If I would have known dinos existed I’m not sure I would have gotten into this hobby.

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msavoy

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Just keep in mind, and why I feel identification is irrelevant. Its not that LC's are immune to UV (they don't have armor), it's that they don't voluntarily go into the water column. They embed themselves to the sand, which makes it very hard to force them away. If you have them on your rocks, and are able to move them freely into the water column by blow them off with a turkey baster, a UV will kill them. Regardless, if its on your rocks, you can assume that you have more than one type of dinoflagellates, which UV will treat. We already know he will need to dose silicate for the sand. I had ever type imaginable.


I can turkey baste 50 times a day if I need to to keep those suckers floating in the water to get irradiated.

Do you think this type of UV filter sterilizer would be sufficient for my 45 gallon? It says it does up to 80 gallons. Thanks again for your help.
 

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I can turkey baste 50 times a day if I need to to keep those suckers floating in the water to get irradiated.

Do you think this type of UV filter sterilizer would be sufficient for my 45 gallon? It says it does up to 80 gallons. Thanks again for your help.
The recommended UV is 1 watt/ 3 gallons, and 1-3 GPH for the volume of the tank. Flow is key, so they pass through slow enough to kill them otherwise they are just getting a sunburn. Also make sure it is pulling from the display and not the sump.
 

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I can turkey baste 50 times a day if I need to to keep those suckers floating in the water to get irradiated.

Do you think this type of UV filter sterilizer would be sufficient for my 45 gallon? It says it does up to 80 gallons. Thanks again for your help.
Which type? You didn't specify/share a link

How many gallons of water are in the tank? Your Total Water Volume is what you want/need to calculate.

(Display volume + Sump volume) - (Rock + Sand Displacement) = Total Water Volume.

Once you have that number, that is what you use for both the wattage (1 watt for every 3 gallons) and the flow (2-3x flow)

So, IF your total water volume is 45 Gallons, then it's 15 Watt UV and 135 GPH of flow through said UV.


Also, rather than turkey baste every day. Move your tank temp up to 82 degrees for the two weeks you are running the UV. I have yet to meet a species of Dino that remains stuck to surfaces with 82 degree water.
 

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Bigger is always better, but you run the risk of overheating your tank.



Get a two little fishies ball valve to regulate the flow to it's proper setting. Get this bucket and try setting it for 2gal per minute.

 
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Which type? You didn't specify/share a link

How many gallons of water are in the tank? Your Total Water Volume is what you want/need to calculate.

(Display volume + Sump volume) - (Rock + Sand Displacement) = Total Water Volume.

Once you have that number, that is what you use for both the wattage (1 watt for every 3 gallons) and the flow (2-3x flow)

So, IF your total water volume is 45 Gallons, then it's 15 Watt UV and 135 GPH of flow through said UV.


Also, rather than turkey baste every day. Move your tank temp up to 82 degrees for the two weeks you are running the UV. I have yet to meet a species of Dino that remains stuck to surfaces with 82 degree water.
I have quite a bit of rock in my tank and with the sand I think it probably takes up 5 gallons so my tank is probably around 40 gallons of water. So with that calculation I’d need around 13 watts. I went ahead and bought this one since it said it’s good up to 80 gallons but maybe it won’t be strong enough. The flow rate is also 200gph and I don’t think I have the option to adjust. It’s supposed to be delivered today, should I just return it and order a stronger one?

 
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Bigger is always better, but you run the risk of overheating your tank.



Get a two little fishies ball valve to regulate the flow to it's proper setting. Get this bucket and try setting it for 2gal per minute.


I never thought of this, this is a great idea, thank you!
 

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I have quite a bit of rock in my tank and with the sand I think it probably takes up 5 gallons so my tank is probably around 40 gallons of water. So with that calculation I’d need around 13 watts. I went ahead and bought this one since it said it’s good up to 80 gallons but maybe it won’t be strong enough. The flow rate is also 200gph and I don’t think I have the option to adjust. It’s supposed to be delivered today, should I just return it and order a stronger one?
Personally, I would buy the UV and pump separately. The combo units are typically trying to clear your water and get rid of algae blooms. Or, you can do as @GarrettT suggested and get a ball valve, plumb it in, and use a bucket to dial in your flow. If you go with less wattage, you also need less flow... You want to try and maintain a ratio of exposure.
 

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This is a super frustrating thread. Running a UV will accomplish squat unless his/her dinos are a type that will be affected. And it doesn't make one bit of difference how many of us in this thread killed dinos with UV. That has no impact on whether it will be effective for them.

The OP already stated that trying so many things and nothing working was reason enough to quit. So the suggestion is to go spend a few hundred on a UV?

What happens when his/her dinos don't respond to UV because they happen to be the ones that UV is useless on? They're just MORE mad with less money in their pocket when they quit?

The thing to do is to slow down, relax and read the "Are you tired of battling altogether" thread that @atnet360 suggested and form a solid plan and stick to it. Maybe the plan will include UV, maybe it won't. But it will certainly start with ID'ing them before spending a bunch more money on that.
The OP has already stated in this thread that his Dinos do clear at night.

A UV worked for me.

