Amphidinium Dinoflagellate Treatment Methods

[JCTReefer]

That's Ostreopsis....if you are not running UV, do so...they go into the water column and UV is effective. Also run carbon as they are one of there toxic species.

Thanks!
UV on order. Ordered some carbon also.

 

[Miranda]

Cant seem to spot them clearly, Have you ID them ?

Use this to ID them.

Great guide can i publish on the brazilian forum reefclub.net.br and translate into portuguese?

 

[bobssecrtsn]

Great guide can i publish on the brazilian forum reefclub.net.br and translate into portuguese?

I didnt write that guide, But I dont see why cant you! its helping other reefers!

 

[bobssecrtsn]

@taricha

 

[bobssecrtsn]

Thanks!
UV on order. Ordered some carbon also.

what size did you get?

 

[JCTReefer]

what size did you get?

Aqua Ultraviolet 15watt hang on. Rated for 75 gallons. It’s likley a bit small, but will see.Tanks a 54 gallon. Ordered a maxijet 600 rated at 160gph. That should put me in the recommended 1-3 times tank volume per hour. I’ll plumb it directly in the tank. Was around 140$ from BRS. I’m upgrading to a 210 in the next few months and will buy the Aqua ultra violet 114 watt unit. Might go with Pentair. Haven’t decided yet. I didn’t want to spend a lot on this one due to spending 900.00$ in a few months on another unit.

 

[Anchor]

Yep. Amphidinium hug sand so tightly that I suspect they are protected from oxidation and other chemical attacks by the organics that surround them. The fact that at night they move down slightly into the sand, means they can even increase their protection, and might do that in response to chemicals.

Have you or anyone thought to maybe injecting the peroxide directly into the sand?

I am having this problem right now and think I might try doing that

 

[cedwards04]

Have you or anyone thought to maybe injecting the peroxide directly into the sand?

I am having this problem right now and think I might try doing that

I have done peroxide directly into the affected areas on the sand. It temporarily kills them, but they come back.

 

[Anchor]

I have done peroxide directly into the affected areas on the sand. It temporarily kills them, but they come back.

can I ask how often and for how long of a time did you do this?

I am looking to control the spread til l can come up with a viable alternative to rid the tank.

 

[RMS18]

FYI raising the tank temp did nothing for me They are still coming back after sand cleaning.

Anyone know how high to send silica levels? i was doing 10ml (in a 120g) per day before running out (more on order) not sure if it was doing anything for the 2 weeks i was doing.

 

[cedwards04]

can I ask how often and for how long of a time did you do this?

I am looking to control the spread til l can come up with a viable alternative to rid the tank.

1ml/10g using 34% food grade. Every 12 hrs.

 

[JPK_Esquire]

So I am not completely ruling out the temp theory. It certainly didn’t eradicate the Dinos in my tank (confirmed large cell amphidonium), but it did perhaps slow their growth. I siphon cleaned the sand bed two days ago through a filter sock and re-added the water, and although the Dinos are coming back I don’t think as rapidly. I’m going to vacuum again tomorrow and attempt to do every day or other day and then hit with a blackout.

One issue I have had though (wondering if any others have had it) is WIDE swings in PH. I mean swings from 7.9 down to 7.2 and 7.4 according to the Apex. My first thought was calibration of the ph probe. But I took a cup of water from another tank and put the probe in the cup and the ph read the same as the ph probe on the Apex on the tank the water came from. I then tested the probe in calibration fluid and it was pretty on point. I calibrated the probe anyway and still saw some pretty big swings. I’ve buffered with Red Sea Found B as alk was a little low (6.7). My guess is because there is less oxygen at the higher temp, the PH is diving. if anyone else has any thoughts, feel free to chime in.

 

[cedwards04]

So I am not completely ruling out the temp theory. It certainly didn’t eradicate the Dinos in my tank (confirmed large cell amphidonium), but it did perhaps slow their growth. I siphon cleaned the sand bed two days ago through a filter sock and re-added the water, and although the Dinos are coming back I don’t think as rapidly. I’m going to vacuum again tomorrow and attempt to do every day or other day and then hit with a blackout.

One issue I have had though (wondering if any others have had it) is WIDE swings in PH. I mean swings from 7.9 down to 7.2 and 7.4 according to the Apex. My first thought was calibration of the ph probe. But I took a cup of water from another tank and put the probe in the cup and the ph read the same as the ph probe on the Apex on the tank the water came from. I then tested the probe in calibration fluid and it was pretty on point. I calibrated the probe anyway and still saw some pretty big swings. I’ve buffered with Red Sea Found B as alk was a little low (6.7). My guess is because there is less oxygen at the higher temp, the PH is diving. if anyone else has any thoughts, feel free to chime in.

My ph remained normal through out my temp raising trial. I do run a co2 scrubber though, so maybe that is why? One other thing to keep in mind is that ph readings on the apex can be influenced by temperature, so you may be getting a false reading due to temp.

 

[JPK_Esquire]

My ph remained normal through out my temp raising trial. I do run a co2 scrubber though, so maybe that is why? One other thing to keep in mind is that ph readings on the apex can be influenced by temperature, so you may be getting a false reading due to temp.

Thanks. I VERY heavily suspect they were false readings. (1) The water from the other tank tested fine, and (2) when I tested with the Red Sea test, PH was fine.

UPDATE this morning: Sand looks pretty dang good (I was planning to siphon/vacuum later this afternoon). We'll see whether the Dinos rear their head during the day (which I fully expect), but generally I have some small patches in the morning that overtake the sand bed by mid-afternoon. No small patches this morning though. For informational purposes, I am currently on Day 11 of the Raise the Temperature Experiment. Will update later today or tomorrow.

 

[Mark]

While I haven't been tracking it in any scientific manner, it seems like temp increase hasn't been effective on large cell dino's that stick to the sand only. The kind I had was the snotty stuff that covers all surfaces: sand, coral, glass, rocks. That stuff didn't like my temp increase and vaporized. I'd also add that I had started to feed more. So I wonder if nutrients and temperature shifted the competitive advantage synergistically. For those that have had success with temp increase, can you describe the type of Dino's you had?

 

[JPK_Esquire]

I forgot to mention earlier, I have some major hair algae (and even some cyano that popped up last week).

 

[taricha]

Great guide can i publish on the brazilian forum reefclub.net.br and translate into portuguese?

thanks. I saw (and responded to) your PM. That would be great.
I'd be interested if brazillian reefers run across different strains than our common ones.

 

[taricha]

Have you or anyone thought to maybe injecting the peroxide directly into the sand?

I am having this problem right now and think I might try doing that

I don't think this will work. But I have thought about soaking a small amount of aragonite sand in peroxide. Then sprinkle it over a problem area, with the hope that the porous grains could release it gradually.

 

[Miranda]

thanks. I saw (and responded to) your PM. That would be great.
I'd be interested if brazillian reefers run across different strains than our common ones.

Are the same
I've had ostreopsis and now I have amphidinium

 

[andrewey]

Just wanted to report my results. Increased temperature to 83 degrees. Initially, no changes, but then after 5 days, I no longer saw any amphidinium via microscopy. This lasted a couple days. Now they are back and rapidly reproducing (temperature did not change).