OP
OP
Totally hear you. I'm patient with this and I'm gonna win. I'd rather battle this and learn how to beat it when I have little to lose. Breaking it down and a fresh start won't be an option when I have livestock in there.
My Plan to Deal with the Dinos - A diary
- Thread starter Siberwulf
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OP
OP
Day 29:
I decided to pull my Chaeto and junk it. It was a crazy harbor for the dinos. Plus, I'm going to be ditching the lights again for a period of time as I really want to encourage the Dinos to get into the UV. I picked up some NeoNitro as well as I want to get my NO3 up above 0, which it's currently sitting at.
I decided to pull my Chaeto and junk it. It was a crazy harbor for the dinos. Plus, I'm going to be ditching the lights again for a period of time as I really want to encourage the Dinos to get into the UV. I picked up some NeoNitro as well as I want to get my NO3 up above 0, which it's currently sitting at.
OP
OP
Day 30:
Added the first dose of NeoNitro to get NO3 to 3ppm. Also, noticed the skimmer cup was filling mighty fast since I emptied it on Day 28. Like...more than half full. I guess that's a sign of things dying in there? (like maybe dinos dying???)
Added the first dose of NeoNitro to get NO3 to 3ppm. Also, noticed the skimmer cup was filling mighty fast since I emptied it on Day 28. Like...more than half full. I guess that's a sign of things dying in there? (like maybe dinos dying???)
OP
OP
Day 31:
Adding NeoNitro helped and NO3 is now measuring again about 3ppm. I'll measure again tomorrow to see what the rate of change is on it. I probably need to invest in a better nitrate tester than Red Sea....
Adding NeoNitro helped and NO3 is now measuring again about 3ppm. I'll measure again tomorrow to see what the rate of change is on it. I probably need to invest in a better nitrate tester than Red Sea....
OP
OP
Day 32:
NO3 came down to what looks like 2ppm. Dinos look to be pretty gone, but the film algae seems to be going away too (no lights) which makes me wonder if my snails are gonna make it much longer without food. Crabs and Bristle seem to be feeding on the crab food I'm throwing in occasionally...
NO3 came down to what looks like 2ppm. Dinos look to be pretty gone, but the film algae seems to be going away too (no lights) which makes me wonder if my snails are gonna make it much longer without food. Crabs and Bristle seem to be feeding on the crab food I'm throwing in occasionally...
OP
OP
Day 37:
For those of you playing along:
I'm not going to jinx myself and say that it's all clear, but it feels more under control than it did when this whole thing started.
For those of you playing along:
- UV has been in place running 24/7 for almost two weeks
- I pulled my Chaeto 8 days ago because it was a straight magnet for the dinos.
- I ran with lights off (to force them into the water column, to get zapped by the UV) for 7 days, just recently turning them on 3 days ago
- I added NeoNitro to the tank to get me to 2ppm NO3 a week ago, and it's been measurable since. Assuming it's not dropping due to the fact the Chaeto is MIA and nothing else is absorbing it. Which is fine by me.
- Lights have been on at 50% for the past 3 days.
- Green film algae has been growing on the front glass, and I've resisted the temptation to scrape it off. The snails are doing a decent enough job right now and I don't wanna swipe their dinner. (We've seen some eggs around and two babies the size of a pea)
I'm not going to jinx myself and say that it's all clear, but it feels more under control than it did when this whole thing started.
OP
OP
Day 39:
NO3 is back to zero, so another dose of NeoNitro goes in to take it back to 3ppm. I'll be stepping this up a bit more frequently as it looks like the MB7 worked like it should.
NO3 is back to zero, so another dose of NeoNitro goes in to take it back to 3ppm. I'll be stepping this up a bit more frequently as it looks like the MB7 worked like it should.
OP
OP
Day 41:
Okie, NO3 is still holding out around 2ppm, which is good news.
If I were to do a comparison of timeline here:
Day 1-9: Lights Off
Day 17: Dinos started to return
vs
Day 29 - 34: Lights Off
Day 41: No sign of dinos this morning
The main difference is that I added UV at Day 24, pulled my Chaeto at Day 29 and really forced them into the water column to get zapped. And lights came back on at 50%
I'm not ready to declare a victory yet, but this is more promising. The plan is to keep the lights at 50% until corals come into the tank (more about feeding snails right now). I'll continue to dose MB7 weekly, keep NO3 above zero and ensure phosphates don't drop to zippo.
