Dino ID and Reef Crashing

[thejuice24]

Hi All,

Need some help here from jumping off the ledge. Issues started about two days ago. I've caught a some velvet or flukes back in late Dec, so I've been running fallow. I started dosing nitrate\phosphate to keep system cranking. Well a few days ago it set in that I got dinos and for the last few days all corals have been paling out and melting. I've since done water changes, started running carbon and keeping P04 up as it did bottom to flat 0.00 on a hanna checker.

Could use some help here on the ID of the Dino and best action. I wasn't aware that Dinos can crash a system like this.

The video is at 1200X cheap microscope. Sorry about the choppy video.

 

[will25u]

I had a bad Dino problem and purchased a UV sterilizer. They started to clear up in about 18 hours. After a week, they were all gone.

Good luck.

 

[zalick]

Hard to tell but looks like ostreopsis.

Does it appear on sand, rock, glass? All of above? Does it disappear at night?


I battled dinos for nearly two years. I avoided dosing anything and tried to control with husbandry etc. It didn't work. Killed all my SPS pretty quickly. Smothered everything. In the end I installed a UV directly in the DT and they were gone within a week. Ugh

 

[thejuice24]

It's a bare bottom frag system. it's on the glass, frag rackes, frag plugs. Not sure if it goes away at night, but I think not.

I know that corals all look really ticked and not happy. Not sure due nutrient drop or toxins....

Trying to pump nutrients in the system for past 24 hours.

Did add carbon some point yesterday afternoon and completed a 40% water change first things this morning.

Should I go lights out?

 

[zalick]

It's a bare bottom frag system. it's on the glass, frag rackes, frag plugs. Not sure if it goes away at night, but I think not.

I know that corals all look really ticked and not happy. Not sure due nutrient drop or toxins....

Trying to pump nutrients in the system for past 24 hours.

Did add carbon some point yesterday afternoon and completed a 40% water change first things this morning.

Should I go lights out?

Lights out for 24hrs might provide some relief.

Do you have a UV? If they enter the water column at night, a UV will make short work of them.

 

[ScottB]

Hi All,

Need some help here from jumping off the ledge. Issues started about two days ago. I've caught a some velvet or flukes back in late Dec, so I've been running fallow. I started dosing nitrate\phosphate to keep system cranking. Well a few days ago it set in that I got dinos and for the last few days all corals have been paling out and melting. I've since done water changes, started running carbon and keeping P04 up as it did bottom to flat 0.00 on a hanna checker.

Could use some help here on the ID of the Dino and best action. I wasn't aware that Dinos can crash a system like this.

The video is at 1200X cheap microscope. Sorry about the choppy video.

Looks to me like you have both large cell and small cell amphidinium which is kinda a tough combo.

Dose nitrates to >10 and Dose PO4 to .1 Goal is to feed competitive algae, bacteria other microorganisms. When you start seeing cyano, keep going.

Start dosing SpongeExcel for silicates to feed competitive diatoms against large cell.

Ironic, right?

UV for the small cell. 1 watt per 3 gallons. Run super slow flow TO/FROM the display. Don't worry, it isn't forever placement. Once in place, you can consider a blackout to get the small cells on the move and swimming for the UV light. These guys are armored protists, not wimpy little bacteria or algae; they need some contact time with the UV. Fast flow and they won't even get a tan.

 

[ScottB]

How goes the fight?

 

[Twillyg21]

How old is the tank?

It’s been my experience that inadequate biodiversity, or major disruption in biodiversity is usually at the heart.

You can find a thread I just started which includes the story of what worked for me here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/“...d-you-beat-them-real-experiences-only.819443/

Hope you are winning the battle!!