Billybatz9
New member
So I have had dinos for a while and my 3 astrea snails. I thought this stuff killed them. Should I try maybe getting 50 of them and see if they eat them.
Dinoflagellates.
- Thread starter DNA
- Start date
Wanted to bring this line of thought back up...
and also another comment from this thread that I can't find. Someone said that they had some dinos, ran UV and it did nothing, then later they looked at the microscope to find that the species of dinos had changed.
Revisiting this in the light of what I found in a beaker a couple of days ago that I was using to grow out some dinos from my sand bed. It grew a nice healthy brown sand population of a different species of amphidinium (epicone curved to the side - very distinctive) than the one that is predominant in my tank.
So thinking back on it, my dino species count from my tank is 5:
The last 4 all co-occured during a single infestation event. I seriously doubt my tank is all that special. It's not like I scooped up sand samples from 10 different coasts and poured them in my tank. I would be shocked if most plagued tanks don't have at least a couple of different species active at the same time. Do dinos create a more favorable environment for other species of dinos? maybe. Maybe it's just a side effect of them clearing the ecological niche for themselves.
Furthermore, I'd bet there are a ton of different treatments that I could do on my tank that might have decimated the populations of 1 or 2 or 3 of out of the 4 confirmed species I've found in my tank in the current battle. And I would report that the attempted treatment either did nothing, did very little, or possibly seemed to get rid of 99% of the dinos, but "the dinos came back", when in reality I was killing some species and others were growing to replace.
On the other hand, Pants says most dinos people sent him were either Ostreopsis, amphidinium or prorocentrum - so maybe my tank is just weirdly diverse.
and also another comment from this thread that I can't find. Someone said that they had some dinos, ran UV and it did nothing, then later they looked at the microscope to find that the species of dinos had changed.
Revisiting this in the light of what I found in a beaker a couple of days ago that I was using to grow out some dinos from my sand bed. It grew a nice healthy brown sand population of a different species of amphidinium (epicone curved to the side - very distinctive) than the one that is predominant in my tank.
So thinking back on it, my dino species count from my tank is 5:
- one weird one I got a picture of long before I had an infestation, that I now recognize as a prorocentrum
- amphidinium that started my infestation
- coolia that infested the back of the tank while the amphidinium were in the front of the tank (they've since mixed all over)
- a sample of brown slime from the top of a long-dead sps frag contained a few sesame seed shaped ostreopsis whirling around their pointed end (never seen them before or since.)
- my beaker that grew a healthy infestation of a different amphidinium species.
The last 4 all co-occured during a single infestation event. I seriously doubt my tank is all that special. It's not like I scooped up sand samples from 10 different coasts and poured them in my tank. I would be shocked if most plagued tanks don't have at least a couple of different species active at the same time. Do dinos create a more favorable environment for other species of dinos? maybe. Maybe it's just a side effect of them clearing the ecological niche for themselves.
Furthermore, I'd bet there are a ton of different treatments that I could do on my tank that might have decimated the populations of 1 or 2 or 3 of out of the 4 confirmed species I've found in my tank in the current battle. And I would report that the attempted treatment either did nothing, did very little, or possibly seemed to get rid of 99% of the dinos, but "the dinos came back", when in reality I was killing some species and others were growing to replace.
On the other hand, Pants says most dinos people sent him were either Ostreopsis, amphidinium or prorocentrum - so maybe my tank is just weirdly diverse.
robertifly
Premium Member
Sinful, this is something that I have raised question to also I never had Dino until I starting using the Two Little Fishies "Bulk Green Seaweed" and "Bulk Red Seaweed" I am suspicious of it being the intro to my tank. Wonder how many others can say the same thing?
Update:
I'm more convinced that I had calothrix (I think that's the spelling) than dino's. Not saying that I didn't have some dinoflagellates, because at one point, I know I had them in my refugium.
I skimmed wet, I ran my carbon, and I shut the lights off for about 10 days, with the exception of a 90-120 minute window to feed my anemone and the fish. Would cover my tank with towels, and dose 12ml peroxide in the morning, and 12 ml in the evenings, typically about 8-10 hours apart between doses.
Did that for 10 days, and then ran my moonlights for 6 hours a day for the next 3 days. Ran my blues at 30% for the next 3 days and am on day 2 of 5% white, 25% blue for 8 hours. Rocks are completely clear of that fuzz that showed up out of the blue when I was using NOPOX.
I'm still skimming a bit wet, but not nearly as much. I've also been doing a series of small 10g water changes. PO4 reading 0, and my NO3 reading has gone up since the algae has been dying. Reading at 2ppm.
Am I winning? too early to say.
Did I absolutely have dino's? Don't know.
