Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

[Snoopdog]

The easy answer is that the hobby wasn't looking for them. Called them the uglies or diatoms and moved on.
But that answer is too easy, I think.
The other answers are wildly speculative, controversial, but I think some might be true.
Widespread use of GFO, ultra sensitive PO4 tests, and LED lights with more selective wavelengths than the T5/MH more common in the past... all make "normal" algae easier to control, without making a dent in dinos.

One day we ought to do some hobby archaeology and dig up old pictures of nuisance "algae" from before the microscope identification trend, and see how many we would retroactively declare to be dinos.
See if the prevalence has really increased as much as the long time hobbyists suggest it has, or if this is entirely a bias of more careful diagnosis.

The only two algaes I ever remember 12 years ago was a bought with cyano and green hair algae, that is it. I

 

[hotdrop]

I’m 9 months in and still no real progress had 2 months when things got better then full regression. I dosed Dino-x in desperation last night. Hoping for a miracle or a wipeout I’ll take either one at this point. I haven’t been able to grow anything since early December and the tank just looks bad and burns money. Super frustrating,

 

[Snoopdog]

I’m 9 months in and still no real progress had 2 months when things got better then full regression. I dosed Dino-x in desperation last night. Hoping for a miracle or a wipeout I’ll take either one at this point. I haven’t been able to grow anything since early December and the tank just looks bad and burns money. Super frustrating,

Give some info on what you have done and what has not worked.

 

[hotdrop]

Give some info on what you have done and what has not worked.

stabilized nutrients up to 10-20 n and .15 run uv, ran temps up to 83, dosed silica blasted rocks for 3 months straight, haven’t done a water change in 2 months, bought pods, blackout periods, peroxide. Only thing last I haven’t tried are phyto, waste away and DinoX and a gallon of bleach.

 

[Snoopdog]

stabilized nutrients up to 10-20 n and .15 run uv, ran temps up to 83, dosed silica blasted rocks for 3 months straight, haven’t done a water change in 2 months, bought pods, blackout periods, peroxide. Only thing last I haven’t tried are phyto, waste away and DinoX and a gallon of bleach.

Have you verified which dinoflagellate you have?

 

[hotdrop]

Have you verified which dinoflagellate you have?

I have not, i probably should have at this point (and it’s possible they changed). Everything I had read pointed to the strategies being similar but the large cell being hard or impossible to take out. I missed my window to buy one on ebay precovid and the 100$ price tag has somehow been a big barrier to buying one

 

[Snoopdog]

I have not, i probably should have at this point (and it’s possible they changed). Everything I had read pointed to the strategies being similar but the large cell being hard or impossible to take out. I missed my window to buy one on ebay precovid and the 100$ price tag has somehow been a big barrier to buying one

I picked up a good Amscope on Amazon for $130 or so, very decent quality and more than I will ever need. You could be going at too many angles and changing too many things at once, that can be an issue. What size tank and when you went the UV approach what was your wattage versus tank size?

 

[hotdrop]

I picked up a good Amscope on Amazon for $130 or so, very decent quality and more than I will ever need. You could be going at too many angles and changing too many things at once, that can be an issue. What size tank and when you went the UV approach what was your wattage versus tank size?

35g tank volumes with a 15w Aqua Uv.

 

[Snoopdog]

35g tank volumes with a 15w Aqua Uv.

Any real live rock?

 

[hotdrop]

Any real live rock?

No that was a thought but not sure where to get a couple pounds of it and if I’ll just end up with an aptasia infestation after

 

[Reef and Dive]

I like the idea, as it has the possibility to really contribute large numbers of bacterial actors. Would love your observations on how it works.

I tried adding lots of copepods and rotifers and using Aquafores LifeSource (mud) on the sump with no benefits for Ostreopsis and Amphidinium.

Many pods consumed those dinos but died after that.

 

[Snoopdog]

No that was a thought but not sure where to get a couple pounds of it and if I’ll just end up with an aptasia infestation after

There is some new stigma against live rock that I just do not think is warranted. Would you rather have a chance of aptasia or a definite case of dinoflagellates? I am currently going through this right now because the previous tank owner was scared of hitchhikers. I just got in 30 pounds of rock from KP aquatics. No aptasia, one small piece of bubble algae that I am currently watching a green emerald tear to pieces. Hell I got free snails and brittle stars with the rock, those did not cost me. So what if you get aptasia, it is not a big deal like people make it out to be. I have had it twice in previous tanks and there are multiple ways to deal with it. I had it in a JBJ tank before, I killed every stalk with a needle and kalkwasser, melted the **** out of the stuff. Another time I got it I bought a single peppermint shrimp.

