Dinoflagellates.

[mannyhernz]

The dinos are killing some of my sps. Keep landing on them. I blow them off and 30 mins later, they are on same spot. I've been trying now for 4 days. Nto sure how long it's supposed to be.

I feed 4 time a day pellets (fat thumb pinch) or 1 cube of mysis and 1 cube cyclops with dirty water and all.

Dinos are even covering spots that had green hair algae growing and growing their own brown hair.

Im on the same boat billy..
Feed phyto 2wice a day pellets 2wice a day bout 2 big pinches
Mysid cube and cyclop cube
Also added a 2 bags of algagen tisbe chaeto full of pods..also dosing mb7 and biopronto bacteria..seems like the dinos blew up!

 

[Billybatz9]

Im on the same boat billy..
Feed phyto 2wice a day pellets 2wice a day bout 2 big pinches
Mysid cube and cyclop cube
Also added a 2 bags of algagen tisbe chaeto full of pods..also dosing mb7 and biopronto bacteria..seems like the dinos blew up!

Its like food for these guys. I'm not sure what else to do. All I've done has made it worse. This sucks. Everyone has success with dirty method while you and me over here are hand feeding them. Lol

 

[mannyhernz]

Its like food for these guys. I'm not sure what else to do. All I've done has made it worse. This sucks. Everyone has success with dirty method while you and me over here are hand feeding them. Lol

Lmao..thats how it feels.

 

[Billybatz9]

Lmao..thats how it feels.

So what's your plan? I'm really considering doing a water change. Lol

 

[bertoni]

Well, I probably would find some other approach at this point, but this method might work given more time.

 

[mannyhernz]

So what's your plan? I'm really considering doing a water change. Lol

Porkchop mentioned a 3 day black out just to knock them back..thats what im thinking..but first im setting up this small frag tank im putting together move some frags then black out my tank.

 

[csammis]

Guys I'm pretty bummed. I'm doing the dirty method and it seems like it's getting a lot worse. No red slime or anything. Any ideas on what I shold do?

You've only been doing the dirty method for five days according to your post two days ago saying you'd been doing it for three days. Maybe you should give it more time?

 

[Reef Ruler]

You've only been doing the dirty method for five days according to your post two days ago saying you'd been doing it for three days. Maybe you should give it more time?

I agree. I've been purposefully keeping my tank dirty for maybe 6 weeks now? 5 days of the dirty method didn't do anything for me. 6 weeks later I'm seeing almost no dinos, but cyano showed up for the first time. Which in my opinion is good...cyano is less of a headache than dinos are for me.

 

[tastyfish]

the point of the 3 day isn't to eradicate them as i mentioned in a later post...the point is simply to knock them back quite a bit which will allow other algaes to take a foothold...he has corals, sps in his pictures, an 8 day will surely kill them...and you have no idea what dinos i nor he has so you have no idea what a 3 day would do...in my tank 3 days is all it took to clear them every single time and, followed by UV and dirty method is all it took

besides, prolonged blackouts may or may not be any different from shorter ones as the dinos are likely to return considering they can form cysts for months and survive in complete darkness...blackouts aren't the answer, they're just used to weaken the dino population in perparation for the real attack

It's hard, but my and other's LPS and SPS came through. I have spoken to several people who have had dinos return en-mass after 3-4 day blackouts, and 8+ days worked for me, dino's were still present after 3 days.


So what is "the real attack"? Have I missed something?

The idea of the approach I successfully used was to create such a hostile environment to dinoflagellates using multiple factors that the dinos die off and are exported without adding to the problem.

If you simply knock them back a bit, you risk having a gap created in the ecosystem and significant numbers of dinoflagellates that can multiply to fill it. I'm not sure you intended to, but your post suggests that the dinos came back as you stated it's worked for you "every single time?" Same tank or different tanks?

You also rightly suggest that I do not know what species of dinoflagellate is in the tank, I would suggest this is true and by that same notion, you have no clue if a 3 day will work against the species being dealt with.

