Dinos and iron?

[ErikVR]

Hi all,

Recently I've been dealing with a dino outbreak.
Its pretty clean that its dinos because it forms slimy stringy stuff on the rocks, mostly with bubbles on the end.
It also covers the sand in a brown layer.

I've been siphoning it out every other day and that keeps it from getting out of control.
However, it doesn't seem to back down.

The only change I've made in the last months is dosing iron for my chaetomorpha.
Could elevated iron levels cause dinos?

 

[Elireef]

they usually show up on the ugly stage. Check your RO unit for silicate, sometimes it comes from poor water. You can try a four-day blackout, it might help. And another thing, if I were you, I'd stop doing iron. Get an ICP test done to see where you're at and go from there. Good luck, man!

 

[shakacuz]

how big is the tank? you may be able to knock it back a bit with a UV.
some hydrogen peroxide dosing at 1ml/10G could also help.

 

[ErikVR]

they usually show up on the ugly stage. Check your RO unit for silicate, sometimes it comes from poor water. You can try a four-day blackout, it might help. And another thing, if I were you, I'd stop doing iron. Get an ICP test done to see where you're at and go from there. Good luck, man!

Thanks. ICP didn't cross my mind.

I have been going with minimal water changes because the refugium+skimmer keeps nutrient levels really low. Maybe too low even. NO3 at 5, PO4 at 0.04. No matter how much I feed (within reason).

My RO station has a TDS meter and it always reads 0.

 

[ErikVR]

how big is the tank? you may be able to knock it back a bit with a UV.
some hydrogen peroxide dosing at 1ml/10G could also help.

750 liters total system.
I already have a UV running 24/7. It has been running non stop for a year (with bulb changes).

 

[Elireef]

Thanks. ICP didn't cross my mind.

I have been going with minimal water changes because the refugium+skimmer keeps nutrient levels really low. Maybe too low even. NO3 at 5, PO4 at 0.04. No matter how much I feed (within reason).

My RO station has a TDS meter and it always reads 0.

Hey, try feeding a bit more to increase the nitrate levels. I usually reduce the photoperiod of my refugium to prevent excessive consumption of nutrients by microalgae. That's another way to gradually increase nutrient levels.