Help me ID

Yooper Reef

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Ok finally got a micro scope to ID this stuff. My guess is some sort of Dino’s. I’ve been battling this for months. Been dosing nitrates to try and elevate number since they read zero.
This issued started about 4 months ago with dosing NP plus to raise N and P numbers. Tank went cloudy after about 2 days. Then this took over. The tank has high flow and it grows in strands and stays in the dark (doesn’t disappear). But when touched it falls apart easily.

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“Dinos," or dinoflagellates, are a persistent algae in reef tanks that appear as slimy, snotty, or bubbly growths, and can suffocate corals and harm fish. To get rid of them, you must first identify the specific type, then manually remove them daily, and ensure proper nutrient levels (low nitrates and phosphates are often a cause). Treatment also includes methods like adding beneficial bacteria, reducing light, and using a UV sterilizer. “


Opportunistic undesirables like Dinoflageletts thrive with low phosphate and low nitrate. Check out this thread and see if it helps.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/a-dinoflagellate-treatment-guide.841/
 
“Dinos," or dinoflagellates, are a persistent algae in reef tanks that appear as slimy, snotty, or bubbly growths, and can suffocate corals and harm fish. To get rid of them, you must first identify the specific type, then manually remove them daily, and ensure proper nutrient levels (low nitrates and phosphates are often a cause). Treatment also includes methods like adding beneficial bacteria, reducing light, and using a UV sterilizer. “


Opportunistic undesirables like Dinoflageletts thrive with low phosphate and low nitrate. Check out this thread and see if it helps.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/a-dinoflagellate-treatment-guide.841/
Do they look like Dino’s from the microscope pictures? They don’t have a football shape they are almost perfectly round it looks like
 
A football is round when you look at it from the side :) as for your problem i know nothing about reefs YET !!! Hope you figure it out !!!
 
Here’s some new photos I took. Chat GPT says the original post is diatoms
And these could possibly be Dino’s

20251112_215935_6A65FF67-2A92-4F4D-9424-72D687283D65.png

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