Can you beat ostreopsis without a UV?

[Miami Reef]

I don’t like using a UV. Can you beat ostreopsis without a UV sterilizer?

I don’t know what happened, but my large tank started having some ostreopsis. It’s not bad at all. It’s only on the back glass (that I recently scraped clean from diatoms and coralline).

It’s also on some frag bases that I glued to my tank today.

I never battled with dinos in my current display. Why now? It almost seems like I recently introduced them, because the tank is over a year old without having this issue. I did recently add some new acropora. I really think I recently introduced them. Uch


I hate UV because i have to use a really big one, and my tank space is small. I have to remove the ATO and try to not spill water everywhere from draining the sterilizer.

Stupid problems. Gotta love reefing, huh?

 

[Lavey29]

Did you ID this with a microscope?

 

[EricR]

I'd guess that it could be possible.
I had a pretty bad dino outbreak (not ID'ed at that time) when I let PO4 run at 0.00 ppm PO4 for too long -- aggressive manual removal for a couple of months worked for me.
Many months later, I had a slight re-emergence when I started dosing CoralAmino -- confirmed mostly ostreopsis and went with way undersized cheapie UV (in tank, running 8 hrs/night) -- that cleared it up in a few weeks.

...so, maybe

 

[Miami Reef]

Did you ID this with a microscope?

Of course.

 

[Miami Reef]

I’m plumbing the UV.

Ah, the anxiety. I hope my plumbing doesn‘t start leaking on this fine weekend. The stakes are high.

I did not want to do this, but it left me no choice. I’m very anxious and nervous because I don’t want plumbing leaks.

 

[djkms]

I beat it with a UV and 5micron filter socks. I do believe you could do it with the filter socks alone at 5 micron ( I think up to 10 will work but not positive) but it will take longer.

 

[Lavey29]

I don't believe a UV is a one stop fix all solution for your situation. It may aid the battle but other options will need to be utilized also.

 

[Miami Reef]

I broke a quartz sleeve trying to get the bulb to go inside. It wouldn’t fit for some reason!

Now I had to order another one. Uchhhhh. This is SO annoying.

I hate dinos so much. They ruin so much good in reefing.

 

[Miami Reef]

OK I got the UV the work. The quartz sleeve on the outer lip was cracked, but the water seal is still good.

I still ordered 2 replacement quartz. Now time to wrap up. The UV is on and working.

I told myself UV wasn’t needed in my tank, but I realized that I must be adaptable and evolve with my tank if I want to be successful.

 

[Fungusamongus]

OK I got the UV the work. The quartz sleeve on the outer lip was cracked, but the water seal is still good.

I still ordered 2 replacement quartz. Now time to wrap up. The UV is on and working.

I told myself UV wasn’t needed in my tank, but I realized that I must be adaptable and evolve with my tank if I want to be successful.

Fingers crossed. You got this!

 

[BetterJake]

I’m plumbing the UV.

Ah, the anxiety. I hope my plumbing doesn‘t start leaking on this fine weekend. The stakes are high.

I did not want to do this, but it left me no choice. I’m very anxious and nervous because I don’t want plumbing leaks.

Just want to check that you have the output and input going into the DT? Plumbing the UV may not give the results you are looking for since the flow may be too fast and the Dinos may not even leave the DT in high enough numbers

 

[Miami Reef]

Just want to check that you have the output and input going into the DT? Plumbing the UV may not give the results you are looking for since the flow may be too fast and the Dinos may not even leave the DT in high enough numbers

I have 2 return pumps. Return #2 is a closed loop to the UV into the display. I took a lot of time to research UVs and plumbing when I had the tank made.

I removed the UV a few weeks ago because I haven’t used it since last year.

I use ozone for water clarity, and I found it cumbersome to keep changing the bulbs and quartz sleeves because of the way my tight cabinets and plumbing was situated. It’s honestly a pain in the butt to drain the UV. However, I will temporarily use the UV for my dinos.

The real reason why I unplumbed the UV was because I had an issue with return pump 1 needing service. I thought the UV was just causing head loss, so I unplumbed it.

I’m still contemplating if the benefits of using a UV will be worth it long run. I’m genuinely curious what caused dinos to proliferate in my system. I did add a few new acros and clams. I also reduced my nutrients. I’ve been recently feeding my goniopora reef chili by BRS.


It could be many factors. I’ve had ostreopsis in my 20 gallon QT with PO4 at 0.40ppm, so I know phosphate is not the end-all.

Anyway, I think I’ll enjoy the ultra clear water for now. And now I can rest easy knowing my new acros won’t be overwhelmed by dinos.


One good thing about being experienced is that you can catch problems before they cause disastrous effects. I noticed the dinos quick. They did not overwhelm the tank. I saved myself a lot of heartache.

 

[BetterJake]

I have 2 return pumps. Return #2 is a closed loop to the UV into the display. I took a lot of time to research UVs and plumbing when I had the tank made.

I removed the UV a few weeks ago because I haven’t used it since last year.

I use ozone for water clarity, and I found it cumbersome to keep changing the bulbs and quartz sleeves because of the way my tight cabinets and plumbing was situated. It’s honestly a pain in the butt to drain the UV. However, I will temporarily use the UV for my dinos.

The real reason why I unplumbed the UV was because I had an issue with return pump 1 needing service. I thought the UV was just causing head loss, so I unplumbed it.

I’m still contemplating if the benefits of using a UV will be worth it long run. I’m genuinely curious what caused dinos to proliferate in my system. I did add a few new acros and clams. I also reduced my nutrients. I’ve been recently feeding my goniopora reef chili by BRS.


It could be many factors. I’ve had ostreopsis in my 20 gallon QT with PO4 at 0.40ppm, so I know phosphate is not the end-all.

Anyway, I think I’ll enjoy the ultra clear water for now. And now I can rest easy knowing my new acros won’t be overwhelmed by dinos.


One good thing about being experienced is that you can catch problems before they cause disastrous effects. I noticed the dinos quick. They did not overwhelm the tank. I saved myself a lot of heartache.

Neat! Hopefully they are knocked out quick.When I had Ostreopsis, my UV was plumbed via some flexible tubing sitting on a living room chair on the side of the tank.

 

[Miami Reef]

Neat! Hopefully they are knocked out quick.When I had Ostreopsis, my UV was plumbed via some flexible tubing sitting on a living room chair on the side of the tank.

Oof haha. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Try plumbing this beast.

Not very fun haha. But it looks very pretty when the doors are closed.

 

[BetterJake]

Oof haha. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Try plumbing this beast.

Not very fun haha. But it looks very pretty when the doors are closed.

Yeah that's a beast, but it looks pretty clean in there.