Dinoflagellates.

[jason2459]

on the other note, since you id the size of Alexandrium to be 30-40 um, what was the rating of filter sock you used to catch the buggers. I can't even find anything lower than 100 um.

The filter socks aren't filtering them directly. However a Diatom filter that goes down to 1um would.

the filter socks are catching other organics that they are attached too which helps to export them. Or they themselves attach to the filter socks.

 

[jason2459]

Peridinium was my thought at first and matches the description. But I wasn't fully sure so kept trying to get a more defined ID. I found in a high contrast image a second "tail" which rules out peridinium. Which so far Alexandrium is the closest match I've found so far.

I did 250mg/gal and did a total of 10 days.

That is supposed to be 250mg/10gallons

 

[Kurt03]

I feel that dosing no3 and po4 to keep them detectable helped keep my sps alive. The dinos were consuming all the nutrients not leaving much for anything else. I also feel that this helped me start to get some other things to grow some there was actually some nutrients available

 

[DNA]

It's been 3 years since I started this thread and many years before that I had battled the Ostreopsis dinoflagellates.
I've done 100-200 tests with my tank, read countless research articles and kept myself up to date on developments.
I've spent months of my life doing this and documented much of it here for others to pick up and improve upon.

Even though my current status is unchanged with the dinos that are keeping me away from my passion with SPS, all is not lost.
It's been interesting and very educational tackling these little devils and I regret nothing at all.
We have made a definite progress in knowledge and a lot of futile tests are valuable results even if they haven't solved the issue.

I don't think I'll be doing any more tests and will leave those to someone else and I think those need to be well funded trained professionals.
My reef tank stays as it is and hopefully the future will come up with something.

I'm both disappointed in how slow things are moving and very thankful to those that have contributed.

 

[Kurt03]

DNA, I'm curious what your no3 and po4 levels are at since you have had such a long battle with these? Thank you for all of the effort you have put into this thread.

 

[bheron]

I'm a fan of the "dirty" method as it helped me defeat my Dinos. Albeit it resulted in an algae break. Finally getting the algae under control....dinos are back Employing the dirty method now simply by overfeeding, but in a much more controlled manner.

My (dumb) question is - will running my skimmer, dosing carbon, or doing water changes undermine the "dirty" method? Can I do any of those to help water clarity (like carbon) but not sacrifice the beneficial life that's keeping my Dinos at bay?

 

[bertoni]

Carbon should be fine to run, and might help. Even the skimmer could be okay, but you will need to experiment with that.

 

[Squidmotron]

For me I just relaxed things that aggressively target one nutrient (i.e., GFO). Left he skimmer running.

I actually think carbon dosing may help long term once your system is in line and back to having more normal algae.

 

[bheron]

Great, thanks all. I will try some carbon and see what happens.

 

[robertifly]

I am starting taking down system to start over by cleaning equipment that is in the sump or had water running through it, then sump and eventually the display tank. I have a few select corals and fish I would like to keep if it is possible by setting up in a quarantine tank. I have Ostreopsis ovata in my tank that I am giving up on so 1. How to clean corals and fish? 2. What to clean display tank and equipment? I have several gallons of 5% white vinegar on hand. Thanks Robert

 

[karimwassef]

I just discovered KMnO4 as a powerful oxidizer. It kills anything that's not a coral. The only reason corals survive is because they can close up tightly while the oxidizer burns through all tissue.

It's not easy to use though. I had to set up multiple dips in a peroxide solution to remove it from the rockwork and spongy rocks.

 

[bertoni]

The tank and other equipment probably will be fine with a cleaning with some vinegar. If you are very worried, wiping with a dilute bleach solution would be safe enough for the tank. I'd work outdoors to reduce fume exposure.

For the corals, a dip like Lugol's or one of the commercial products might do the job. I'm not sure about that. A freshwater dip for the fish should be enough, with some luck.

 

[MJNTWise]

I had green cayno in my tank after my move....been fighting it since Jan. Then 3 weeks ago I was at Petco getting my dogs nails done and came across this stuff...I said what the heck...Added 1/4 recommended amount and then a week later added the same amount. (total 1/2 the recommended amount) Now 3 weeks later the green cayno is almost gone. I did not change nothing but that. So maybe it worked....
http://www.bhg.com/shop/imagitarium...-14-oz-pf979e522d77dc0f1a85de3eb5452c8f9.html

Thanks
Matt

 

[DNA]

I am starting taking down system to start over by cleaning equipment that is in the sump or had water running through it, then sump and eventually the display tank. I have a few select corals and fish I would like to keep if it is possible by setting up in a quarantine tank. I have Ostreopsis ovata in my tank that I am giving up on so 1. How to clean corals and fish? 2. What to clean display tank and equipment? I have several gallons of 5% white vinegar on hand. Thanks Robert

You should get rid of all livestock and be very thorough with the cleaning, if it's a small tank dump the sand and live-rock and make sure not to start with a sterile tank giving dinos the head start.
Hope for the best, but expect to see dinos back.

 

[bertoni]

Oops, I had to fix a typo in my post. I meant a Lugol's dip for the corals, and maybe a fresh water dip for the fish.

 

[robertifly]

Thanx I am a little suspect myself about being able to get completely rid of them even with the most ardent cleaning. I do mean to dispose of the the sand and rock, and plumbing. Again I do appreciate the concerns, reading some recent posts about bleach and a Metz which I may give a try before taking everything down, not much to lose now 8 months and counting with a ugly tank. If fresh water dip fish, how long? and do you move fish straight from fresh water to a .0122 sg water?

 

[bertoni]

I'd look up some information in the fish disease forum on freshwater dips. I suspect a fairly short one would be enough for dinoflagellates, but there are guidelines available that might have more precautions. You can just move the fish from the tank to the dip water. I would match the temperature somewhat closely. You could just float the bag for the dip in the tank for a while. Some species don't do well with fresh water dips, so I'd be a bit cautious, and check each species for compatibility. I've never had any problems with them, though.

 

[DNA]

Oops, I had to fix a typo in my post. I meant a Lugol's dip for the corals, and maybe a fresh water dip for the fish.

Possibly dinos hanging on the fish skin and gills would drop off, but you also have to deal with the ones in their gut. In a severely infested tank there could be a dino in every drop of water and on most of the algae a tang would be eating all day. I'd bet dinos or cysts could be found in all my fish guts at all times. Cross contamination is almost certain for amateurs since a finger dipped in an infested tank is likely to move dinos into the quarantine tank.

Then there is the question if these dinos also find their way into corals.

I think all tanks have multiple species of harmful dinos that are kept in place, by the invisible force.
(That is likely to be a chemical war in balance).

 

[bertoni]

Do you think that many dinoflagellates would survive a trip through a digestive system? I don't think I'd worry much about that, but I'm often wrong. I suppose feeding the fish an antibiotic food for a few days might help.

 

[jason2459]

I believe one paper I read showed dinoflagelets making it through the digestive system of some fish.