of sand in about half the tank and dinos covered t again in about 36 hours. I can only take out so much as i have a leopard wrasse that needs the sand. I was concerned that my UV was undersized. What do you think about this one? Jebao 75wt UV

K.miller · Dec 8, 2019

I definitely cant afford one of the big name UV right before XMAS.I may get the Jebao but it seems to have mixed reviews. I may have to hope the 36 watt i have will do the trick with low flow.

K.miller · Dec 10, 2019

Still waiting for my new UV to come. Not sure what to do until lit comes. Tank is looking really bad now.

K.miller · Dec 14, 2019

New UV came today. Hoping to get it hooked up this evening. Then im going to do a 48 hour black out to try and get the dinos into the water. Really hope this starts me in a good direction. The tank isn't very fun to look at right now

K.miller · Jan 1, 2020

The new UV has been running and was dosing peroxide for a week or so. after several days blowing off the rocks they seem to be staying clear. The sand on the other hand not doing as well. I vacuum it and dinos comes right back. Not as bad as it was a few weeks ago but still comes right back. I guess that is a little progress.

K.miller · Jan 24, 2020

The stuff on the rocks seems to be somewhat gone. Still comes back in spots but i just blow it off. The sand on the other hand has gotten no better at all. Hasn't really gotten worse but its mostly all covered so im not sure how it could. I have been planning an upgrade to a 180 but i wanted to use the rock from this tank and transfer the corals but at this point im not sure that's a good idea. I guess i could just dry the rock but the euphylia the elegance and clams im not sure what to do with. Is there a dipping procedure they will survive and kill the dinos so im not just transferring this problem to the new tank? Ive been through a lot of up and downs in this hobby over the years but this is my first go with Dinos and its definitely one of the most discouraging things ive dealt wit by far