Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

[Cscultho]

So... napalm it is!

im gonna do my best to ride it out with increased nutrients and no chemical warfare...(Hopefully). If it doesn't start to recede i will slowly remove my sand until i can find the balance where the good algae will outcome the dino's.

Thats my plan for now at least. To many people have nuked their systems to then have the dinos come right back.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Just a casual thought, but are most of these tanks having issues with Dinos starting initially with dead rock or dry base rock? Ten or fifteen years ago, when the norm was to use real live rock from the ocean instead of dead, dry rock or artificial rock I don't recall ever seeing so many have issues with Dinos. My sole experience with Dino's was the one time I set up a tank with "Marco Rock".

 

[Cscultho]

Just a casual thought, but are most of these tanks having issues with Dinos starting initially with dead rock or dry base rock? Ten or fifteen years ago, when the norm was to use real live rock from the ocean instead of dead, dry rock or artificial rock I don't recall ever seeing so many have issues with Dinos. My sole experience with Dino's was the one time I set up a tank with "Marco Rock".

You bring up an excellent point. When i started this tank i struggled with the same question as to what to do. I went back and forth and finally bought into the "not introducing hitchhikers from LR and LS". My current tank has LR and dry sand.

15yrs ago when i had my SW tank i used all LR and live sand and had ZERO issues. Additionally i used miracle mud in my refugium. Im starting to feel starting out with the dead rock and sand is bad news. So many reefers talk about protecting against hitchhikers and other pest but until you have dino Ill take any hitchhiker a LR may have.

The more natural junk you can introduce into your aquarium the better IMO.

 

[zachxlutz]

Still struggling with what appears to be dinos amongst other things... ugh.

Dinos on the live rock, sand bed, etc:

I brought the phosphate levels up for several weeks by dosing Activate (phosphorus) to a goal of 0.10 from 6/16/17 - 7/13/17. This seemed to solve the dino problem and after I stopped dosing I was able to see that the phosphates were sticking around in the water for longer and longer. I let things get a little slack as I saw other algae patches pop up, namely green hair algae and red wiry turf algae (Gelidium?).

Knowing that the goal of this experiment was to add to the biodiversity of the tank and allow the dinos to be outcompeted, I thought I had reached an equilibrium. I didn't want to continue dosing KNO3/PO4 to the system as the green and red algaes were beginning to grow a little quick for my liking.

Gelidium? + spots of dino, etc:

GHA/Gelidium/Dinos:

I started religiously testing the nutrients again and what do you know... the NO3 levels had bottomed to nothing, zilch, zero. The PO4 levels had held steady at .05-.1. I began dosing KNO3 again and targeting 5-10 ppm. A few days of this and the dosing brought my PO4 levels down again. Basically... I'm back to dosing both KNO3 and PO4 to the tank, I've got dinos, green hair algae and red wiry turf algae.

UGH.

I've got a Kole Tang and a Diamond Goby ready to enter the tank in about 2 weeks, I'm hoping the tang will help with the GHA/Gelidium but at this point, I'm really not positive anything is going to get this tank pristine and clean!

 

[mcarroll]

The re-bloom is the response to the nutrients bottoming out again. I posted more info in your thread!!

 

[Cscultho]

The re-bloom is the response to the nutrients bottoming out again. I posted more info in your thread!!

Crazy thing for my tank is my nutrients have stayed elevated and I had another big rebloom. Thought I almost had them gone but not today....

Ugh

 

[Eddie Rogers]

does this look like dino's ( picture taken from iphone held up to microscope eyepiece)

 

[Eddie Rogers]

a better pic

 

[rockstarta78]

@mcarroll got a question for you.

Can you dose Fluco while trying to battle Dino? Looks like I got bryopsis as well.

 

[mcarroll]

PM sent

 

[K. Steven]

Update - Ostreopsis sp.

No observable mucus strings since the end of May/beginning of June after correcting NO3/PO4 balance by dosing PO4. I've done several large WCs (30-40%) since then. NO3 hovering around 20-25 ppm and PO4 around 0.03-0.1 ppm. Getting some hair algae on rocks and cyano in the sump, but keeping it in check. I haven't done any follow-up microscope analysis, but I'm sure there are cells floating around, just not blooming.

 

[mcarroll]

Interesting, @K. Steven – cyano in the sump, even at this NO3 level. Is it being lit directly, or catching stray light from the main tank/elsewhere?

 

[K. Steven]

Interesting, @K. Steven – cyano in the sump, even at this NO3 level. Is it being lit directly, or catching stray light from the main tank/elsewhere?

Lit by a refugium light

 

[mcarroll]

Lit by a refugium light

Huh. Does the refugium take 100% of the flow through the sump, or how much flow does it get?

 

[mcarroll]

a better pic

Eddie, I am not the ID expert by far, but that looks like dino's to me. @taricha may be around later.

 

[taricha]

Mmm, prorocentrum dinos! A rounder version than most that I've seen posted, but that's them.
(Here's a pic of shape variation just within the single species prorocentrum lima) - https://goo.gl/images/SBcvHV

 

[mcarroll]

Something's wrong with the forum and I can't see my microscope thread to post this, so posting it here for interested parties:

Per am email I got from Amazon, they list the AmScope branded toy scope that I got for only $9.99 and Amazon is doing fulfillment.

• 
  
  AMSCOPE-KIDS Student Beginner Microscope With LED,100X/400X/1200X Magnification,Includes Accessory Set and Box-red
  by AmScope
  $ 9 98 Prime
  Get it by Tomorrow, Aug 25
  FREE Shipping on eligible orders
  
  More Buying Choices
  $9.98(2 new offers)
  5
  Product Features
  ... AMSCOPE-KIDS Student Beginner ... Super educational toy includes ...

 

[mcarroll]

It is downright silly not to have a microscope at this price.

 

[zachxlutz]

Something's wrong with the forum and I can't see my microscope thread to post this, so posting it here for interested parties:

Per am email I got from Amazon, they list the AmScope branded toy scope that I got for only $9.99 and Amazon is doing fulfillment.

• 
  
  AMSCOPE-KIDS Student Beginner Microscope With LED,100X/400X/1200X Magnification,Includes Accessory Set and Box-red
  by AmScope
  $ 9 98 Prime
  Get it by Tomorrow, Aug 25
  FREE Shipping on eligible orders
  
  More Buying Choices
  $9.98(2 new offers)
  5
  Product Features
  ... AMSCOPE-KIDS Student Beginner ... Super educational toy includes ...

Ordered! I'll have it tomorrow and hopefully have a photo up soon... can I just put my iPhone up to the eyepiece to take a photo of the slide?

 

[K. Steven]

Huh. Does the refugium take 100% of the flow through the sump, or how much flow does it get?

Yes, not much flow at all.