Anybody able to ID this for me?

[Kaveman]

Have been battling this rusty brown issue for a few months now and am at a bit of a loss as to what to do next..

-The entire sand bed was replaced 5 weeks ago and within a week it was covered.
-Have attempted the Dr Tim’s waste away and refresh program with no success.
-Dosed vibrant weekly for 6 weeks, has made it worse.
-Tank runs on the higher side nutrient wise so would be very surprised if it was LCA but haven’t gone down the microscope route just yet.
-Did a 9 day blackout, tank looked amazing for 5 days and then noticed it returning.


Been looking into silicate dosing to encourage diatoms to outcompete or possibly dosing MB7 but it’s a 240 gallon system so thought I’d try and seek some advice before making any more purchases.

Any help or advice would be massively appreciated

 

[Llyod276]

Look up Dinoflagellates. It'll tell you all you need to know.

 

[Uzidaisies]

I think it’s diatoms.

 

[Llyod276]

That too.

 

[Kaveman]

I think it’s diatoms.

I thought so too from replacing the sand with new stuff rinsed in tap water but after having lost over 50 snails in the last week from eating it I’m leaning towards Dinos.. Just strange as nutrients have never been anywhere near bottoming out, nitrates run steady at 40ppm and phosphate 0.25 so I’ve got no idea why they reared their ugly head !

 

[Uzidaisies]

I thought so too from replacing the sand with new stuff rinsed in tap water but after having lost over 50 snails in the last week from eating it I’m leaning towards Dinos.. Just strange as nutrients have never been anywhere near bottoming out, nitrates run steady at 40ppm and phosphate 0.25 so I’ve got no idea why they reared their ugly head !

ah, well you didn’t mention the snails. I think I’ve read that dinos can be stimulated with phosphate supplementation. Think it’s more of a strike when the opportunity arises type of thing than only blooming when the nutrients bottom out. In other words, changing the sand threw things out of balance, probably spiked nutrients and dinos took advantage. My best guess.

 

[Kaveman]

I think it was a case of too much too quick with the combination of removing sand and dosing vibrant then going on a week long holiday and not being around to see the uglies unfold ! Lesson very much learnt.


What’s your opinion on what action to take next? Try microbacter 7 and try to knock it back or go down the silicate dosing route?

 

[Llyod276]

Turn up the temp to 80-82ish. See what it does. Do it slowly though. Over a few days, if can the temp that finely, keep it stable. Use chemicals at your discretion.

 

[Llyod276]

Turn up the temp to 80-82ish. See what it does. Do it slowly though. Over a few days, if can the temp that finely, keep it stable. Use chemicals at your

 

[Uzidaisies]

I think it was a case of too much too quick with the combination of removing sand and dosing vibrant then going on a week long holiday and not being around to see the uglies unfold ! Lesson very much learnt.


What’s your opinion on what action to take next? Try microbacter 7 and try to knock it back or go down the silicate dosing route?

I really don’t know, it was mostly a guess based on the evidence presented. It still looks more like diatoms to me, but that many snails would be a heck of a coincidence. What’s it look like when the lights are off, or first thing in the morning? Any better?

 

[Kaveman]

I really don’t know, it was mostly a guess based on the evidence presented. It still looks more like diatoms to me, but that many snails would be a heck of a coincidence. What’s it look like when the lights are off, or first thing in the morning? Any better?

This is after 11 hours of darkness…

 

[attiland]

Have been battling this rusty brown issue for a few months now and am at a bit of a loss as to what to do next..

-The entire sand bed was replaced 5 weeks ago and within a week it was covered.
-Have attempted the Dr Tim’s waste away and refresh program with no success.
-Dosed vibrant weekly for 6 weeks, has made it worse.
-Tank runs on the higher side nutrient wise so would be very surprised if it was LCA but haven’t gone down the microscope route just yet.
-Did a 9 day blackout, tank looked amazing for 5 days and then noticed it returning.


Been looking into silicate dosing to encourage diatoms to outcompete or possibly dosing MB7 but it’s a 240 gallon system so thought I’d try and seek some advice before making any more purchases.

Any help or advice would be massively appreciated

Have actually ID your dinos? Based on symptoms you have Dinos and likely Amphidinium but you have to ID them with microscope.
silicates dosing works against them and you will induce diatoms bloom. Within a few weeks you will have clear sand.
while manually removing gives you satisfaction that will not cure it.

You can find my journey here; https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-heater-failure-build.783559/post-8323630

 

[Kaveman]

Have actually ID your dinos? Based on symptoms you have Dinos and likely Amphidinium but you have to ID them with microscope.
silicates dosing works against them and you will induce diatoms bloom. Within a few weeks you will have clear sand.
while manually removing gives you satisfaction that will not cure it.

You can find my journey here; https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-heater-failure-build.783559/post-8323630

Not diagnosed officially no, I did mention that I’ve suspected Large Cell Amphidinium but not confirmed via a microscope.. To be honest it feels like I’m just chucking money at it trying to find a solution, if I was to go for silicate dosing without official diagnosis the worst that can happen if it’s not LCA is a diatom bloom right?

 

[attiland]

Not diagnosed officially no, I did mention that I’ve suspected Large Cell Amphidinium but not confirmed via a microscope.. To be honest it feels like I’m just chucking money at it trying to find a solution, if I was to go for silicate dosing without official diagnosis the worst that can happen if it’s not LCA is a diatom bloom right?

I have seen no ill affect myself and haven’t heard of anyone to have any negative affects from it.