A call to Dino experts

[Khalifa Alhaddad]

So guys
Is this Dino ??

 

[Khalifa Alhaddad]

Check this out

 

[HexaReef]

Check this out

Doesn't look like it to me.

 

[Octane13]

Looks more like cyano to me, hard to tell from the photos. Mine started in a similar fashion looked like brown cyano on the sand then spread quickly.

 

[Khalifa Alhaddad]

I guess is like mix all in one now

 

[dwest]

I need some reading to do

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-–-are-you-tired-of-battling-altogether.293318/

 

[Octane13]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-–-are-you-tired-of-battling-altogether.293318/

There is a TON of information on that thread. The first few pages are very helpful but it gets complicated and convoluted quickly. I can say you should get a microscope and identify what your dealing with first, I had what I identified as amphidinium. Raising nutrients did nothing for me but compound the issue by growing algae and cyano all over the place. black out worked great for about 12 hrs then they reformed everywhere. Finally broke down and bought a UV which helped prevent further spread. From there I siphoned almost all of my sand out and took airline tubing and siphoned off the rocks directly (took forever and I only have a 40br). Originally I was running the water through a polishing pad (5 microns) and returning the water but they just kept reforming in the tank. So I siphoned the rocks and replaced the water with fresh mixed. Finally I decided to do a 3 day black out with the UV which ended yesterday. I did decide to leave the lights off one more day just to see what pops up in some indirect sunlight. Fingers crossed I'm out...

 

[Rich Klein]

I finally won the war with Dino when I stopped trying to kill it, and instead focused on growing algae to out-compete it (GHA, turf, briopsys, calurpa, you name it). I dosed PO4 and Nitrate nightly to .10 and 8 respectively. This did the trick and the Dino went away completely. After the Dino was gone, I added a chaeto refugium, with a powerful grow spectrum LED, and mucho pods. I then removed as much of the algae by hand every other day for ~ 4 weeks. With each removal, the regrowth was less each time. Then the refugium took hold and I beefed up my clean-up crew. I wish that I handn't 1st wasted months trying to kill with potions, blackouts (you name it).

 

[HexaReef]

I got rid of dino by..

1. Getting rid of skimmer..
2. 3 day blackout
3. Uv sterilizer
4. Raising po4 and no3

Typically, because they are photosynthetic, dino thrives in clean water where nitrates and phosphate are non existent. Cheato usually usually makes dino worse. So does over skimming.

How long have you been rid of it?

 

[Octane13]

I finally won the war with Dino when I stopped trying to kill it, and instead focused on growing algae to out-compete it (GHA, turf, briopsys, calurpa, you name it). I dosed PO4 and Nitrate nightly to .10 and 8 respectively. This did the trick and the Dino went away completely. After the Dino was gone, I added a chaeto refugium, with a powerful grow spectrum LED, and mucho pods. I then removed as much of the algae by hand every other day for ~ 4 weeks. With each removal, the regrowth was less each time. Then the refugium took hold and I beefed up my clean-up crew. I wish that I handn't 1st wasted months trying to kill with potions, blackouts (you name it).

HMM... Im still growing the trio of algae now after my black out and last UV round. Which seemed to stop/slow dino expansion. Recently I have been getting film algae on the glass. Just trying to force myself to leave the tank alone has been tough but may be best in the long run. I may eventually have success like you.

 

[brandon429]

Post full tank shot if possible. By now your current method should be working against cyano too

We have a big thread on tank cleaning that beats cyano, curious to see your current pics I can tell if our thread would work well on your tank if we can see updates

 

[Rich Klein]

HMM... Im still growing the trio of algae now after my black out and last UV round. Which seemed to stop/slow dino expansion. Recently I have been getting film algae on the glass. Just trying to force myself to leave the tank alone has been tough but may be best in the long run. I may eventually have success like you.

Film algae on the glass is a good sign. Dino seems to be the "last man standing" when there are no competitors. We need micro and macro fauna to grow and out-compete the Dino. After reading and trying many of the methods of killing Dino, I read one post where a hobbyist has said "I've never seen Dino in a tank with other algae", and "Dino outbreaks seems to occur a lot more frequently today with those using "Dry Rock". You'll also note what I think is a common misconception. Many think that water changes are bad because there is something undefinable in the water the makes the Dino grow. IMO the water change just lowers nutrients that competitors need to grow, having nothing to do with food for Dino.

 

[Rich Klein]

I got rid of dino by..

1. Getting rid of skimmer..
2. 3 day blackout
3. Uv sterilizer
4. Raising po4 and no3

Typically, because they are photosynthetic, dino thrives in clean water where nitrates and phosphate are non existent. Cheato usually usually makes dino worse. So does over skimming.

How long have you been rid of it?

Been rid of Dino for over 6 months. I added chaeto after the Dino was gone and I was in the phase of removing the other macro algae from my tank. I also got rid of my filter socks. Corals are growing like crazy. I feed my fish well and have no measurable Nitrate, with Phosphate between .01 and .02. No GFO or Carbon dosing (started the Dino problem). My Chaeto, marine pure and Skimmer handle the nutrients.