Dinoflagettes 1....angry reefer 0, Im about to throw in the towel.

redspot321

redspot321

In Memoriam
Guys and gals,

I need some serious help here. my tank has been infested with Dinoflagettes for months now and I cant seem to kick em. I am so tired of spending hours a week with a turky baster blowing this "snot" off my corals. I have tried H2o changes, decreased photoperoid, No photoperoid, increased flow, increased ph, the whole nine yards.

Whats the secret treatment?
Im running RO/Di, Optimal water parameters, IO salt, T5 bulbs 6 months old. I have mad eeverything perfect and these friggin things return within days.


Suggestions?
 
I'm having the same problem and am slowly beginning to see positive results. I did basically the same thing you did, but I added a phosphate reactor and UV sterilizer. I also scrubbed all my rocks clean. After about 5-6 weeks of weekly water changes, the stuff is finally starting to go away. If you research the topic, I believe you'll find that getting rid of the phosphates is key, hence the phosphate reactor.

Here's a summary of what I did:

1. Scrub all rocks clean;
2. Big water change;
3. Added UV sterilizer;
4. Added phosphate reactor;
5. Weekly water changes;
6. Decreased photoperiod;
7. Cut down on feeding to once every two days.

I also need to add that I do have a refugium.

Good luck to you, I know the pain you're going through.
 
I hiked the pH (8.4-8.5) up in my tank and ran ozone. That along with frequent water changes, aggressive skimming, use of a refugium, frequent manual removal with a syphon going (blowing it around only makes it worse). It was gone in 3-4 weeks for good. :)

We feel your pain, trust me this algae is a monster. You can beat it though. Don't let some piddly algae beat you at this hobby.
 
I was getting beat by dynoflagelites. Added two reactors: one with carbon and one with GFO, and it kinda started to lose it's grip on the tank. After a month or two, it was pretty much gone.
 
I have learned to like the new equipment, the reactors and such, and I think they're superior. But I'm going to stick my neck out here with some really antique method: don't take me up on this immediately, but I think it's worth considering. If it were my tank, I'd get a diatom filter and a fair-sized bag of d.e., and start in yanking stuff out of the water, figuring if it's alive and full of phosphate, and I dump it, it's gone from the system. I'd set any corals out into a bucket. And I'd even pick spots on the sandbed I know are habitually foul and start deliberately riling the sand bed in that place and filtering the tank sparkling clean again, and again, and again. Then I'd put the corals back in, balance my water quality and hope, maybe with one of those shiny new reactors. I now stand aside and hope at least to have prompted useful discussion on the merits of yanking the stuff out vs. trying to get it to cycle through.
 
Your point is well taken. I recently battled a cyano outbreak and in addition to all the water changes and tweaking parameters to discourage it, I also loosened and suctioned out as much of the mats as I could, realizing that whatever dies releases its phosphate load back into the water column, further delaying the elimination of nutrients. Three weeks of working both water quality and manual removal and it's all gone.
 
had some

had some

I had some. I sucked them out with a water change and upgraded my skimmer. They are not back. You need to lower the nutrients in the water. Slow down feeding as well.
 
I had the same problem for about a year... Ive always used RO/DI, as well I use IO salt. Water parameters are good.
I found that purchasing some new powerheads has REALLY helped my problem greatly.
I bought a via aqua powerhead (it has pretty intense flow)
this has cleaned up my sandbed considerably.

I just have a tiny bit of red fuzz on some of my rocks.. I plan on getting a few conch snails to take care of the rest of it...

Good luck and dont give up
 
I had dynos several years ago and about went crazy.

I bought a huge powerfilter, loaded it up with carbon and phosphate remover and ran it 24/7. I blasted and suctioned up all I could get and the filter got the rest. I rinsed the bags several times a day and replaced them every 3 days.

I also left the lights off for 48hours and just told myself it was a couple of cloudy days on the reef. Nothing seemed very bothered. The natural room light had everything opening up.

It worked.

Good luck, I know how frustrating it is.

Laurie
 
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