 

[Snoopdog]

I tried adding lots of copepods and rotifers and using Aquafores LifeSource (mud) on the sump with no benefits for Ostreopsis and Amphidinium.

Many pods consumed those dinos but died after that.

I do not think that works. Buying copepods and amphipods for money seems silly unless you are possibly feeding a mandarin monthly. Why not just buy live rock? You will get so much benefit from it and within a month you will be crawling with copepods? There is so much more to live rock, much more benefit that buying bottled copepods. Why does everyone rush for a cure in a bottle?

 

[swiss1939]

Looking for an ID like everyone else! Tank was zero phosphates for a few weeks after I cycled but before I had the ability to put fish in. Had a trip planned which held me up from stocking fish after cycle until I got back from that. Also had ATO and room AC failure while I was gone. When I came back, I fixed those issues and my tank had what looked like dinos just a little on the sand and rocks. For the past month I've had my temp up around 81, and nitrates at 10ppm, phosphates at 0.12ppm consistently. Snails seem to love eating this stuff on the back wall, but don't touch it much on the rocks. It no longer is on the sand at all. Now its just in a few spots on one main rock, and along the back wall/return random flow generator head and flow pumps. It doesn't seem to go away at night, but does seem lesser on the rocks and pumps/back wall. It really isn't in the sand anymore, and I see no stringy tails swaying around anymore. I am pretty positive it is not the toxic kind of dinos as snails happily eat it and survive. When it first popped up I did see some strands swaying around that would get longer each day. After a few weeks and blowing them off a couple times, the strands got shorter. Now I see no strands and it just lives on the surfaces of the rock, back wall and plastic bits of pumps.

Tried to get some photos under a friends daughter's toy microscope!

Let me know if this is dinos and/or what flavor? Or if I didn't even get a picture of them. Scale is 450x or 900x.

My guess is small cell Amphidinium cause they are tiny little circles that congregate together. Still small under 450 and 900x. They also scoot around the slide fast.

Thanks!

Gonna try to get better photos of them. This scope is nearly impossible to focus and the plastic slides by default are not crystal clear which don't help the ID.

Also here is a photo of this possible dino which presents itself fuzzy stuff on rocks and plastic. Blows off relatively easy with turkey blaster.

 

[Flatlandreefer]

I am battling a dino issue and am needing some advice on buying a UV unit. Total system is around 250 gallons. I have a nano tank and a large frag tank plumbed together into a 70 gallon sump. My dino issues are in the frag tank that is roughly 160 gallons. Will the 55gallon Jabao uv unit do me any good if I have the uv recirculating in the frag tank or is it a little too small for my setup?

 

[taricha]

I tried adding lots of copepods and rotifers and using Aquafores LifeSource (mud) on the sump with no benefits for Ostreopsis and Amphidinium.

The pods part does not surprise me. I've seen that first hand. Small dino population, feed phyto, grow some pods, pods die. Big dino population.
Mud might also contain organics exploitable by dinos? A good source of serious bacterial numbers and diversity would be a nice resource.

 

[taricha]

Looking for an ID like everyone else!

I see diatoms and not dinos.

 

[swiss1939]

I see diatoms and not dinos.

What I have is a mucus covering on rocks and plastic that at points had strands up to 2" long. There was also one or two small bubbles on the strands. Currently it just appears as purple/brown mucus coating to the rock/plastic surfaces that blows off easy. I already went through my initial diatom bloom that appeared as normal brown in the sand, and then this stuff came up.

I will try getting a better microscope photo to help with ID, because I think the photos are hard to read since the plastic eyepiece on that scope gives a mottled texture to the bg of the image which looks like tiny dark specks among the actual stuff I'm trying to show.

 

[Snoopdog]

What I have is a mucus covering on rocks and plastic that at points had strands up to 2" long. There was also one or two small bubbles on the strands. Currently it just appears as purple/brown mucus coating to the rock/plastic surfaces that blows off easy. I already went through my initial diatom bloom that appeared as normal brown in the sand, and then this stuff came up.

I will try getting a better microscope photo to help with ID, because I think the photos are hard to read since the plastic eyepiece on that scope gives a mottled texture to the bg of the image which looks like tiny dark specks among the actual stuff I'm trying to show.

Probably dinoflagellates but the approach differs with the type you are facing, definitely need a microscopic view. I have/had strands longer than that. My poor cleaner shrimp is going spastic trying to keep himself clean.

 

[Snoopdog]

For those with ostreopsis and button polyps or xenia, did it affect them?

Also old post talk about dinoflagellates having a smell. I have smelled the normal seawater smell of my tank or that smell when I clean my sump, even my skimmer smell but what do your dinoflagellates smell like? I have not really noticed a new smell unless I am just not paying attention.