What I am trying to emphasise is that this is a heavy undertaking and one that you don't want to go through twice.

It's the reef owner's problem, so the risk is up to them and should be weighed up on an individual basis.

 

[PorkchopExpress]

It's hard, but my and other's LPS and SPS came through. I have spoken to several people who have had dinos return en-mass after 3-4 day blackouts, and 8+ days worked for me, dino's were still present after 3 days.

reports of blackouts actually curing dinos are very slim and the risk to the already stressed SPS inhabitants are far too great when your blackout exceeds past 3 days...that magic number "3" isn't only from my own personal experiences either, just do a simple Google search for "how long can SPS go without light" and you're met with multiple links to surveys with hundreds of posts that they've gone 3 days with no ill effects to SPS...many even do regular monthly 3 day blackouts to help with other algae issues...but from my own personal experience my SPS started showing signs of stress and STN'ing at the 4 day mark...YMMV

So what is "the real attack"? Have I missed something?

in my tank 3 days is all it took to clear them every single time and, followed by UV and dirty method is all it took

real attack being the dirty method...if a UV is present then it also helps alongside the blackout to further decrease dino population...it's not necessary but neither is the blackout really...i think dirty method with a healthy population of copepods plus daily dosing of phyto is probably the minimum cure to dinos...however, the 3 day blackout and UV really kicks them back and gives you a head start on that competing algae repopulation that occurs due to the extra nutrients from going dirty..however seeing his pics of his dino infested rocks, i honestly think he needs to kick those dinos back a little bit, just enough to allow competing algae to take a foothold but not so much that he kills all his SPS

 

[DNA]

Reef Diva you can't spot heal a dino infested reef tank. You would need to attack the sand, water column, rocks and buried cysts all at once. Filling the tank with this stuff would for sure leave some dinos alive that would in a couple of days infest the whole tank again.

 

[Billybatz9]

Hey Guys,

Good news... My dino culture has exploded. I have dinos all over the place. So instead of the usual $9.99 sale that I always have, you can have some for one very special low price of $4.99.

If you are unsure if you need dinos in your system, take a look at the important bullets below to see how they can affect your system. And my type of dinos is not the cheap kind that most other people have. My strain is a lot more advanced and will survive in the most harsh conditions. You will definitely be getting your money's worth.

Moving onto the Impact that Dinos Can Have on Your Reef System:
1. Have corals? Don't want them anymore? Dinos will take care of them for you.
2. Have Corals? Want them? Dinos will act as a friend and hug your corals.
3. Tired of that shiny white sand? Dinos will turn it brown for you.
4. Can't keep anything alive? Try dinos, they will live!
5. Like Magic? They will appear when lights are on and vanish when lights are off. I still don't know how they do it. AMAZING!

I don't expect to sell out today, tomorrow, or the next day, so if you are unsure if you want some, you have time to think about it. I will also be taking offers if they don't sell within the next 2 months.

SPECIAL BONUS: I don't normally do this. But if you buy 2, I'll throw one in for free!! Yup, FREE!

Regards,
Billy

 

[mannyhernz]

Hey Guys,

Good news... My dino culture has exploded. I have dinos all over the place. So instead of the usual $9.99 sale that I always have, you can have some for one very special low price of $4.99.

If you are unsure if you need dinos in your system, take a look at the important bullets below to see how they can affect your system. And my type of dinos is not the cheap kind that most other people have. My strain is a lot more advanced and will survive in the most harsh conditions. You will definitely be getting your money's worth.

Moving onto the Impact that Dinos Can Have on Your Reef System:
1. Have corals? Don't want them anymore? Dinos will take care of them for you.
2. Have Corals? Want them? Dinos will act as a friend and hug your corals.
3. Tired of that shiny white sand? Dinos will turn it brown for you.
4. Can't keep anything alive? Try dinos, they will live!
5. Like Magic? They will appear when lights are on and vanish when lights are off. I still don't know how they do it. AMAZING!

