Heavy dinoflagelates, zero phosphate zero nitrate

[Trailermann]

29 gallon mature Aqueon tank with HOB filter and HOB skimmer, 2 Hydor pumps for circulation, 1/2" sand bed and pukani rocks.
1 large BTA, and numerous SPS and way too many kenya trees.
Small purple tang, mature standard clown, and blue spotted jawfish.

Shortly after I removed my skimmer for repair, there was an explosion of dinos that took over the tank. I sucessfully eradicated with H2O2 them but they keep coming back. Daily dosing of 1.0 mil of H2O2 keeps the dinos away. I have no coralline or other algae showing.

But my PO4 and NO4 have been zero for many weeks, maybe months. Thinking that this was the cause of the algae outbreak, I began to overfeed and dose phosphate (Neophos). Still reading zero. Twice I got a PO4 reading but it went down by the next day.

I even got zero reading when I ran a test only one hour after dosing the phosphate.

I have been testing with Salifert, and recently confirmed accurancy with Red Sea Pro test.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Well, zero nitrate and/or phosphate is one of the biggest risk factors for getting problematic dinos, so your answer may actually be the cause.

 

[Gareth elliott]

You can probably l up your dosage amount, much of the phosphate is going to bind to your rock and sand. The dinos are likely using the remainder. To keep mine up atm fighting dinos i am dosing enough mono-potassium phosphate to for .2 ppm but only actually getting .06ppm. Also dosing sodium nitrate for nitrates. That is closer to my initial math for my stock solution.

By chance are you carbon dosing?

 

[Trailermann]

Good and helpful suggestions. I am just dosing calcium and alk (as well as the H2O2/Neophos)

 

[AdamNC]

Get some NeoNitro and MB7 also. You need to bring them up together. While at the same time adding some more beneficial bacteria(MB7). I was running into this same issue until I started using MB7, NeoNitro and NeoPhos. I was dosing daily for about 2 weeks a little at a time until I hit No3 2ppm and Po4 0.02ppm. Now I have to do weekly doses to help keep the levels up.

 

[Trailermann]

Still no results.
Trying to use Neophos, Neonitro, and Microbacter to raise PO4 and NO3 from zero readings. (trying to eliminate the dino problem.) My tank is two years old, and seems to have no algae, other than the dinoflagelates that keep returning.

By the way, I am keeping the dinos in check with almost daily additions of H2O2.

With my 29 gallon HOB tank and HOB skimmer, I have added large quantities of Neophos, mutiple times and still get no readings.

Would not 2 ml be more than enough to raise phosphate in my 29 gallons?

Your instructions confuse me. Why does addition of Neophos lower nitrates, and visa versa. But in my case, there is neither to lower since they are already at zero.

Finally, how does addition of Microbacter help? I thought more bacteria would be eating the phosphate and thus keeping it from rising.

Do you have recommendation for proper dosing quantity and schedule?
Pa

 

[AdamNC]

@Randy Holmes-Farley , is there a better way to explain how this works? I'm really not the best at explaining chemistry. I just know what works for my tank.

 

[kayla s]

I know this thread is a little dated, but hate to start a new one. I recently (2 weeks) purchased and set up a skimmer in my 20L. Overnight, this showed up in the sand bed. The skimmer is producing a little bit of micro bubbles, and I’m hoping that’s what this is, but is this Dino?? Thanks y’all!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I can't tell from this if it is dinos, or cyano.