Okie, NO3 is still holding out around 2ppm, which is good news.
If I were to do a comparison of timeline here:
Day 1-9: Lights Off
Day 17: Dinos started to return
vs
Day 29 - 34: Lights Off
Day 41: No sign of dinos this morning
The main difference is that I added UV at Day 24, pulled my Chaeto at Day 29 and really forced them into the water column to get zapped. And lights came back on at 50%
I'm not ready to declare a victory yet, but this is more promising. The plan is to keep the lights at 50% until corals come into the tank (more about feeding snails right now). I'll continue to dose MB7 weekly, keep NO3 above zero and ensure phosphates don't drop to zippo.
OP
OP
Day 42:
During the weekly maint, I noticed there was some telltale brown fuzzy stuff on the return head in the DT. After a quick check under the scope...yep, Dinos.
I'm not sure I should be seeing ZERO dinos as of this point, and maybe these are sterilized but not yet dead yet. I'm not feeling grumpy about this, but we'll see!
During the weekly maint, I noticed there was some telltale brown fuzzy stuff on the return head in the DT. After a quick check under the scope...yep, Dinos.
I'm not sure I should be seeing ZERO dinos as of this point, and maybe these are sterilized but not yet dead yet. I'm not feeling grumpy about this, but we'll see!
OP
OP
Day 58:
I was out of town for a week and a half and things are looking only slightly worse than before. I had the tank "babysitter" dose some NeoNitro on Day 53. Nitrates were zero again when I tested it on Day 57. I think I need to up the nitrate dosing game a little bit more to keep them measurable. I'm holding off on dosing any more MB7 because that appears to only make them drop faster. I'm planning on rocking an ICP test and if all looks well, add a couple Clowns. The adding of the food should help keep the nitrates above zero and hopefully we can stop the see saw game going on.
I was out of town for a week and a half and things are looking only slightly worse than before. I had the tank "babysitter" dose some NeoNitro on Day 53. Nitrates were zero again when I tested it on Day 57. I think I need to up the nitrate dosing game a little bit more to keep them measurable. I'm holding off on dosing any more MB7 because that appears to only make them drop faster. I'm planning on rocking an ICP test and if all looks well, add a couple Clowns. The adding of the food should help keep the nitrates above zero and hopefully we can stop the see saw game going on.
OP
OP
Day 62:
I feel like I've been fighting these suckers forever. The UV has definitely slowed them down. It hasn't stopped them, however.
I'm a bit torn right now. I know I need to keep nitrates and phosphates up. My phosphates have literally never changed from the .12 which started at the get-go. Nitrates have been up and down, and I honestly don't know enough to point to why.
I do have my doubts, unfortunately
I feel like I've been fighting these suckers forever. The UV has definitely slowed them down. It hasn't stopped them, however.
I'm a bit torn right now. I know I need to keep nitrates and phosphates up. My phosphates have literally never changed from the .12 which started at the get-go. Nitrates have been up and down, and I honestly don't know enough to point to why.
- I've been dosing MB7 off and on to keep the competition up. This usually ends up depleting the Nitrates, so I add in NeoNitro to compensate.
- Am I running my skimmer too much and taking bacteria out? Despite not really feeding the tank much of anything, it still pulls gunk out. And that gunk is nasty smelling. The DT has no odor though, so that's nice.
- I'm having no issue growing algae. In the DT, it's all over the rocks (it's not GHA, though). I'm also growing coraline pretty well, so that's also a plus.
- Pods seem to be all over the place. Snails are showing growth (white lines at the opening of shells). They do love the film algae growing on the glass
I do have my doubts, unfortunately
OP
OP
Day 65:
I had thought that my Nitrate uptake rate was about 2ppm per week roughly, but it seems it's way higher. I dosed 22pm on day 63 and I'm back at zero today. Yay for bacteria, but I'm gonna probably just bite the bullet and throw fish in here to get more nitrates in the system.
