Dino I think

Shane07 · Jan 9, 2019

hi all
Haven’t been on for a bit but been battling this for along time and it’s doing my head in.
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0.2
Ph 8.4
Phos 03
Cal 430
Alk 8
Mag 1350
Everything seems okay had the lights of for 3 days running Rowsphos turned the lights from 11 hours th 8.
Doing the water changes and siphoning the rocks and sand.
Here’s a few photos does anyone know if there is anything that can be put in the tank to get rid of it.
Cheers
Shane

ReefFreak@ · Jan 9, 2019

Defiantly looks like Dinos. Dont freak out its not the end of the world. I would suggest that you microscope it and identify what kind you are dealing with. There is a great thread on here that will answer all your questions. If its free floating you can easily eradicate it with a uv sterilizer.

Shane07 · Jan 10, 2019

Thanks for the reply was thinking of getting a uv.
Cheers

Trevor40 · Jan 10, 2019

UV for sure and keep PO4 above 0.1 and nitrates above 5 to help beneficial algae come in to chock them out. It could take awhile, mine took around 6 months to go away. It sucks and takes time but it will go away once your rocks have coraline algae all over.

Trevor40 · Jan 10, 2019

Also, I would stop the water changes. Add filter socks and change regularly.

Shane07 · Jan 10, 2019

Trevor40 said:
Also, I would stop the water changes. Add filter socks and change regularly.

Cheers
Phos and nitrate don’t hardly register what’s the best way to raise them.

jgvergo · Jan 10, 2019

I have the same thing. Brown carpet on the sand and some of the rocks. I tried a 3 day blackout, which worked and kept the Dinos basically undetectable for a couple of months. However, they eventually came back. I have noticed that the brown on the sand is minimal in the morning and seems to grow while the lights are on. I've read that some forms of Dinos move from the substrate to the water column when the lights are off. My theory is that is exactly what I have in my tank.

I bought a UV sterilizer and installed it yesterday. It's a 24 Watt Green Killing Machine. If the Dinos do, in fact, move into the water column when the lights are off, the UV should help eradicate them. Fingers crossed!!

dwest · Jan 10, 2019

Shane07 said:
Cheers
Phos and nitrate don’t hardly register what’s the best way to raise them.

I used flourish phosphorous and bag of sodium nitrate pellets from amazon. There are lots of options. And, get a Hanna ulr phospatetest kit if you don’t have one.

dwest · Jan 10, 2019

jgvergo said:
I have the same thing. Brown carpet on the sand and some of the rocks. I tried a 3 day blackout, which worked and kept the Dinos basically undetectable for a couple of months. However, they eventually came back. I have noticed that the brown on the sand is minimal in the morning and seems to grow while the lights are on. I've read that some forms of Dinos move from the substrate to the water column when the lights are off. My theory is that is exactly what I have in my tank.

I bought a UV sterilizer and installed it yesterday. It's a 24 Watt Green Killing Machine. If the Dinos do, in fact, move into the water column when the lights are off, the UV should help eradicate them. Fingers crossed!!

Keep us updated. What size is your tank?

jgvergo · Jan 10, 2019

dwest said:
Keep us updated. What size is your tank?

Tank is 85 gallons, Sump is 30. With live rock and sand, I estimate my total water volume to be 90 gallons. I'll keep you posted!

jgvergo · Jan 10, 2019

I'd also note that when I got my initial outbreak of Dinos, my Nitrates and Phosphates were zero. Since then, I have been feeding much more heavily and have raised NO3 to 20 (sometimes 30!) and PO4 to 30 ppb. Nevertheless, the Dinos returned!