Yet another Dino ID / Battle

[friendlyguy]

Hi there!
First of all: Thanks for taking time to read my post! Its my first one in this forum... so: Hi
I`d create a "reef introduction" post, but with those dinos: Its pain to look at the tank and see the corals struggle.
I am wondering if somebody can help me to identify what kind of Dinos I am dealing with? I have them pretty much since day 1.
I read numerous threads and Dino guides and tried to identify them myself, but i was unable to.
I have a very cheap microscope at hand and took some photos of them at maximum magnification, i was trying to differentiate them by comparing the form... but to me they all look kind of the same.
I attached some pictures of them to this post, maybe someone else has the skills to identify them?

Thanks in advance

Some Data:

System-Volume: 345L (Reefer 350)
System Start: 18.01.2020
Media: Coral Sand, Reef Ceramik
Water: RO-DI + Tropic Marin Pro Reef
Flow: 2x Nero 5, 2x 2400L Blau return Pump
Light: 2x Red Sea ReefLed90
Filtration: Skimmer, Filtration Wool, Ceramik Rings, Activated Carbon (to fight the poison from the Dinos)

Possible Main Cause:
Phosphate: Zero ;Yuck
Did a Fauna Marin ICP-Test, they calculated "Total Phosphate to be at 0,2mg/l", with my milwaukee Phosphate checker its always 0.00 though.
In the beginning Nitrate was 0 too, but this rised to 5 mg/l in the meantime.
I just ordered Nutri-P to dose that manually, but at the current situation i guess it will take about a week or more.

I have about 13 Snails and 3 crabs and 1 Foxface that eat algae and doing their best to fight the dinos.

Hoping for your help!

 

[dwest]

Hmmm. Tough to tell. Are they moving? I’m guessing chrysophytes, not dinos. But let’s get someone who knows. In the meantime, getting measurable phosphates is a good plan.

Welcome to R2R!
@taricha

 

[friendlyguy]

Hey! Thanks for the fast response! AWESOME!
Yes, when I look at them through the microscope they move now and then.

 

[piranhaman00]

If thats the worst your sandbed looks you are in great shape yet. Get your nutrients up to 10/0.1

 

[DeniableArc]

Hi there!
First of all: Thanks for taking time to read my post! Its my first one in this forum... so: Hi
I`d create a "reef introduction" post, but with those dinos: Its pain to look at the tank and see the corals struggle.
I am wondering if somebody can help me to identify what kind of Dinos I am dealing with? I have them pretty much since day 1.
I read numerous threads and Dino guides and tried to identify them myself, but i was unable to.
I have a very cheap microscope at hand and took some photos of them at maximum magnification, i was trying to differentiate them by comparing the form... but to me they all look kind of the same.
I attached some pictures of them to this post, maybe someone else has the skills to identify them?

Thanks in advance

Some Data:

System-Volume: 345L (Reefer 350)
System Start: 18.01.2020
Media: Coral Sand, Reef Ceramik
Water: RO-DI + Tropic Marin Pro Reef
Flow: 2x Nero 5, 2x 2400L Blau return Pump
Light: 2x Red Sea ReefLed90
Filtration: Skimmer, Filtration Wool, Ceramik Rings, Activated Carbon (to fight the poison from the Dinos)

Possible Main Cause:
Phosphate: Zero ;Yuck
Did a Fauna Marin ICP-Test, they calculated "Total Phosphate to be at 0,2mg/l", with my milwaukee Phosphate checker its always 0.00 though.
In the beginning Nitrate was 0 too, but this rised to 5 mg/l in the meantime.
I just ordered Nutri-P to dose that manually, but at the current situation i guess it will take about a week or more.

I have about 13 Snails and 3 crabs and 1 Foxface that eat algae and doing their best to fight the dinos.

Hoping for your help!


[/QUOTE g’day from Australia! Ihave been battling what I think was Dino’s as I did not I’d them with microscope. It all started when I tried gfo and didn’t realise I bottomed out phosphates for 2months and then the it came, brown Slime with bubbles just wouldn’t go. I started using reef roids and polyp booster and got some phosphates up 5ppm nitrate 0.02 p04. It started to thin out but I scrubbed the rock but it still come back but not as bad. Then I bought a 18watt uvc filter with a 500lph pump and set it up in display and within 24 hrs it started to fade and a week later it’s gone 100% gone and my alk consumption has gone up and coralline algae it going nuts as it has no competition for real estate. I have read it doesn’t work for everyone but it sure worked for me.

 

[DeniableArc]

Sorry something messed up in the post

 

[friendlyguy]

@piranhaman00: I did clean the substrate just two days ago And I think by blowing off the "rocks" i just helped them to spread further.