Are my rocks completely clear of all fuzz? yes, 100%.
I'm more convinced that I had calothrix (I think that's the spelling) than dino's. Not saying that I didn't have some dinoflagellates, because at one point, I know I had them in my refugium.
I skimmed wet, I ran my carbon, and I shut the lights off for about 10 days, with the exception of a 90-120 minute window to feed my anemone and the fish. Would cover my tank with towels, and dose 12ml peroxide in the morning, and 12 ml in the evenings, typically about 8-10 hours apart between doses.
Did that for 10 days, and then ran my moonlights for 6 hours a day for the next 3 days. Ran my blues at 30% for the next 3 days and am on day 2 of 5% white, 25% blue for 8 hours. Rocks are completely clear of that fuzz that showed up out of the blue when I was using NOPOX.
I'm still skimming a bit wet, but not nearly as much. I've also been doing a series of small 10g water changes. PO4 reading 0, and my NO3 reading has gone up since the algae has been dying. Reading at 2ppm.
Am I winning? too early to say.
Did I absolutely have dino's? Don't know.
Are my rocks completely clear of all fuzz? yes, 100%.
koral_lover
New member
Day 4 of blackout - sps starting to suffer, dinos appear to be all be dead in the display (or at least are now in the water column), however, I left the fuge light running this whole time and can clearly see dinos in the fuge on my chaeto....what do I do know? Cut the fuge light for a few days? I rinsed the chaeto in fresh water last night, but didn't seem to clear the dinos. I am going to start running actinics only tomorrow in the display I think...some slow stn on some corals is too concerning to continue going lights out...
How did that freshwater rinse not remove dinos from chaeto???
If it just came back really quick, you should just keep rinsing and repeating. Seems your dinos are attracted to your chaeto in the lit refugium. This could be a good thing.
koral_lover
New member
I am not sure how....I will keep rinsing the chaeto and siphoning dinos out of fuge area the next 24 hours and see if I can slow them down.
Today I am declaring my tank dino free at last! Five days now with lights back on full and can't find a live one anywhere. I have had a bit of a bacteria bloom and noticed some diatoms but nothing major and some algae is starting to grow again. Rocks are looking clear and replaced 10 micron sock with a normal one and no sign of browning. The smell has completely gone as well. All corals are doing really well. For everyone's enjoyment here are a couple of pics of the dead uns being eaten by bacteria 
Well I hope I managed to upload them!
Well I hope I managed to upload them!Attachments
I got rid of mine in the cheato by removing it and keeping in complete darkness for 5 days and then rinsing it heavily in RO once the dino's seemed to have gone from the main tank and sump. I then added water from the skimmer for a couple of days before putting it back in. My theory is that if you remove the good bacteria from rinsing or dipping corals the dino's seem to get a better hold. Rinsing it without this seemed to just make them worse.
robertifly
Premium Member
Ok who was wanting some live dinos shipped to them to experiment on, I'll be glad to send some if you can tell me how to ship,, I'll even pay the charges just tell me how you like to have them, what kind to I have? UGLY seriously I haven't a clue. Robert
Today I am declaring my tank dino free at last! Five days now with lights back on full and can't find a live one anywhere. I have had a bit of a bacteria bloom and noticed some diatoms but nothing major and some algae is starting to grow again. Rocks are looking clear and replaced 10 micron sock with a normal one and no sign of browning. The smell has completely gone as well. All corals are doing really well. For everyone's enjoyment here are a couple of pics of the dead uns being eaten by bacteria
I'd wait a little more before making that declaration. My tank was dyno free (my thought and my mistake). I was adding Pods and Phyto daily for another week. Then a week later I noticed two small bubbles on one of my rocks (135g tank, so imagine how hard I looked for any at all bubbles). 2 more weeks pass and dynos are back.
Not trying to discourage you or say you are not dyno free, just keep doing what you were doing, don't stop like I did.
Doh! Right filter socks back in then!
karimwassef
Active member
I think socks contribute to dinos ... IMO
Why's that?
karimwassef
Active member
If they're fine, they trap dinos as well as pods, detritus, and food waste. It's like a Petri dish of waste. With the right conditions, that feeds the dinos.
Unless the mesh is superfine, the dinos are not trapped. So it's like a pass through buffet with guaranteed food.
It's a philosophy in keeping reefs for me. Everything in my tank replicates a function in nature. I have only two exceptions... Carbon and GFO. Everything else mimics a natural system.
Unless the mesh is superfine, the dinos are not trapped. So it's like a pass through buffet with guaranteed food.
It's a philosophy in keeping reefs for me. Everything in my tank replicates a function in nature. I have only two exceptions... Carbon and GFO. Everything else mimics a natural system.
