Dinos?

[Paul24]

The video shows a bunch of small bacteria or something moving and the photos show bigger cells I suspect to be dinos for sure. Any idea what I have?

More context:
Dose phosphates since it keeps bottoming out while nitrates are consumed alowly. Sand is the only affected currently. Rocks are live and sand is too. Had GHA a few weeks ago that was taken care of by manual removal and cuc. Tank is 2 months old.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Parameters of your tank?
Can we see a photo of your tank?

 

[Paul24]

Parameters of your tank?
Can we see a photo of your tank?

Parameters are:

Cal 410
Mag 1320
Alk 8.4
Nitrates 6
Phos 0 (despite dosing)
Salinity 34.6
Temp 77

 

[EnterName]

Your tank is only 2 months old. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

It looks like a "less common" (in reef tanks) dinoflagellate species, but it's pretty normal to have dinos in the early stages of a tank. They establish fast and seem to be thriving even in environments where algae and other microorganisms are not growing properly yet.

You substrate and rock are currently binding all the phosphate you are adding to your system until an equilibrium between bound and freely dissolved phosphate is reached. That's why your phosphate is "disappearing" so fast. It will take a while until rock and substrate are saturated to a point where the dissolved phosphate levels are detectable.

Of course it also depends on how sensitive your phosphate test is, but just know that with time your parameters will get to the desired levels. Of course corals might not appreciate the limited phosphate levels, so you might want to wait before adding corals to the system and keep dosing and testing frequently.

 

[Danroo]

Ugly stages, let it do its thing. Reuse water so phosphates don’t drop. 5 micron filter sock to catch the Dino’s if it’s bothering you that much but won’t need it.

 

[Paul24]

Your tank is only 2 months old. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

It looks like a "less common" (in reef tanks) dinoflagellate species, but it's pretty normal to have dinos in the early stages of a tank. They establish fast and seem to be thriving even in environments where algae and other microorganisms are not growing properly yet.

You substrate and rock are currently binding all the phosphate you are adding to your system until an equilibrium between bound and freely dissolved phosphate is reached. That's why your phosphate is "disappearing" so fast. It will take a while until rock and substrate are saturated to a point where the dissolved phosphate levels are detectable.

Of course it also depends on how sensitive your phosphate test is, but just know that with time your parameters will get to the desired levels. Of course corals might not appreciate the limited phosphate levels, so you might want to wait before adding corals to the system and keep dosing and testing frequently.

I used live rock and live sand though. I can see the sand absorbing it for sure. The LPS corals I have are growing new heads already. My blastos and cyphastrea. Plus my zoas gained a 4th head too. I dose phos daily so the organisms can try to grab some before pest or sand sucks it all up. I posted this in a fb group and the consensus seems to point towards chrysophytes being the dominant species.

 

[Danroo]

I used live rock and live sand though. I can see the sand absorbing it for sure. The LPS corals I have are growing new heads already. My blastos and cyphastrea. Plus my zoas gained a 4th head too. I dose phos daily so the organisms can try to grab some before pest or sand sucks it all up. I posted this in a fb group and the consensus seems to point towards chrysophytes being the dominant species.

The only high level of success is when you get the rocks and sand from the ocean. If your live rock was from a different tank then the diversity of biome would be low.

 

[Paul24]

The only high level of success is when you get the rocks and sand from the ocean. If your live rock was from a different tank then the diversity of biome would be low.

10 lbs of the rock is maricultured while the other 10 lbs was aquacultured. Got them from marco rocks. Pretty happy so far with them.

 

[Danroo]

10 lbs of the rock is maricultured while the other 10 lbs was aquacultured. Got them from marco rocks. Pretty happy so far with them.

It should go away on its own in the next week or two. I don’t think you would see an explosion of Dino’s.

 

[Paul24]

It should go away on its own in the next week or two. I don’t think you would see an explosion of Dino’s.

Phos was zero for awhile before dosing. I had GHA, some turf, and bryopsis for like two weeks then they disappeared for the most part. That's when I noticed phos was bottomed out. These chrysophytes aren't letting up now. Snails and pitho crab doing what they can while I try to suck some of it out during water changes.

 

[EnterName]

Your tank is only 2 months old. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

It looks like a "less common" (in reef tanks) dinoflagellate species, but it's pretty normal to have dinos in the early stages of a tank. They establish fast and seem to be thriving even in environments where algae and other microorganisms are not growing properly yet.

You substrate and rock are currently binding all the phosphate you are adding to your system until an equilibrium between bound and freely dissolved phosphate is reached. That's why your phosphate is "disappearing" so fast. It will take a while until rock and substrate are saturated to a point where the dissolved phosphate levels are detectable.

Of course it also depends on how sensitive your phosphate test is, but just know that with time your parameters will get to the desired levels. Of course corals might not appreciate the limited phosphate levels, so you might want to wait before adding corals to the system and keep dosing and testing frequently.

I used live rock and live sand though. I can see the sand absorbing it for sure. The LPS corals I have are growing new heads already. My blastos and cyphastrea. Plus my zoas gained a 4th head too. I dose phos daily so the organisms can try to grab some before pest or sand sucks it all up. I posted this in a fb group and the consensus seems to point towards chrysophytes being the dominant species.

Fair point, now that you mention it, besides the few amphidinium cells chrysophytes make sense considering the shape. Good thing you got another opinion. Chrysophytes are "rare" so I didn't consider it and just thought it's some small amphidinium species with an odd shape.

I still think it should resolve itself. If I remember correctly chrysophytes also build shells from silicate (SiO2/SiO4) like Diatoms. Maybe it makes sense to double check your RO/DI water is actually free of silicate.

 

[Danroo]

I think the general consensus is that corals also come in with their own micro biomes. This is why in a healthy system some corals just don’t do well. You’re corals might be doing a great job with sustaining itself while the live rock might be getting resettled with either water changes or removal of competition. If I were you I would look into dosing and try reducing the amount of water changes.