 

[DeniableArc]

g’day from Australia! Ihave been battling what I think was Dino’s as I did not I’d them with microscope. It all started when I tried gfo and didn’t realise I bottomed out phosphates for 2months and then the it came, brown Slime with bubbles just wouldn’t go. I started using reef roids and polyp booster and got some phosphates up 5ppm nitrate 0.02 p04. It started to thin out but I scrubbed the rock but it still come back but not as bad. Then I bought a 18watt uvc filter with a 500lph pump and set it up in display and within 24 hrs it started to fade and a week later it’s gone 100% gone and my alk consumption has gone up and coralline algae it going nuts as it has no competition for real estate. I have read it doesn’t work for everyone but it sure worked for me.

 

[friendlyguy]

Thanks @DeniableArc for sharing your success story! Gives me some hope.

At the moment my Battle-Plan is:
1. get the phosphate up and see what that does to the algae
2. if correcting the phosphate levels alone isn`t enough AND we confirmed they are a dino species that is affected by uv: get one and hook it up to the display
3. if this still isn`t enough : Dino Xal treatment

What I am wondering about is: I thought that dinos are poisonous to animals, but all the snails are alive, reproduce and the foxface is eating the algae all day and seems to be happy with it.

 

[friendlyguy]

Guys, its amazing how helpful you are! Thanks for all the responses so far!

 

[piranhaman00]

Thanks @DeniableArc for sharing your success story! Gives me some hope.

At the moment my Battle-Plan is:
1. get the phosphate up and see what that does to the algae
2. if correcting the phosphate levels alone isn`t enough AND we confirmed they are a dino species that is affected by uv: get one and hook it up to the display
3. if this still isn`t enough : Dino Xal treatment

What I am wondering about is: I thought that dinos are poisonous to animals, but all the snails are alive, reproduce and the foxface is eating the algae all day and seems to be happy with it.

I would be very hesitant to use DinoX ime. If you can get a UV sterilizer that will help significantly.

 

[taricha]

They look like ostreopsis to me.
UV ought to be effective, but don't get too worried about it. It's just now 2 months old.
(toxins can vary a lot even in a single species depending on other environment factors)

 

[friendlyguy]

Hi taricha!
Thanks for your help and valuable input. I`ll try to get hold of a uv-light right away.
Are there special things to consider when I use it?

 

[dwest]

Hi taricha!
Thanks for your help and valuable input. I`ll try to get hold of a uv-light right away.
Are there special things to consider when I use it?

The people most successful at eradicating dinos with UV run at least 1 watt UV per 3 gallons of tank water, plumbed directly to and from display tank, at about 1-3 tank volumes per hour. These are not the same instructions you would get from a UV manufacture. I used a jebao for a while and now run an aqua uv permanently. Another solution may just be riding it out since your tank is so new. Good luck.

 

[friendlyguy]

Thanks for the tip! that gives me about 30W for my 345l Tank. Do manufacturers recommend higher or less powerful ones?

 

[dwest]

Thanks for the tip! that gives me about 30W for my 345l Tank. Do manufacturers recommend higher or less powerful ones?

They recommend faster flow rates for sure. I believe they recommend less powerful units, but not sure about that. They will often quote certain watts and flow for what you are trying to eradicate. For example you could pump a lot more water per hour to kill algae as opposed to ich with the same wattage.

 

[friendlyguy]

I just created a video of moving algae, maybe this helps to confirm ostreopsis :

 

[Teemingtank]

My experience with dinos was pretty horrific a while back. Lots of brown slime with bubbles. I’d clean the whole tank and they’d be back with my next day light cycle. I tried chemiclean with moderate success. I ended up kicking them with three days no light (bed sheet over the tank), feed the tank at the end of third day, then another three days no light. I dosed h2o2 during this as well. The only corals I had were a few zoa colonies, tons of anemones, gsp, Kenya tree, hydnophora, and montipora. Didn’t lose anything, the only thing that happened was the extra stress caused my dinner plate sized bta to split.

 

[friendlyguy]

Hey Teemingtank!
I experience the same. I cleaned the tank on sunday: within 24 hrs they grew back like crazy. Super annoying stuff.
Did you dose h202 into the tank? I read about dipping corals in it, but pouring it into the tank sounds like "nuke it from space"

 

[Teemingtank]

Hey Teemingtank!
I experience the same. I cleaned the tank on sunday: within 24 hrs they grew back like crazy. Super annoying stuff.
Did you dose h202 into the tank? I read about dipping corals in it, but pouring it into the tank sounds like "nuke it from space"

Yeah! I forgot the exact ratio of h2o2 per gallon, but I was given that advice on r2r back when I was having trouble with them. Whether it did anything or not, who knows? I know that dinos will get nutrients from the water column, light, and create their own (they can’t sustain creating their own energy for very long) . So if you eliminate light, keep your fuge running(kept mine on 24hrs), and dial back feedings, you can get ahead of them.
The most important thing is determining the source. Dino’s aren’t a part of the regular tank cycle, they have to be introduced... In the case of my tank, it was from poor quarantine protocol. I’d just add fish or corals to the display. Stopped doing that after I got rid of the Dino’s and never had them again.

Also, I took a filter sock, rubber banded it to the end of my siphon, dropped the end of the siphon in the sump, and siphoned all the brown gunk I could out of the DT before starting my lights off remedy.

Hope that helps!