The Life Aquatic
Community Member
Hey all!
Long story short, I have Prorocentrum. I knew I had dinos but assumed amphidinium given 95% concentration on the sand but a microscope ID today confirmed Prorocentrum (for future searches, the Carson Microflip 250x did the trick just find for $19.99)
I originally through it was cyano but confirmed dinos about 2 weeks ago (coffee filter test) and changed my approach:
- raised temps to 84, then back down to 82 and holding constant
- siphoning sand into filter socks and back into sump 2-3x a week
- blowing sand 2-3x day to stir everything loose (subsequently I have thick mats, like cyano, and this generally buries them...it's hard to get a lot loose into the water column)
- most importantly, starting dosing neonitro and neophos to get nutrients up (were close to 0)
- move my UV from sump to DT directly...still playing with flow as the advice seems inconsistent if you want it fast or slow for dinos
- upped my bacteria dosing, trying a few different bottles
Fast forward to today, a few things stand out:
- algae is coming back. I can visibly see it, tangs are grazing again, etc.
- dinos are no longer creating strands or bubbles...just mats (except for a few rare outliers)
- no dinos on rocks at all. Just sand. Before it was maybe 95/5.
- patches on sand are getting smaller.
So it SEEMS I'm making progress but I don't want to jinx it. So here are my big questions:
- Considering I only today confirmed Prorocentrum, which DOES seem to enter the water column IF triggered (my reading suggest blackouts), would you do a 24-48 hour blackout now OR hold off since progress seems to be working. I wouldn't want to black out now while algae is bouncing back and the course I'm on seems to be working.
- There doesn't seem to be a consensus on UV flow rates for dinos...some say slow since they are armored while others say fast since you need to treat more similar to algae/bacteria. Is Prorocentrum known to have a tougher or lighter armor than the others that may make a difference?
I am leaning towards giving it a few more days on the current course and then trying a blackout at end of week if the progress seems stalled. I also just ordered some SpongeExcel but won't be here until Thursday. That'll be another weapon to try if the war isn't won by then.
Long story short, I have Prorocentrum. I knew I had dinos but assumed amphidinium given 95% concentration on the sand but a microscope ID today confirmed Prorocentrum (for future searches, the Carson Microflip 250x did the trick just find for $19.99)
I originally through it was cyano but confirmed dinos about 2 weeks ago (coffee filter test) and changed my approach:
- raised temps to 84, then back down to 82 and holding constant
- siphoning sand into filter socks and back into sump 2-3x a week
- blowing sand 2-3x day to stir everything loose (subsequently I have thick mats, like cyano, and this generally buries them...it's hard to get a lot loose into the water column)
- most importantly, starting dosing neonitro and neophos to get nutrients up (were close to 0)
- move my UV from sump to DT directly...still playing with flow as the advice seems inconsistent if you want it fast or slow for dinos
- upped my bacteria dosing, trying a few different bottles
Fast forward to today, a few things stand out:
- algae is coming back. I can visibly see it, tangs are grazing again, etc.
- dinos are no longer creating strands or bubbles...just mats (except for a few rare outliers)
- no dinos on rocks at all. Just sand. Before it was maybe 95/5.
- patches on sand are getting smaller.
So it SEEMS I'm making progress but I don't want to jinx it. So here are my big questions:
- Considering I only today confirmed Prorocentrum, which DOES seem to enter the water column IF triggered (my reading suggest blackouts), would you do a 24-48 hour blackout now OR hold off since progress seems to be working. I wouldn't want to black out now while algae is bouncing back and the course I'm on seems to be working.
- There doesn't seem to be a consensus on UV flow rates for dinos...some say slow since they are armored while others say fast since you need to treat more similar to algae/bacteria. Is Prorocentrum known to have a tougher or lighter armor than the others that may make a difference?
I am leaning towards giving it a few more days on the current course and then trying a blackout at end of week if the progress seems stalled. I also just ordered some SpongeExcel but won't be here until Thursday. That'll be another weapon to try if the war isn't won by then.
