Dinoflagellates.
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- Start date
For dinos ...
I had a very bad outbreak some years ago.
The only solution (and I tried everything including fauna Marin products) was:
Stop water changes during the treatment
Stop all carbon
Dose 1ml of peroxide oxigen 3% per each 40l of water once a day.
Repeat the treatment until three days after Dino's disappear.
All the best,
Rui
I had a very bad outbreak some years ago.
The only solution (and I tried everything including fauna Marin products) was:
Stop water changes during the treatment
Stop all carbon
Dose 1ml of peroxide oxigen 3% per each 40l of water once a day.
Repeat the treatment until three days after Dino's disappear.
All the best,
Rui
I fully agree.
Its about three months and a half I do not see ostreopsis in any of my tanks but I am sure that if I wanted them back the only thing I had to do is toss some phosphate resin (it does not mind if it is GFO or aluminium based).
If I want to get rid of them I just pull out the skimmer and start feeding frozen foods such as brine shrimp or lobster eggs. In about a week they won't be noticeable at all.
So that is interesting....same boat as me.
What do we do if we want to get parameters in check? I personally like a clean tank. I try to keep my phosphates to be in the 0.03-0.08 range. I won't be using GFO after this.
I am thinking what I may do is just start running UV on the tank at night or anytime I see signs of them.
Hi Natas,
I like to run the system with phosphates about 0,03 ppm and nitrates about 0,3 ppm. That's where I get the best colours and good growth rate.
If you place PO4 resins you will get dinos, that's for sure.
What I do to lower PO4 is toss a little bit of KNO3, just a pinch. Whenever I cannot get PO4 levels down, I know it is just because something is limiting anaerobic digestion and if I dose a carbon source, it must be NO3. Adding NO3 in the form of KNO3 is a safe way of doing away with this limiting element.
This "trick" is working fine, almost four months with no ostreopsis or amphidinium (I had both at the same time...). On my last Triton test I got NO3=0 ppm and PO4=0,03 ppm.
Anyway you have to bear in mind that I am talking about a big 650 Gal (2.500 l) system with about 350 acroporas and many other SPSs and LPSs. They are greedy NO3 and PO4 consumers so it does not mind how much I feed the fish (about 25, half of them tangs), nutrients are always undetectable.
I like to run the system with phosphates about 0,03 ppm and nitrates about 0,3 ppm. That's where I get the best colours and good growth rate.
If you place PO4 resins you will get dinos, that's for sure.
What I do to lower PO4 is toss a little bit of KNO3, just a pinch. Whenever I cannot get PO4 levels down, I know it is just because something is limiting anaerobic digestion and if I dose a carbon source, it must be NO3. Adding NO3 in the form of KNO3 is a safe way of doing away with this limiting element.
This "trick" is working fine, almost four months with no ostreopsis or amphidinium (I had both at the same time...). On my last Triton test I got NO3=0 ppm and PO4=0,03 ppm.
Anyway you have to bear in mind that I am talking about a big 650 Gal (2.500 l) system with about 350 acroporas and many other SPSs and LPSs. They are greedy NO3 and PO4 consumers so it does not mind how much I feed the fish (about 25, half of them tangs), nutrients are always undetectable.
karimwassef
Active member
Doesn't anyone subscribe to my 'clean' method?
Slow flow UV
Lights out
Constant skimming
Slow flow UV
Lights out
Constant skimming
jedimasterben
LED world domination!
You may get lucky and force them into encystment, but they'll remain in your system permanently.
karimwassef
Active member
They're in every reef system permanently.
It's not about removing them. It's about getting to a healthy balance where they don't cause sickness. My method worked for me and keeps them out consistently.
It's not about removing them. It's about getting to a healthy balance where they don't cause sickness. My method worked for me and keeps them out consistently.
Quiet_Ivy
New member
Likely true but depressing. I think dinos (and cyano) are extremophiles, they have adapted to live in conditions where nothing much else can survive.
Today I realized the back wall of my tank was completely covered in dinos again. It's tougher to see them there against the black plastic. Siphoned them off. Got dead (or severely stunned) bristleworms all over the place now. I'm skimming wet, running carbon. Fish and hermit crab still ok. Am I going to end with a totally sterile tank?
The weird smell is much more noticable also. Seriously considering a few tap water changes. My tap's got chloramine so it would add a hit of nitrate and ammonia.ivy
I disagree:
- Clean method: Some dinoflagellates will make cysts. There are barely any other organism that may eat the cysts so they will eventually come back. Just a matter of time.
- Dirty method: Some dinoflagellates will make cysts. The system is teeming with lots of hungry microorganisms, such as ciliates, copepods, amphipods, snails, worms...that will eat every edible thing, specially cysts. There will come a time when all cysts have been eaten and your system free of those dinos. Maybe one month, or one year or one decade...but those crappy cysts will be eaten. I have seen on the microscope how fast a copepod can devour an ostreopsis cyst, it is awesome.
