First post Dino ID or Diatoms (microscope)

[deemoe]

Hello reef2reef community!

I've been trying to get an ID of some algae in my reef aquarium that is 5 months old.

SG: 1.026
Nitrates: 0.4 ppm
PO4 = 0.03 ppm
Ca2 = 421 ppm
dKH = 8.2
Mg = 1350

I've been getting nuisance algae on my sandbed, which disappears at night. I was thinking dinos given my low nutrients however, when I looked under a microscope, I believe I only saw several types of diatoms. None of the oval-shaped ones were spinning and did not resemble dynos from my understanding and research. Below are a few pictures showing various samples I took as well as one short video. Also, there brown ovals in the 5th picture were not moving at all and were sparse to find.

I had the typical light dusting type of diatoms when I first cycled the tank. This is different and more slimy, however no air bubbles either.

I would be grateful for anyone to share their knowledge to help ID what I have. I'm particularly interested in the oval ones with 1 or two dots.

 

[a.t.t.r]

Both

 

[Jedi Knghit]

Both

I second that

 

[deemoe]

Thanks for the reply!

The other pictures that show the ovals with the dots did move but not spin. Which ones are you identifying as dinos? The brown round ones in picture #5 were stationary and the least abundant in my sampling.
Any idea of species, perhaps Prorocentrum? ( They didn't really match the other microscope pictures I've looked up)

The organisms that are round with the two dots were the most prolific in my sampling. Is this simply one that is about to split?

Also, the second part is I've been starting to does NeoNitro to get my nitrates higher but have not seen an increase when dosing 1ml every day (water volume is around 18 gallons). I am weary to start dumping this stuff in. Would this not just fuel the other species of algae that would consumed first? Perhaps larger dosing would be better than slowing raising not to give the other species a chance to grow and multiply along with the nutrient increasing slowly. Thoughts?

 

[a.t.t.r]

Thanks for the reply!

The other pictures that show the ovals with the dots did move but not spin. Which ones are you identifying as dinos? The brown round ones in picture #5 were stationary and the least abundant in my sampling.
Any idea of species, perhaps Prorocentrum? ( They didn't really match the other microscope pictures I've looked up)

The organisms that are round with the two dots were the most prolific in my sampling. Is this simply one that is about to split?

Also, the second part is I've been starting to does NeoNitro to get my nitrates higher but have not seen an increase when dosing 1ml every day (water volume is around 18 gallons). I am weary to start dumping this stuff in. Would this not just fuel the other species of algae that would consumed first? Perhaps larger dosing would be better than slowing raising not to give the other species a chance to grow and multiply along with the nutrient increasing slowly. Thoughts?

Can’t tell from your photos what species they are, but you can’t rely on their motion as an identifier some of them just sit rather stationary.

 

[deemoe]

I'm back with some more pictures in hopes of an actual ID. The cell structure is clear with interior dots. I'm not 100% sure what is meant by "armored vs. no armor" in Dino Descriptions.

What are your thoughts....Is this mostly dinos or diatoms pictured?