Ready to throw in the towel from Dinos

[Terri Caton]

Hello reef2reef family... i have decided try elegance corals method i am on day 4 now... i am pleased to say i have been dino free for 2 days OMGGG my face right now...literally not a spec on the rocks or sand. i didnt want to update till i was sure today. This method is brutal on dinos. Let me tell you this is the only method that has worked for me. I will update after the 7 day course

When I first read the post I thought you meant literally using Elegance Corals, lol. I couldn't figure out how that type of coral would help

 

[merereef]

When I first read the post I thought you meant literally using Elegance Corals, lol. I couldn't figure out how that type of coral would help

Hahaha yeah well atleast you now know what i meant

 

[Alexreefer]

Going to pick up some calcium and alk supplements tmr as the no wc have affected my coral. Might just do a wc tonight. Thoughts?

 

[HomeSlizzice]

Going to pick up some calcium and alk supplements tmr as the no wc have affected my coral. Might just do a wc tonight. Thoughts?

I would strongly recommend you consider using Kalk.

 

[Alexreefer]

I would strongly recommend you consider using Kalk.

Do you make your own?? Or buy from a certain brand

 

[HomeSlizzice]

Do you make your own?? Or buy from a certain brand

I just buy BRS because its affordable and easy for me

 

[Alexreefer]

I just buy BRS because its affordable and easy for me

Ok, great

 

[merereef]

Just tested my water today alk on 9 but mainly for nitrates and phos... nitrates are on 25 and phos on 0.10... so ive decided to turn the skimmer back on ... looks like after beating dinos the nutrients have shot up.. but hey corals are still happy... still dino free

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

does this sound/look like dinos to you all? only grows on the sand bed really fired up 3 weeks ago when i did a water change. in the morning when the lights turn on theres no trace of it but if i dont stir the sand bed in a few hours after the lights cut on my sand bed will be covered with it

the picture is the same area the second picture is when the lights first turn on in the morning

That is classic dino behavior. I recommend checking your nutrient levels. I suspect phosphates and possibly nitrates are zero.

It sure sounds like you know what you're talking about but are you positive copepods do not feed on certain types of dinos? A quick google search seems to support from scientific sources that they do, but then again the articles get pretty nuanced...

Here is one short write-up (one of the few easy to understand sources) that seems to support why we might only see success with copepod competition in very high numbers.

"Summary
If the concentration of dinoflagellates is low the concentration of dino-toxin is low. Then the copepods eat the dinoflagellates; that's what copepods do.

If the concentration of dinoflagellates is high, the concentration of dino-toxin is high and animals in the neighborhood are immobilized and digested by the dinoflagellates. This includes copepods.

Uses of algae I. energy

It's not that they don't or won't eat them, it's that they are toxic in high enough quantities and will eventually kill the grazer. When dinos are not blooming there are very few to eat so the compounds live. When dinos bloom their numbers are high and grazers start to eat more until they have reached lethal quantities and die. The dinos will still be around though, hence copopods are not competitive. Because they lost. Their life.

...Dinos won't kill them right away, but nothing can live on them indefinitely. This is why running GAC is important. It will remove the toxins. But run smaller amounts and change it out at least once a week...

Give it more time. They will come back. I tried this method. Because of the vodka dosing no3 and po4 bottomed out to 0 for each. They forget to tell you that. I spoke with Cruz about this issue, he suggested I join the FB page for more ideas. Battling the same dino strain as you.

Yes, maintaining nutrients is the best way to keep them from coming back. Based on what this process is doing, it appears that it is attempting to starve dinos of nitrate through nitrifying bacteria dosing and carbon dosing, both of which push towards bottoming out nitrates. The Dr. Tim's is what is typically recommended for sandbed dinos. This combines both approaches. I suspect this method will need lots of nutrient dosing afterwards to prevent a rebloom with all the carbon and nitrifying bacteria dosing. I also wonder if he thought you could treat dinos like any other algae and just starve it of nutrients. I can see that working on cyanobacteria.

Going to pick up some calcium and alk supplements tmr as the no wc have affected my coral. Might just do a wc tonight. Thoughts?

Water changes usually increase dino blooms. I don't recommend it. Are you running GAC? When was the last time you changed it?

