Weird tank issues

[five.five-six]

If it is the start of a Dino infection there is a huge thread on the other forum that will point you in the right direction. Dino's come in various strains,educate yourself because they are a major pain. I went through it so I talk from experience,be patient there is no quick fix. I dosed Dr Tim's Probiotic eco-balance bacteria which really helped. I still use it as a maintenance additive. If I can be of any further help please feel free to ask.

IMO, that thread is so huge that it is practically worthless.

By the time you are done reading the thread, the Dino's will have cleared up by themselves LOL

 

[vuqchu]

From you moving your tank. Stuff dies when you drained water. It takes time to stabilize. Chemi clean if you want to speed up process.

 

[Anemone]

The other thing that stood out that nobody has mentioned is zero nitrates and zero phosphates. Corals have to eat; you should have some nitrates (3-5 ppm) and some phosphate (0.03 - 0.05).

FWIW,
Kevin

 

[ReefTron5000]

Thanks guys. Just knowing what the problem is makes me feel a little better I suppose. I'm skimming through the massive number of dino threads and trying to make a plan

- I think maybe I'll try Chemi Clean as Vu recommends.

- I'm reading I should stop with the GFO so I'll pull that. I can switch it out with Carbon if that will help.

- I think someone mentioned that increasing water changes doesn't actually help so I'll just keep doing my weekly 10%.

- I'm going to stop the skimmer, increase feedings. I might also start dosing nitrate again. I did it a while back but didn't notice a change so I stopped.

- Should I try to add some chaeto to my sump? I have a refugium chamber that just has a deep sand bed and some live rock in it now.


I'm wondering if I should blow the stuff off the rocks or not before water changes. Anyone know if this makes the problem better/worse/no difference?

Bring a sample by this weekend, I’m in corona and we can post photos of what we find.

There is like a 10% chance i can make it to the SCMAS meeting. If I can I'll bring a sample.

...it’s not a matter of where the came from it’s a matter of the conditions were right for them to flourish in your tank.

Okay I think this clarifies a lot. Seems conditions were just right for this problem to occur. It just happened seemingly so dramatically that I was convinced there had to be some specific cause.

From you moving your tank. Stuff dies when you drained water. It takes time to stabilize. Chemi clean if you want to speed up process.

I guess even moving the tank mere inches can still have a dramatic effect! While I didn't notice any immediate issues in the days after I moved the tank, you're probably right. The stress of draining all that water probably helped create the conditions for the dinos to take off.

The other thing that stood out that nobody has mentioned is zero nitrates and zero phosphates. Corals have to eat; you should have some nitrates (3-5 ppm) and some phosphate (0.03 - 0.05).

FWIW,
Kevin

Yes the low nitrates and phosphates has been an ongoing issue in my tank that predates my current problems. I suspect that was part of the reason I didn't have great SPS coloration. I think I'm going to try and work this dino issue first and then I'll work on increasing nitrates and phosphates.

 

[solitude127]

I would make sure it's Dino's before you start treating it.

 

[BeanMachine]

I would add some bacteria as suggested before you go the chemiclean route.

 

[ReefTron5000]

I would make sure it's Dino's before you start treating it.

I think I'm going to attempt to do the test with hydrogen peroxide later this evening.

What I have looks like all the pics of dinos I'm seeing. The bigger piece of evidence is all my snails dying.

 

[kajung2k]

Haha. So true.

IMO, that thread is so huge that it is practically worthless.



By the time you are done reading the thread, the Dino's will have cleared up by themselves LOL

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ReefTron5000]

IMO, that thread is so huge that it is practically worthless.

By the time you are done reading the thread, the Dino's will have cleared up by themselves LOL

Yeah especially when you take into account all the offshoots that go over specific dino strains. Its large to the point of being basically unhelpful. I'm still trying to skim through it. Just easy to get lost.

 

[five.five-six]

Okay, I already have the microscope act for tomorrow's meeting and if you bring it use a syringe or something to try and suck the bubbly material not just all the tank water. I'll email you or thumb drive you photos you can share with other people that know more about this than I do


Conversely you can p.m. me for my phone number and address and come by this weekend

 

[ReefTron5000]

Any recommendations for a cheap uv sterlizer? There are a bunch of Jebaos on Amazon -- not sure which one to go with.

 

[ReefTron5000]

Quick follow up -- it seems dinos were the issue. I bought a cheap $70 UV sterilizer (Green Killing Machine) off Amazon and it knocked out the problem within a couple weeks.