- Clean method: Some dinoflagellates will make cysts. There are barely any other organism that may eat the cysts so they will eventually come back. Just a matter of time.
- Dirty method: Some dinoflagellates will make cysts. The system is teeming with lots of hungry microorganisms, such as ciliates, copepods, amphipods, snails, worms...that will eat every edible thing, specially cysts. There will come a time when all cysts have been eaten and your system free of those dinos. Maybe one month, or one year or one decade...but those crappy cysts will be eaten. I have seen on the microscope how fast a copepod can devour an ostreopsis cyst, it is awesome.
Quiet_Ivy
New member
..That's where I am now. Nitrates 'undetectable' on Salifert is probably about .3 Dinos are very happy. No green algae. Not much coralline, wonder if dinos inhibit them? I'm mostly LPS, and I have one clown goby. Perhaps that's the difference? I have tiny frags. Did you buy pure KNO3 or did you use a plant fertilizer?
ivy
karimwassef
Active member
"Clean" is not free of plankton or microorganisms.
I have a lot of planktonic life in my tank and no dino infestation. I don't use algae killing chemicals.
I use UV because it targets free swimming nighttime organisms like dinos while allowing benthic fauna to thrive in their place.
I use skimming because it's a natural scrubbing action and exports solid and liquid waste.
I use iron based GFO and the dinos don't come back.
I have no algae other than coralline in the DT and the macro in the sump.
I have a lot of planktonic life in my tank and no dino infestation. I don't use algae killing chemicals.
I use UV because it targets free swimming nighttime organisms like dinos while allowing benthic fauna to thrive in their place.
I use skimming because it's a natural scrubbing action and exports solid and liquid waste.
I use iron based GFO and the dinos don't come back.
I have no algae other than coralline in the DT and the macro in the sump.
PorkchopExpress
New member
not that it really matters but i think a couple of us tried this method and reported on our success before you even got your UV sterilizer
PorkchopExpress
New member
small update on my end:
I was dino free for a good 6 months using just the 55 watt UV sterilizer up until I got a new, larger tank with new sand. I transported all livestock and live rock over, just not the sand. I started a small cycle as I was expecting, first the diatoms, then cyano, then what looked like bryopsis. I made the mistake of not letting the cycle run it's course, instead choosing to try to pretty up my system as quickly as possible. Got NO3/PO4 down to 0 and got a small dino bloom even with the UV on. At that point I didn't want it to get any worse so I purchased a new bulb for my UV since it'd been over 6 months now and then when I received it I did a 3 day blackout. I also turned off the skimmer and fed really well. Upon uncovering I started to feed really heavily trying to induce some algae growth. I haven't seen the dinos again since. I have some cyano and some hair algae and I just bought an ATS as well to promote algae growth. Stocked up on copepods and feeding phyto as well.
So I think all these methods work. I think we just need to be mindful not to get our water too clean. Biodiversity is the key.
I was dino free for a good 6 months using just the 55 watt UV sterilizer up until I got a new, larger tank with new sand. I transported all livestock and live rock over, just not the sand. I started a small cycle as I was expecting, first the diatoms, then cyano, then what looked like bryopsis. I made the mistake of not letting the cycle run it's course, instead choosing to try to pretty up my system as quickly as possible. Got NO3/PO4 down to 0 and got a small dino bloom even with the UV on. At that point I didn't want it to get any worse so I purchased a new bulb for my UV since it'd been over 6 months now and then when I received it I did a 3 day blackout. I also turned off the skimmer and fed really well. Upon uncovering I started to feed really heavily trying to induce some algae growth. I haven't seen the dinos again since. I have some cyano and some hair algae and I just bought an ATS as well to promote algae growth. Stocked up on copepods and feeding phyto as well.
So I think all these methods work. I think we just need to be mindful not to get our water too clean. Biodiversity is the key.
karimwassef
Active member
Really? Ok. I thought the results were unsuccessful before. My key was running a very slow flow through the UV and a lot of skimming.
If it's not original, that's great! Just means more people are successfully killing the beasts with the clean method.
In my case, I didn't overfeed and I use a GFO. I've also cut back skimming at night again - no dinos. But the slow flow UV is still on 24/7. Thinking of cutting it back to evenings only... Dare I test fate?
Maybe when I get back from vacation in a couple of weeks.
The only thing that has worked for me was to remove my sand bed and add an algae scrubber. Lights out, no water changes, peroxide dosing, siphoning my sand into a filter sock in my sump, and removing the top layer of my sand bed didn't work. It would knock them back, but they would be right back after a couple of weeks. Since removing my sand bed and adding an algae scrubber, I haven't seen any signs of them for almost two months now.
I think it's your 'avatar' that is spooking everybody.lol.
karimwassef
Active member
I use a macro algae scrubber too.