 

[Alexreefer]

That is classic dino behavior. I recommend checking your nutrient levels. I suspect phosphates and possibly nitrates are zero.



It's not that they don't or won't eat them, it's that they are toxic in high enough quantities and will eventually kill the grazer. When dinos are not blooming there are very few to eat so the compounds live. When dinos bloom their numbers are high and grazers start to eat more until they have reached lethal quantities and die. The dinos will still be around though, hence copopods are not competitive. Because they lost. Their life.





Yes, maintaining nutrients is the best way to keep them from coming back. Based on what this process is doing, it appears that it is attempting to starve dinos of nitrate through nitrifying bacteria dosing and carbon dosing, both of which push towards bottoming out nitrates. The Dr. Tim's is what is typically recommended for sandbed dinos. This combines both approaches. I suspect this method will need lots of nutrient dosing afterwards to prevent a rebloom with all the carbon and nitrifying bacteria dosing. I also wonder if he thought you could treat dinos like any other algae and just starve it of nutrients. I can see that working on cyanobacteria.



Water changes usually increase dino blooms. I don't recommend it. Are you running GAC? When was the last time you changed it?

I am running brs rox .8 carbon. Changed it a month ago. I have started dosing calcium and alk supplements now. I checked my rodi. Tds is now creeping back up so I will have to get some new di resin.

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

I recommend running half the recommended amount of GAC and changing it out every week during a dino bloom. Their toxins can add up faster than what the recommended GAC amount is typically used for.

 

[panic]

I’ve been watching and waiting to see what’s been working for you, and just keeping things stable in my system while siphoning Dinos off the rocks. I’ve been doing this for probably 3 months. Ultimately, I did 1 day of lights off, a day on, siphoned again, then 2 lights off. Dino’s were gone the day after that.

About 3 weeks ago I added a gallon of pods, and dose about 1tbs of photo every other day (600g system), and dosed 2 vials of Probidio Reef Booster about every 5 days, total of 3 times. I usually dose aminos 70ml once a week.

 

[Alexreefer]

Dino dont seem to be very strong right now. They are visible but not taking over like before. Mostly on sand. I added 1/4 of a gal of my phyto culture. I am dosing a mix between mb7 and fritz monster 360. Skimmer is filthy when I turn it on. Will continue this.

 

[Alexreefer]

I did a water change today. Scrubbed everywhere even took the time to clean the sump and overflow. The overflow was caked in algae. I rearranged my rocks also. The only algae I see is some green algae. Tank looks bare and boring but plan to add some coral in soon. Christmas present? Lol

 

[brandon429]

We are getting to see cycles and succession of dinos in your work thread

I find it amazing how they come in peaks and troughs

It seems natural growths compete against dinos pretty well + the competition dosers that seems to be a trend matched to your specifics

Can’t wait to see if you can balance it out to keep the dinos at bay along with some balance of the primary growths that ward them off

Persistence is still a wow Alex for you, really unique man.
B

 

[merereef]

Ran carbon and corals are looking wayy better...still no dinos

 

[Alexreefer]

Came back from a ski trip, Glass had some green algae on it other wise no dinos. Will continue to keep my eyes out, Fish and coral seem happy( except my torch) he has a bubble over his tentacles, he has not opened and I can see his skeleton. It this bubble like a scab or is he dead

 

[merereef]

Came back from a ski trip, Glass had some green algae on it other wise no dinos. Will continue to keep my eyes out, Fish and coral seem happy( except my torch) he has a bubble over his tentacles, he has not opened and I can see his skeleton. It this bubble like a scab or is he dead

So no dinos? What did you do to get rid alex?

 

[Alexreefer]

So no dinos? What did you do to get rid alex?

I had stabilized my tank out, got parameters in check, started feeding only pellets. Ran skimmer VERY WET!! It fills up every week. It is pure black skimmate. I had been dosing a mix of mb7 and monster 460 from fritz. UV has only been of for dosing. Cleaned my rocks and sand. flipped over my rocks on the clean side. I dflipped them in a way for the coralline to still get light. If you have an over flow..... clean it!!! My overflow was a sanctuary for every type of algae possible. I am now working on a way to make a cover to not let light in.

 

[brandon429]

let the record reflect the average reefer quits by page 5 but not Alex. what a joy to watch your persistence.