I had thought that my Nitrate uptake rate was about 2ppm per week roughly, but it seems it's way higher. I dosed 22pm on day 63 and I'm back at zero today. Yay for bacteria, but I'm gonna probably just bite the bullet and throw fish in here to get more nitrates in the system.
OP
OP
Day 66:
While I wait for fish (ordered two clowns from @Dr. Reef yesterday, I'm going to go down @vetteguy53081 's solution with Peroxide and MB7 and a blackout period. I'm going to also be dosing nitrates in there until I get fish in. Seems that Nitrate uptake is pretty fast.
While I wait for fish (ordered two clowns from @Dr. Reef yesterday, I'm going to go down @vetteguy53081 's solution with Peroxide and MB7 and a blackout period. I'm going to also be dosing nitrates in there until I get fish in. Seems that Nitrate uptake is pretty fast.
vetteguy53081
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Very easy method and Peroxide is Very safe
Prepare by starting with a water change and blow this stuff loose with a turkey baster and siphon up loose particles.
Turn lights off (at least white and run blue at 10-15%) for 5 days and at night dose 1ml of hydrogen peroxide per 10 gallons for all 5 nights. If you dont have light dependent coral- turn all lights off.
During the day dose 1ml of liquid bacteria (such as bacter 7) per 10 gallons.
Clean filters daily and DO NOT FEED CORAL FOODS OR ADD NOPOX as it is food for dinos.
Day 5,, you can start with blue lights - ramping up and work your white lights up slowly
Prepare by starting with a water change and blow this stuff loose with a turkey baster and siphon up loose particles.
Turn lights off (at least white and run blue at 10-15%) for 5 days and at night dose 1ml of hydrogen peroxide per 10 gallons for all 5 nights. If you dont have light dependent coral- turn all lights off.
During the day dose 1ml of liquid bacteria (such as bacter 7) per 10 gallons.
Clean filters daily and DO NOT FEED CORAL FOODS OR ADD NOPOX as it is food for dinos.
Day 5,, you can start with blue lights - ramping up and work your white lights up slowly
OP
OP
Yes. This!
OP
OP
Day 67:
Changed the first pantyhose on the downspout. I didn't see a *whole* lot of stuff in there, mostly some pods, but it did have a little gunk. Sand looks cleaner right now, and UV still running strong. Is this going to turn the tide? Who knows at this point!
Side note: I've been reading a lot of info about the GKM leeching Sb into reef tanks, so that sucker might have to get returned. TBD and stay tuned.
Changed the first pantyhose on the downspout. I didn't see a *whole* lot of stuff in there, mostly some pods, but it did have a little gunk. Sand looks cleaner right now, and UV still running strong. Is this going to turn the tide? Who knows at this point!
Side note: I've been reading a lot of info about the GKM leeching Sb into reef tanks, so that sucker might have to get returned. TBD and stay tuned.
LiveFreeAndReef
Valuable Member
I hadn't seen anyone mention this previously, but have you tried increasing the temperature? I had dinos in a relatively new set-up and beat it in 2 weeks by running a UV filter 24/7 and turning the temp up to 83-84 degrees. I had a couple corals and a CUC in the tank, so I also ran an air stone to keep the O2 levels up.
LiveFreeAndReef
Valuable Member
Is This the Dinoflagellate Treatment We’ve all been Hoping for? | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog
Being a reef aquarists, means dealing with nuisance algae, parasites, and other pests… Cyanobacteria, AEFW, Red Bugs, and who here remembers that pink cotton candy algae (Callithamnion)?
reefbuilders.com
OP
OP
I had tried this while cycling, but not to deal with Dinos. I'm kinda focusing on the bullet point at the end...when I go back to 78, is it going to hose things again?
LiveFreeAndReef
Valuable Member
If you're getting algae growth it should keep the dinos at bay. I approached it like treating Ich with meds, I kept the temperature up until the dinos were gone, and then kept it there for another week just to be sure. I was making sure to keep my PH up (8.0-8.3) as I had read that dinos dont like the higher PH. I might've gotten lucky, but I wanted to share what had worked for me. I do believe the higher temperature is what did the trick, and the UV filter just helped to finish them off. (bought a cheap internal UV filter on Amazon, some brand called "Coodia")
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