Beyond frustrated with this algae. Please help

[Calpoly2103]

You want the skimmer and fuge running to catch and break down dino as they dissolve. Peroxide is Safe and will starve the dinos. I went from hopeful to ecstatic when the dino was gone and quickly.
RUN NO LIGHTS OR VERY DIM LIGHTS, peroxide at lights out, feed fish as normal But ....... DO NOT FEED SUSPENDED BROADCAST FOODS TO CORALS as youll be feeding the dino as well and DO NOT USE ANY NOpo4 pox products as they are fuel for dino!!
DO THIS AND YOU CAN WAVE GOODBYE TO DINO- game over.

Thank you for the advice. How many days of the peroxide should I do? What does "suspended broadcast food to corals" mean? I only feed my fish frozen 2x per day (hikari/lrs)....

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

I had same problem and I increased my flow and GFO
And UV and backed up feeding less and turned off green and reds on my lights.
And couple days the battle was over for me. I didn't ADD ANY CHEMS... I'm my tank. Definitely keep skimmer and filters running to catch algea when it dies off

 

[vetteguy53081]

I had same problem and I increased my flow and GFO
And UV and backed up feeding less and turned off green and reds on my lights.
And couple days the battle was over for me. I didn't ADD ANY CHEMS... I'm my tank. Definitely keep skimmer and filters running to catch algea when it dies off

Because you used the UV

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you for the advice. How many days of the peroxide should I do? What does "suspended broadcast food to corals" mean? I only feed my fish frozen 2x per day (hikari/lrs)....

Peroxide- 7 days and suspended means some of us will use a turkey baster or similar to disburse food in tank for corals. It will feed dino also. Fish food is of no concern

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

Because you used the UV

When I used the UV that really made the biggest difference water I VERY clear too. Big help probably the best

 

[ScottR]

To add to this: I’d stop adding in bacteria because it is most likely making your phosphates and nitrates drop (that is the point of bacteria right?).

 

[Calpoly2103]

Peroxide- 7 days and suspended means some of us will use a turkey baster or similar to disburse food in tank for corals. It will feed dino also. Fish food is of no concern

Ah, I see. Yes I feed reef roids this way as well. I will stop the reef roids then for the duration of the treatment. Hopefully all my animals make it out okay.

Any advice on how to prevent this from happening in the future? I feel like I feed a good amount to my fish/coral but still struggle to keep my phosphates up.

Do you think it's worth it to get a UV sterilizer in addition to this treatment?

 

[Calpoly2103]

To add to this: I’d stop adding in bacteria because it is most likely making your phosphates and nitrates drop (that is the point of bacteria right?).

Ah okay, well that makes sense. I guess I thought I was trying to give the good bacteria an upper hand.

 

[Calpoly2103]

When I used the UV that really made the biggest difference water I VERY clear too. Big help probably the best

Did you continue to use the UV after you eradicated the dinos? Or was it just for the dinos?

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

Did you continue to use the UV after you eradicated the dinos? Or was it just for the dinos?

I run it 24/7

 

[vetteguy53081]

To add to this: I’d stop adding in bacteria because it is most likely making your phosphates and nitrates drop (that is the point of bacteria right?).

Bacteria is actually helpful as it digests dino and any sludge. Phosphate contributes to dino / cyano health , so bacteria such as Bacter 7 is welcomed

 

[ScottR]

Ah okay, well that makes sense. I guess I thought I was trying to give the good bacteria an upper hand.

Not familiar with that product but I guarantee it’s some sort of nitrifying bacteria used to help cycle a tank. That bacteria won’t eat anything else. Typically I wouldn’t add bacteria to an established tank unless there was a reason to. I know some people use regularly, and you can. But you need to know exactly what you’re using it for.

 

[Calpoly2103]

Bacteria is actually helpful as it digests dino and any sludge. Phosphate contributes to dino / cyano health , so bacteria such as Bacter 7 is welcomed

Now I'm a bit confused....so phosphate helps dinos survive? I thought that having no phosphate caused dinos to thrive.....

Should I stop dosing phosphate? If I do, my levels go to zero.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Now I'm a bit confused....so phosphate helps dinos survive? I thought that having no phosphate caused dinos to thrive.....

Should I stop dosing phosphate? If I do, my levels go to zero.

This is temporary until dino are gone

 

[ScottR]

Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

I don't know what percentage of folks had luck battling dinos with any of the methods in the old Dino thread but it's obviously a very low percentage, so I'd like refresh folks on the natural alternatives and lay out three areas of info: some of the factors that contribute to a dino outbreak...

www.reef2reef.com

Here’s a great article on this forum. You do not want your phosphates and nitrates to bottom out. MB7 (Microbacter 7 bacteria) will actually work to get these numbers to zero. I haven’t heard of a nitrifying and denitrifying actually eating dinos. A bacterium is <10 microns or so while a dinoflagellate is typically much much bigger. (Dinoflagellates can be seen with a relatively cheap microscope, whereas bacteria are so small, you need a special microscope to id) I don’t think the bacteria (much less mb7) will munch on dinos.

I’ll put this in layman’s terms. Dinos take over when there is no competition from other things in the water - like microalgae for example. You want your tank to actually have algae in it. Bottled bacteria will help to keep microalgae and Cyanobacteria under control because they thrive in higher nutrient environments. However, once the algae starts to starve off, dinos are given the green light and when they put their foot in your tank, they won’t go away so easily.
- up your phosphates and nitrates, slowly
- UV filter
- hydrogen peroxide
They should steadily decline. It takes time, but you’ll get there eventually. No overnight fix.

 

[Cell]

So we are now confirming dino with just a visual inspection by eye? The dino hysteria is real.

 

[ScottR]

So we are now confirming dino with just a visual inspection by eye? The dino hysteria is real.

Dinos are real. And real common.

 

[FragileReefer]

So we are now confirming dino with just a visual inspection by eye? The dino hysteria is real.

This is what I'm thinking, pretty grainy pic and it looks like regular hair algae or cyano to me. But we got 2 pages of random Dino cures.

"Patient says he believes he has either a cold, an infection or stage 4 cancer. The room of doctors tell the patient he has cancer before the examination. Patient correctly loses his cool."

I just think the community could use more info about the tank and situation before recommending a cure. And the OP should read what is said here and some other threads before making an attack plan.

 

[ScottR]

This is what I'm thinking, pretty grainy pic and it looks like regular hair algae to me. But we got 2 pages of random Dino cures.

"Patient says he believes he has either a cold, an infection or stage 4 cancer. The room of doctors tell the patient he has cancer before the examination. Patient correctly loses his cool."

I just think the community could use more info about the tank and situation before recommending a cure. And the OP should read what is said here and some other threads before making an attack plan.

Doesn’t look like regular hair algae to me.

 

[Cell]

A few months ago we would have looked at this and said, "new tank syndrome". A short time later, it turned into, "get a scope to confirm if its dino's, it's the only way". Then we discovered the whole strain it and let it reform quick test, which was recommended for a hot minute if no scope available. Now it seems like everything is dino's unless proven otherwise, with or without true confirmation.

I think we should be doing our part to stem the hysteria not feed into it. Might it be dino? Sure. But why are we skipping the confirmation part?