I don't expect to sell out today, tomorrow, or the next day, so if you are unsure if you want some, you have time to think about it. I will also be taking offers if they don't sell within the next 2 months.

SPECIAL BONUS: I don't normally do this. But if you buy 2, I'll throw one in for free!! Yup, FREE!

Regards,
Billy

Ha...wish it was that easy to rid them..well going out for black vynil today in preperation of my blackout ritual...will post with happenings

 

[bertoni]

Good news... My dino culture has exploded. I have dinos all over the place.

If you want to stay with the dirty method, I might try a lights out period along with some water changes to try to reduce the coral problems.

 

[REEF DIVA]

I just caught a message from Quiet Ivy I missed a few messages ago. You asked if what I had was dinoflagellates and not cyano. Yes it is very easy for me to distinguish dinoflagellates from any color of cyanobacteria (green, red, brown) since I have been looking at it and studying it (particularly cyano) for over 30 years. Dinoflagellates are hard to distinguish from brown slime algae when they first occur and the amount is very small (like on the tips of an SPS coral). Sometimes you just need to leave it alone and see what develops. Let it get a little bigger instead of constantly brushing it off with a toothbrush. I know because I was doing this. Finally I stopped and I saw why it kept coming back so fast - Dinoflagellates.

 

[REEF DIVA]

Manny

You are giving up prematurely! Not ask yourself, are you a quitter or are you a fighter!
Hang in there and pick up the phone. You know what I mean.

 

[Billybatz9]

Ha...wish it was that easy to rid them..well going out for black vynil today in preperation of my blackout ritual...will post with happenings

Lights out does nothing! They'll be back.

 

[mannyhernz]

Lights out does nothing! They'll be back.

But im desperate..need to try something!

 

[jason2459]

But im desperate..need to try something!

Patience is the best method. Then pick something a few others have had success with(I think some in this thread are keeping notes or building a sort of matrix like Ivy), find out as much about their system as you can to know if it fits your setup or husbandry, and then stick with it for a few month not just a few days. Sure there's people that have had quick reactions but that is not normal for these kinds of pests. Dinos and Bryopsis are very persistent.

I know I will always have dinos in my system just waiting to get the upper hand. I'm sure I haven't seen the last of bryopsis either. But when, not if, either show up I know (or assume with great confidence) that I just need to get back in line what ever is out of whack from what I've done in the past along with a strong dose of patience and consistency.

 

[Jewilson83]

Update from post #2369: I've been super busy with my new job and other things that I didn't get a chance to update everyone. The Dinos came back. After about 2 weeks they started to grow and spread. I've tried a few things the past few weeks and I think it's helping. They have not been growing. They have been dying but 100% elimination seems like a long way from now. I can say that I refuse to turn down my lighting. I have been adding my elements, amino, and feeding. I'm not going to allow anymore corals to die. I'm determined to kill this mess. I discovered a high powered microscope at my facility and I'm going to identify it. I'm pretty sure that it's the same mess everyone else is dealing with. I'm not as down as I was before, I'm more determined to get rid of it.
What I'm doing:
1st since my SPS have been fading, I'm dosing nitrates via Spectracide Stump Remover. Keeping my nitrates at 5ppm.
2nd since peroxide has been helping with some, I've been dosing that too. Cutting off my return pump so the water is only circulating inside the tanks and not going down to the skimmer.
3rdly I've been dosing Garlic. I felt that my fish were suffering so I decided to help there immune system by giving them more garlic in there food and running carbon. I saw on her that someone decided to dose so I said what the heck. Sure worth a try. So along with peroxide I've been dosing at night while cutting off the return pump.

my Dinos have only been on rocks and frag plugs. Never on sand. I believe the Dinos are getting darker which seems like they are dying and maybe cyano was under them or waiting to sweep in. I'll keep you all posted.