Dino Battle from He**. Please advise next steps.

[Arsenix2001]

Posted another dino thread in general reef discussion. Quick summary

75 gallon with 30 gallon sump. Four Kessel 160s. Mixed reef everything from mushroom, torches up to Monty's and bird's nest.

Dino started about 2 months ago. My tank was super clean and tested out at zero nitrate zero phosphate. I've been treating for 2 weeks but really hit it hard last week. So far no one provement and I'm starting to lose more hope because if anything it seems to be getting worse. Now spreading to the rock work as well and starting to really irritate my torch coral, and a few different zoa colonys. Tank is a year old with all inhabitants transferred from another year old 38 gallon.

Current parameters
1.024 salinity
77 degrees
Alk 8.4
Cal 460
Nitrate 5 ppm
Phosphate .08 ppm

I microscope IDed as Porocentrum dinoflagellate. Mainly started on the sand bed

Last week I started dosing bright wells and neo nitro, neophos, sponge Excel for silicates. I've been dosing about 80 drops a day. Dosing bright wells microbacter 7, 3 caps a day. Phytoplankton every other day and introduced four bottles of tisbe and tigro pods. Added a green killer UV light (large model) that runs about 20 hrs per day, I shut off when dosing bacteria. My lighting is running from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ramping up from 0 to 70% intensity over 3 hours with a 3 hour full 70% intensity. Period. 10% whites.

I feel like visually things are just continuing to get worse. Over the last week it is started spreading onto the rock work and the mats have gotten heavier sometimes becoming stringy. It is starting to irritate my torch coral as well as zooanthids. So far I have not noticed any hermit crab or shrimp deaths. Running about a cup's worth of activated carbon I have been changing weekly.

What the heck do I do at this point, should I try a blackout? Or at least cut whites from light?

I have one micron filter socks, should I try vacuuming and straining? Should I be basting the rock and sand?

Looking for some guidance here. First time battling this and its so frustrating.

 

[T-J]

I feel your pain.
I would siphon out as much as you can, every day. Continue to keep Nitrates at Phosphates at detectible levels. Continue to dose bacteria. I like to dose different types, so I'll do one dose of Microbacter 7, then maybe Dr. Tim's then another. If you can get some live rock from a store or local reefer, that can help as well. Or order some live rock out of Florida.
They'll take a bit to defeat, but they can be beat!

 

[Arsenix2001]

I feel your pain.
I would siphon out as much as you can, every day. Continue to keep Nitrates at Phosphates at detectible levels. Continue to dose bacteria. I like to dose different types, so I'll do one dose of Microbacter 7, then maybe Dr. Tim's then another. If you can get some live rock from a store or local reefer, that can help as well. Or order some live rock out of Florida.
They'll take a bit to defeat, but they can be beat!

Thanks, my 1 micron socks arrive today. Ill begin siphoning as soon as they are here and grab some Dr Tim's.

 

[chipchipbro]

DinoX helped me in just a few days. Totally recommend that stuff.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

i would get your salinity up to 1.026 then check all your levels again.
absolutely dark out the tank for a few days.

 

[Jen1978]

Facebook

www.facebook.com

Have you been here yet? If not, join the group and go to the files tab for the Dealing with Dinos file. It tells you proper steps for dealing with each type. And remember, it took weeks to get into the mess, it's gonna take quite a while to get out. Took me forever it seemed. Dino turned into GHA, then had to fight off the GHA.

 

[Lavey29]

So you're dosing neophos and neonitro but then dosing MB7 which significantly reduces nitrates and phosphates?

 

[Paul.martin]

This was a permanent fix for me. I hope this helps you:

My Easy approach to Amphidinium dinoflagellates

I have a 50 gallon cube, sump, sand, ATS, radion LED, Protein skimmer, my aquascape is fairly easy to remove in sections. My troubles with Dinos coincided with overzealous Iron supplementation and low nutrients. I lost many corals and anemones to the infestation. I am not sure if my approach...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Arsenix2001]

Thanks guys, taking all advice above. I just siphoned out about 5 gallons worth of water using a half inch diameter clear tube that went into a 1 micron filter sock and a 5 gallon bucket. It did a really good job of pulling the entire mat off the sand. Too bad I was a complete adult and forgot to unplug my auto top off which dumped about a gallon of top off water and the tank. So going to let that slowly evaporate out .

Anyone have any good tips for washing a one micron sock??? I cannot get it inside out so had to kind of scrub from the inside and use the hose to dislodge as much as I could. Otherwise I guess I'll clean as good as can be and keep another order on standby.

Ordered a 20 lb bag of number zero argonite live sand from oceanic to replenish sand later once this mess is over with.

 

[T-J]

I soak my socks in HOT water with PURE bleach (it must be pure bleach). Then I rinse several times, with final rinse in RODI water with a chlorine remover added. Then I dry in the sun.