Alage? ID

[reeferfoxx]

Phosphorus, not potassium correct? The link took me to Potassium. I don't want someone else following along and then they buy the wrong stuff trying to dose phosphate.

Looks like I'm heading to get some Phosphate so I'm ready to dose

$%!^.. yeah phosphorus sorry! https://www.amazon.com/Seachem-1160...1508026424&sr=8-1&keywords=seachem+phosphorus

 

[reeferfoxx]

I edited it just in case.

 

[mcarroll]

I'll look into that microscope. My wife would LOVE studying things in my tank with a scope. She is a biology major with chemistry minor.

If she has any feedback on scopes from her experience, get it.

If she doesn't know anything specific, the cheap toy scope might still be the way to begin. It's only $10-15, so you've hardly wasted any real money even if you decide to upgrade to a real scope in a week.

The problem on the "real scope" side for me is "how much to buy"?

Even just a $50 scope is MUCH better than the toy scope. But a $100 scope is MUCH MUCH better than a $50 scope.

The $200 is at least 4x better than the $100 scope.

You see where this goes?

I still don't know enough about which features I really need, and my needs are still so light that this toy is working out for now.

Don't forget to keep an eye on craigslist for scopes too, BTW.

skimmer stopped for now.

Sorry if there was a misunderstanding, but I'd keep the skimmer running unless you have a specific reason outside of the dino treatment for stopping it.

Should I take out the bag of Matrix?

Yes.

I'd like to say I would be surprised if my PO4 was super low since everyone always claims that dry rock leaches phosphates forever.

You can seemingly let go of just about everything in this hobby that "everyone always claims".

Yet, here I am dealing with multiple problems related to low N and P.

See!!?

Adding organic nutrients, especially in whole form like food, has not proven to be helpful against dino's as far as I know.

Certainly nutrients in the form of whole foods are the anchor of nutrient stability going forward in any plan though!

Inorganic, discreet, dissoved nutrients are necessary if you're trying to fix a discreet problem like a phosphate or nitrate shortage. Adding food raises all nutrients, which may actually throw things further out of balance in the short term. It piles on more to what there's already too much of, and adds not enough of what's actually missing.

@rtparty You should drop a link for your thread into Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether? when you post major updates or pictures here! (And if you haven't digested the first post from that thread yet, let me know if it makes sense/when you finish!! )

 

[rtparty]

@mcarroll

Thanks! Last night I pulled the other bag of Matrix and turned the skimmer back on. I also went to two stores around me and neither had Seachem Phosphorus. They both had Excel, Iron and Flourish. So I will be ordering Phosphorus today along with the $10 scope. While I'd love to spend even $50 on a better scope I don't think it's needed at this point.

Your thread and blog have been a ton of help. I read most of the links from that first post as well. Most were over my head but I got the gist of them. One thing I saw mentioned but never confirmed was the possiblity that lower temps could help stave off blooms. Is this only for certain types of dinos and is it only speculation still? I can very easily drop my temp since the tank is in a 68° basement.

 

[Keepingitunreal]

It’ll pass

 

[rtparty]

It’ll pass

I suggest you read the entire thread and not just come in here to pad your post count. [emoji106]

 

[mcarroll]

One thing I saw mentioned but never confirmed was the possiblity that lower temps could help stave off blooms. Is this only for certain types of dinos and is it only speculation still? I can very easily drop my temp since the tank is in a 68° basement.

AFAIK so far, that's only Ostreopsis spp.

Interesting proposistion since you think you can do it, but if I recall from that diagram, low temps aren't really associated with stopping a bloom...at least not strongly. But honestly that diagram is hard to remember, so I should look again.

Regardless, I'd be a little concerned for the rest of the critters in the tank....we have no idea exactly how low to try or for how long. And I have no idea how most of our critters would respond to such a cold snap. So if you proceed, you're basically in charge of an experiment. You have to tell me if that's OK or not. We'd definitely love to know the results from trying....and we can definitely make sure you're getting the rest of the situation correct.

