Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

[techhnyne]

I need help. I have some zoa frags which all seemed to be closed up. I have a leather toadstool seems to be closed up. I do t really have much coral at all.
My sea urchin died. My fighting conch looks in bad shape. And i have stringy brown stuff. I am guessing it is dinos cause the snails and the urchin. Plus i have worst luck with everything so my luck would be worst of 2

It is infesting my cheato also

What inexpensive microscope can i purchase to find out exactly what i have?

I killed my lights a few hours ago and wil leave them off until i can ID this

 

[techhnyne]

Also this is what myskimmer has pulled out.

 

[sfin52]

Amazon has a cheap one I think in the order of 25$. If you really want one with out waiting hobby lobby has one for 50 and toysrus has a cheap one as well. Stop all phosphate removers like GFO and if you are carbon dosing stop. Skimmers don't remove a whole lot of Dino. What's your phosphate levels?

 

[tenurepro]

I need help. I have some zoa frags which all seemed to be closed up. I have a leather toadstool seems to be closed up. I do t really have much coral at all.
My sea urchin died. My fighting conch looks in bad shape. And i have stringy brown stuff. I am guessing it is dinos cause the snails and the urchin. Plus i have worst luck with everything so my luck would be worst of 2

It is infesting my cheato also

What inexpensive microscope can i purchase to find out exactly what i have?

I killed my lights a few hours ago and wil leave them off until i can ID this

Looks like dino symptoms but best to find someone with a scope to confirm id. Running Carbon will help with removing toxins and a Uv sterilizer can help with most species of Dino (if properly sized and tuned). Post some info on tank parameters and read first post on thread

 

[techhnyne]

Looks like dino symptoms but best to find someone with a scope to confirm id. Running Carbon will help with removing toxins and a Uv sterilizer can help with most species of Dino (if properly sized and tuned). Post some info on tank parameters and read first post on thread

I ordered a scope will be here later today.
I read half of this post and half of another one and its just alot lol
I currently am blacking out my tank and dosing h202. i ordered a scope and metroplex which should be here today. I read both h202 and metroplex success stories so i figured i will try

will confirm later what they are

 

[sfin52]

Metro and peroxide doesn't work much. Metro makes then go to cysts. But I used it till I could get my hands on phosphates

 

[techhnyne]

so then how does everyone get rid of it? I read hundreds of pages and it starts out everyone saying one thing then later on people saying another thing, its confusing and there should be a post with proven methods.

so my outtake of all this is I am dosing either h2o2 or metroplex while same time I am dosing kno3 to introduce nitrates for other algaes and macros to get a foot.

at this point my corals are starving and my snails are dying and its aggrivating

 

[sfin52]

For the right diversity, we want a system that is oriented toward algae, corals and phytoplankton – not oriented toward bacteria. That means we want carbon limitation, but available nitrogen and phosphorous. This puts the photosynthesizers "in charge" (they can make their own carbon) and encourages the right balance of microbes.

In contrast...

When you put dead rock in a carbon-saturated tank (i.e. carbon dosing), you get a bacterially oriented system. If allowed, bacteria will massively outcompete corals, algae and phyto for N and P, reducing levels down too low for other critters to use them.

This is where Dino's wake up and realize they are starving to death. But unlike the corals, algae and phyto which more or less just die off when starved like that, dino's switch into predator mode and start eating the available bacteria and nuking anything else left alive with toxins. An excellent survival strategy.



When you're starting out and don't see any PO4 remaining after 24 hours, I recommend increasing your dose amount by 1mL every dose (every day) until you DO see some remaining the next day. Then you can go back to using calculated doses to maintain the specific level you're after.

@techhnyne this is what we're trying to get to. Dino maybe releasing toxins. If you arnt running carbon, I would recommending to start

 

[techhnyne]

@techhnyne this is what we're trying to get to. Dino maybe releasing toxins. If you arnt running carbon, I would recommending to start

you just said to run carbon but yet mcarroll just said that systems with carbon wake up dinos.

i dont get it

 

[matic]

I think he’s talking about carbon as in carbon source like wodka or vinnegar. Sfin is talking about carbon the filter media, the black stuff.

 

[sfin52]

@matic thanks. That is what I was talking about. Carbon dosing i.e. vodka, is creating bacteria to control phosphates and nitrates. Carbon the media removes toxins from the water. The toxins released by Dino can really wreak a tank. The reason you want to run carbon media.

What's your Po4 and No3 numbers.

 

[TbyZ]

@matic thanks. That is what I was talking about. Carbon dosing i.e. vodka, is creating bacteria to control phosphates and nitrates. Carbon the media removes toxins from the water. The toxins released by Dino can really wreak a tank.

What's your Po4 and No3 numbers.

>>>Activated <<< carbon

 

[sfin52]

>>>Activated <<< carbon

Man this hobby jargon can be confusing. I think I'm back in the air force. ;Facepalm

 

[techhnyne]

@matic thanks. That is what I was talking about. Carbon dosing i.e. vodka, is creating bacteria to control phosphates and nitrates. Carbon the media removes toxins from the water. The toxins released by Dino can really wreak a tank. The reason you want to run carbon media.

What's your Po4 and No3 numbers.

My po4 is .20 and my no3 is 0.

I have some carbon media but will be switching it out for newer media. I also need to find the best place to pit it in my sump

 

[TbyZ]

My po4 is .20 and my no3 is 0.

I have some carbon media but will be switching it out for newer media. I also need to find the best place to pit it in my sump

From page 1 of this thread
Nitrate Control

• Do not let your nitrates hitor stay at zero.
• See: Putting the N indinoflagellates
• See: A Nitrate DosingCalculator For Better TankHealth (And Better CoralColor!)

 

[sfin52]

Ya your are going to need to add No3

 

[sfin52]

Your corals will thank you as well

 

[techhnyne]

ok the microscope is in and here are the results can anyone please ID for me

 

[techhnyne]

just for the heck of it i dosed a few drops of h202 and it looks like they all clumped up and stopped moving

 

[Beardo]

ok the microscope is in and here are the results can anyone please ID for me

Can you get any higher magnification pictures? I can't see enough detail to tell what type they are