It’s equally frustrating when people keep suggesting a microscope when the money could be put straight into a UV, those that keep recommending to ID the dinos first always seem to then go on to either suggest the same method of removal no matter which dinos were ID, or to suggest a UV, when a UV was probably an obvious solution from the start, I keep hearing about all these thousands of Dinos and how ID is so important, which nearly always results in the suggestion of either the use of a UV or not.
 

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I have quite a bit of rock in my tank and with the sand I think it probably takes up 5 gallons so my tank is probably around 40 gallons of water. So with that calculation I’d need around 13 watts. I went ahead and bought this one since it said it’s good up to 80 gallons but maybe it won’t be strong enough. The flow rate is also 200gph and I don’t think I have the option to adjust. It’s supposed to be delivered today, should I just return it and order a stronger one?

Just as a comparison. My tank is a 48 Gallon Display and 30 Gallon Sump. The sump rides just above the 1/2 way point, so we'll call that 20 Gallons. I have 40 lbs of CaribSea Moani rock (Identical to Marco Rock), and 2.75 inches of sand. My total water volume is 61 Gallons (I measured how much water it took to fill when I set it up).
 

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The OP has already stated in this thread that his Dinos do clear at night.

A UV worked for me.

It’s equally frustrating when people keep suggesting a microscope when the money could be put straight into a UV, those that keep recommending to ID the dinos first always seem to then go on to either suggest the same method of removal no matter which dinos were ID, or to suggest a UV, when a UV was probably an obvious solution from the start, I keep hearing about all these thousands of Dinos and how ID is so important, which nearly always results in the suggestion of either the use of a UV or not.
This... Not to mention, a UV is just a good piece of equipment to have around. Helps with water clarity, helps to treat/mitigate fish diseases, and helps keep film algae under control. The list goes on...
 
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The OP has already stated in this thread that his Dinos do clear at night.

A UV worked for me.

It’s equally frustrating when people keep suggesting a microscope when the money could be put straight into a UV, those that keep recommending to ID the dinos first always seem to then go on to either suggest the same method of removal no matter which dinos were ID, or to suggest a UV, when a UV was probably an obvious solution from the start, I keep hearing about all these thousands of Dinos and how ID is so important, which nearly always results in the suggestion of either the use of a UV or not.
Yeah my dinos completely clear at night. I’m going to try the UV and see how it goes. I’m aware that maybe it won’t work and I’ll have to try some other methods as well, but the UV could be an easy fix.
 
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Just as a comparison. My tank is a 48 Gallon Display and 30 Gallon Sump. The sump rides just above the 1/2 way point, so we'll call that 20 Gallons. I have 40 lbs of CaribSea Moani rock (Identical to Marco Rock), and 2.75 inches of sand. My total water volume is 61 Gallons (I measured how much water it took to fill when I set it up).
Now that you’re saying this, I have done a huge water change before with 6 buckets of water (5 gallon buckets) and it left just a couple of inches on the bottom for my fish to swim around in, that includes taking most of the water out of the sump too. So I have probably between 35-40 gallons of liquid.
 

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ID the dinos first always seem to then go on to either suggest the same method of removal no matter which dinos were ID
100%. Microscopes are better for identifying that you indeed have dinos and not diatoms, not specifically to which type of dino. If you have dinos on your sand, dose silicate. If you have dinos on your rocks, UV sterilizer. Not sure why one would need to identify it through a microscope.
 

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Yeah my dinos completely clear at night. I’m going to try the UV and see how it goes. I’m aware that maybe it won’t work and I’ll have to try some other methods as well, but the UV could be an easy fix.
Add the UV with a routine of removal, such as scrubbing the rocks and sand vacuuming, with adding good bacteria and upping your nutrients you should be good.
Dinos are tough little buggers so don’t just rely on the UV, it needs a helping hand, remove as many dinos manually as you can, and also get as many in the water column to go through the UV.

When scrubbing, put a strip of filter cloth over your powerheads, you’ll be amazed how many that one step alone will catch.
 
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100%. Microscopes are better for identifying that you indeed have dinos and not diatoms, not specifically to which type of dino. If you have dinos on your sand, dose silicate. If you have dinos on your rocks, UV sterilizer. Not sure why one would need to identify it through a microscope.
Oh yes, it’s for sure dinos unfortunately. Can you buy this silicate from the fish store? I might go check today to see if they have them.
 

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Oh yes, it’s for sure dinos unfortunately. Can you buy this silicate from the fish store? I might go check today to see if they have them.
I've seen it in stores, but my LFS is a good 30min drive, so I just buy off amazon. Just know, you want your tank to look awful. Diatoms are not supposed to be visually appealing.
 

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Oh yes, it’s for sure dinos unfortunately. Can you buy this silicate from the fish store? I might go check today to see if they have them.
This is what I used… get an ID before you do anything!!!
 

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GarrettT

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This is what I used… get an ID before you do anything!!!
Assuming it’s a dino that’s not large cell, how would you treat that specific type differently? I’d pick silicate over a black out everytime. Silicate isn’t unnatural or damning in any way.

What specifically would you do different with an ID?
 
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I've seen it in stores, but my LFS is a good 30min drive, so I just buy off amazon. Just know, you want your tank to look awful. Diatoms are not supposed to be visually appealing.
Yes I remember having diatoms when I started my tank, definitely not a good look.
 
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