Dino’s help

[Reefnewb]

Hey fellas i have a tank with no live stock in it that had Dino’s. I plan to restart the setup with live sand and live rock. I wanted to clean the whole system before adding new rock and sand. My plan is to drain the tank fill it with freshwater and then run vinegar through the whole system for a couple days. Drain tank again refill and run bleach for a couple days. Drain system, and let air dry for a couple weeks.

Is this enough to kill Dino’s cysts that some people say can survive being dried out for “years”?

 

[maleks.reef]

Are you sure it is dinos and not just cyano or diatoms?

 

[rtparty]

Just switch out the rock for live rock IMO. There will be dinos in the live sand and live rock. It is literally everywhere and on everything in a tank.

 

[vtecintegra]

Bleach should do it, but the reality is dinos will probably make it back in the tank. The key is to have an environment where they don't thrive, but everything else does. Live rock goes a long way in providing that environment since it's already populated with competitors. Just keep NO3 and PO4 above zero.

 

[Reefnewb]

Are you sure it is dinos and not just cyano or diatoms?

Yes i did the paper towel test and it all clumped back together in sunlight after a half hour. Not sure which strain it is exactly since i never got a microscope.

 

[Reefnewb]

Bleach should do it, but the reality is dinos will probably make it back in the tank. The key is to have an environment where they don't thrive, but everything else does. Live rock goes a long way in providing that environment since it's already populated with competitors. Just keep NO3 and PO4 above zero.

Iv started 10-20 tanks in the past with live sand and Marco dry rock, and never got Dino’s. Only time i ever got them was when i vinegar dosed and stripped nutrients. Once i got them any tank i tried to start after that point ended up getting them from the beginning. So I’m not 100% sold that they’re in every system. They definitely have to be introduced. Just my opinion.

 

[rtparty]

Iv started 10-20 tanks in the past with live sand and Marco dry rock, and never got Dino’s. Only time i ever got them was when i vinegar dosed and stripped nutrients. Once i got them any tank i tried to start after that point ended up getting them from the beginning. So I’m not 100% sold that they’re in every system. They definitely have to be introduced. Just my opinion.

They are in every tank. Zooxanthellae is a dinoflagellate. They are one of the oldest and most basic life forms on earth. There is absolutely no way to keep them out

 

[Reefnewb]

Just switch out the rock for live rock IMO. There will be dinos in the live sand and live rock. It is literally everywhere and on everything in a tank.

They are in every tank. Zooxanthellae is a dinoflagellate. They are one of the oldest and most basic life forms on earth. There is absolutely no way to keep them out

Just doesn’t make sense to me. Wouldn’t every tank have every different type of strain then?

 

[DavidinGA]

What if I told you dinos exist in every tank and the goal is to maintain a balanced ecosystem (where your then unaware you have dinos because the don't cause any issues), not to eradicate a normal/natural inhabitant...?

 

[Reefnewb]

What if I told you dinos exist in every tank and the goal is to maintain a balanced ecosystem (where your then unaware you have dinos because the don't cause any issues), not to eradicate a normal/natural inhabitant...?

I want to believe that so badly, but i just don’t. Riddle me this. If Dino’s exists in every tank then why doesn’t every tank have all the different strains of Dino’s?

also why did none of my tanks before getting Dino’s ever have any? I started all of them with dry rock. It wasn’t until i got Dino’s carbon dosing in one tank that every tank following got Dino’s from the start.

my point is do they eventually end up if every tank? Yes, but they usually end up in the tank after the tank is past the balancing act stage. That’s why i want to sterilize all equipment.

 

[DavidinGA]

I want to believe that so badly, but i just don’t. Riddle me this. If Dino’s exists in every tank then why doesn’t every tank have all the different strains of Dino’s?

also why did none of my tanks before getting Dino’s ever have any? I started all of them with dry rock. It wasn’t until i got Dino’s carbon dosing in one tank that every tank following got Dino’s from the start.

my point is do they eventually end up if every tank? Yes, but they usually end up in the tank after the tank is past the balancing act stage. That’s why i want to sterilize all equipment.

Explain to me how you've come to determine all tanks DON'T have dinos? Just because you can't see them with your physical eye doesn't mean they are not there.

 

[CookieRdReef]

If nothing is in the tank you can just black it out for long enough that they go away, no? Ost dinos can be zapped with uv. Amp suck and took a lot of work to kill but I had fish and coral to keep alive. Also yes zoxenthelle is a dinoflagellete.

 

[Reefnewb]

Explain to me how you've come to determine all tanks DON'T have dinos? Just because you can't see them with your physical eye doesn't mean they are not there.

Microscope my good man. Very common tool for IDing Dino’s.

 

[Reefnewb]

If nothing is in the tank you can just black it out for long enough that they go away, no? Ost dinos can be zapped with uv. Amp suck and took a lot of work to kill but I had fish and coral to keep alive. Also yes zoxenthelle is a dinoflagellete.

Iv tried all that.

 

[CoralB]

With no inhabitants I wouldn’t do a start over , I would let it run it’s course . Get your parameters up .more than likely you got Dino’s because you zeroed out your phosphates and nitrates Do a black out on the tank for at least 3 days. No lights , UV light ,microbactor 7 daily . Add silicates to the tank etc.

 

[Reefnewb]

Microscope my good man. Very common tool for IDing Dino’s.

With no inhabitants I wouldn’t do a start over , I would let it run it’s course . Get your parameters up .more than likely you got Dino’s because you zeroed out your phosphates and nitrates Do a black out on the tank for at least 3 days. No lights , UV light ,microbactor 7 daily . Add silicates to the tank etc.

Nitrates we’re at 10ppm and phosphates were 0.08-0.10ppm depending what time i tested with Hannah ULR. Not sure if nutrients were low.

 

[DavidinGA]

Microscope my good man. Very common tool for IDing Dino’s.

Yes I'm aware, I have one and use it occasionally. Back to my point though, it's simply impossible to say one can use a microscope to investigate multiple gallons of seawater to conclusively say "my tank has absolutely no dino". Just because you use a microscope and look at say 100 drops of your tanks water and never see a Dino DOES NOT mean you have no dinos in there. It just means you haven't seen any yet and they're not in a large enough population for you to see them.

 

[Reefnewb]

Yes I'm aware, I have one and use it occasionally. Back to my point though, it's simply impossible to say one can use a microscope to investigate multiple gallons of seawater to conclusively say "my tank has absolutely no dino". Just because you use a microscope and look at say 100 drops of your tanks water and never see a Dino DOES NOT mean you have no dinos in there. It just means you haven't seen any yet and they're not in a large enough population for you to see them.

Lol okay bud. Sounds good. Sounds like you’re speculating just like i am. Glad we both have our own opinion. Also Glad you could help so much with my original question since you wanna stay to the original point.

 

[DavidinGA]

Lol okay bud. Sounds good. Sounds like you’re speculating just like i am. Glad we both have our own opinion. Also Glad you could help so much with my original question since you wanna stay to the original point.

Dude your plan is to drain the tank and run vinegar thru it to kill something that's always there, that's just asine.

 

[DavidinGA]

*asinine