Otherwise, try the basic methods and tools first, IMO. Especially a microscope.

 

[rtparty]

Let's see how this picture turned out. Didn't get a chance with the halide on so it's a little blue. I overexposed it to hopefully show things better. The "dinos" are covering close to 50% of the sand and probably 30% of the rock. I blew off all the rocks last night and there was barely any on them this morning. As the day went on, they get worse and worse. It's starting to grow on the back glass now. Snails love eating it off the overflow. I do need a few more Astraea snails. My ceriths avoid the rocks best they can.

Microscope and PO4 will be here Tuesday. Hanna checker should be here Wednesday, maybe Thursday.

 

[rtparty]

@mcarroll

Microscope is here! How do I go about checking for dinos? Do I need to pull some out and dry it out or leave it wet?

 

[mcarroll]

I have to admit (and do so quite often) that I'm not the best at ID.....you'd do well to tune into Dino thread mentioned to see if there's enough info there.

There's a short list of searches on the thread's first post (see the list of dino names) for the different types of dino's we've commonly seen and where they've been ID'd in the past by @taricha. He's definitely the Microscope Man on our thread...I'm the bookworm. (Yes he reads too...and I have a scope....LOL)

You should page through those search links and see if you find the info you need already posted.

I can tell you the basic-basics though! If you can just get a sample of the slime string or mat, that's what you'd be most interested in. Just get some in a vial or cup, etc. Try getting a tiny bit of the slime/mat you collect to separate from the rest and put that on one of the concave slides. Reverse the other concave slide to use as a cover slip and see what you can see! You might have to shake/homogenize your sample before you get something usable for the slide, but try it without shaking first.

The tweezers actually work very well for transferring matter and drop of water.

You should google some videos on slide preparation. (I should too.)

 

[rtparty]

Quick update. Got some okay pictures with the scope and ran a phosphate test. Phosphates came in at 0!

 

[mcarroll]

Phosphates came in at 0!

Ack! First order of business is to put a stop to that.

You need a phosphate additive! Seachem or Brightwell are the usual choices.

 

[rtparty]

Ack! First order of business is to put a stop to that.

You need a phosphate additive! Seachem or Brightwell are the usual choices.

I have Seachem and dosed 5ml already. I'll test again later.

After messing around with the scope I can see where that becomes addictive and quickly want to drop the $100ish for a much better one

 

[mcarroll]

It's pretty amazing even in a $10 scope, eh? You know when I brought up scopes a while back (think in fish disease) the folks virtually laughed in my face and said hobbyists couldn't hack it. Too technical or something I suppose they thought. Folks with that mindset bother the heck out of me.

 

[ImpossibleKid]

Quick update. Got some okay pictures with the scope and ran a phosphate test. Phosphates came in at 0!

I would think Ostreopsis from that first picture but it's a bit hard to tell. A video would help immensely to see how they move. Like @mcarroll said you should join us in his dino thread because there is a ton of great information there along with what steps to take once you get a positive species ID.

I am fairly confident in saying that I have beaten Ostreopsis thanks to that thread. It's been 2 weeks and still no signs of Ostreopsis. @taricha and @Beardo helped me with the positive ID so maybe they can chime in. Get a video up if you can though.

 

[rtparty]

I'll grab a video tonight if I can. Getting those pictures was hard enough lol!

They swim in circles from what I remember.

IIRC, isn't UV and elevated nutrients best for ostreopsis?

 

[Beardo]

There are Ostreopsis in the pictures.

 

[Beardo]

I'll grab a video tonight if I can. Getting those pictures was hard enough lol!

They swim in circles from what I remember.

IIRC, isn't UV and elevated nutrients best for ostreopsis?

UV definitely made a difference in my battle. Just make sure it is sized appropriately.

 

[rtparty]

UV definitely made a difference in my battle. Just make sure it is sized appropriately.

I think I read one watt per gallon or so? Does that sound right?

 

[Beardo]

I think I read one watt per gallon or so? Does that sound right?

1 watt per 2 gallons worked for me, though not all UV sterilizers are created equal.