Dinoflagellate infestation
- Thread starter IdahoGuy
- Start date
bjledbetter
Member
Best method for tackling Dino's is take all the rock out and scrub it good in ro water to get rid of as much as you can. Cut lighting back to bare min. as dino's are mostly photosynthetic that helps a lot. Add flow, as much as you can without blowing away your corals/clam. Dino's are weakly bound together so flow stops them from being able to form. Add some kind of gfo/gac to make sure all po0 and nitrates are gone because they will feed off of them also. Clam should be ok for a day or so in the dark but keep a eye on it. Most importantly remember like all things reef related it takes time to get rid of these awful things and you may have to repeat several times
Everything bjledbetter said plus you want to drip kalk to elevate ph. Elevating PH works 50% of the time depending on what type of dinos you have. Maintaining 8.4 to 8.5 continuously for several days will tell you if it works because they will die pretty quick. Use kalk to do it so that everything stays in balance. You goal is to rid the tank of co2.
Zoanthids and Scolymias are puffed up and brighter than ever.. Acans are very happy as well, they all seemed to like the lights off for a few days. However, I've noticed the Xenia have quit pulsing. They always pulsed like crazy, but now nothing.
Ordering Algae X now. Nothing to lose.
Ordering Algae X now. Nothing to lose.
Zoanthids and Scolymias are puffed up and brighter than ever.. Acans are very happy as well, they all seemed to like the lights off for a few days. However, I've noticed the Xenia have quit pulsing. They always pulsed like crazy, but now nothing.
Ordering Algae X now. Nothing to lose.
Ordering Algae X now. Nothing to lose.
SushiGirl
Premium Member
I wouldn't take out all the rock & scrub it in RO water, since RO is freshwater and will kill your beneficial bacteria.
What worked for us was cutting the light cycle in half, sucking out everything I could each day, and stopped doing water changes (we only had to skip 2 and they were gone). We then ramped the light cycle back up slowly. I would also follow Keith's advice on pH.
What worked for us was cutting the light cycle in half, sucking out everything I could each day, and stopped doing water changes (we only had to skip 2 and they were gone). We then ramped the light cycle back up slowly. I would also follow Keith's advice on pH.
rockslide123
New member
Might look at reefcleaners.com for snails that eat dinos, I believe the snails incorporate phosphates into their shells so its not available for dinos, probably not the whole answer but a supplement to siphoning in small areas you can't reach. nothing to loose anyway.
organism
code monkey
Everyone has a different treatment, after trying everything including cutting the lights for a while and raising the pH, I finally got rid of them by dosing vodka for getting the nutrients down and hydrogen peroxide at 1ml per 10 gallons. The peroxide killed them off within a week, and with the vodka my tank never looked better.
cec09
New member
I used algaex for dinos. I sucked all out i could filtering through a filter sock. So i didnt have to add water. did 5 days lights out. Then dosed per directions. Have to be exact on dosage. Worked very well for a monh then they started coming back. Not sure why but i ended up scrubbing the rock and starting over
biecacka
Active member
You can dip what rock you can in the peroxide and it will kill them. From what research I've done there are different strains if you will and some are worse than others and more persistent. I went 6 days lights out and in 4 days had a few spots coming back 
I didn't do a large water change because I hear that feeds them but I might do another kits out and then follow it up w water change.
Must be something in our air John!!! :lol:
Corey
I didn't do a large water change because I hear that feeds them but I might do another kits out and then follow it up w water change.
Must be something in our air John!!! :lol:
Corey
dino is toxic to snails, they eats they die.
Just thought I would chime in on the subject since I finally won my battle after nearly 4 months of fighting. I tried blackouts, peroxide, no water changes, siphoning every two days and on and on and on. Finally, I broke down and ordered Ultra Algae X. I followed all of the directions to the "T" and after 2 1/2 weeks, my tank never looked worse. Some people swear by the stuff, but I swear I won't put that in my tank again. What finally worked for me was the advice given by Julian Sprung. Cut the whites down to 4 hours a day and raise the alk up to 11-12 and keep it there. I also changed out my GFO every 3 to 4 days and in a couple of weeks it was completely gone. Not a strand to be found anywhere. Good luck with whatever treatment you decide to try as this plague is just the suck. Keep us posted!
barrierreefcf
New member
We have used FM Algae X on multiple aquariums. We lower the photo period to 5 hours per day and commence treatment for 30 days. It has worked every time. Usually, you see improvement around days 13-18. Don't stop right when you see a clean tank or the Dinos could come back. After ~30 days do a large water change, add fresh carbon, and make sure you balance your nutrients in vs out. Slowly ramp the photo period back up. Algae X has been a life saver for some of our servicing accounts!
