dino outbreak a week before vacation.

[Cbones1979]

You don't want to wipe out nutrients nor do you want to add NoPox or coral food which is fuel for Dino

The only coral food I add is phytoplankton. Should I stop adding that?

 

[ScottB]

The only coral food I add is phytoplankton. Should I stop adding that?

IME phyto is OK but no aminos.

 

[Fishbike13]

From what little reading ive done, the microbacter7 removes the organic nutrients that the dinos prefer, and leaves inorganic compounds that other organisms like algae and corals can still uptake.

Just talking out my behind, but does this sound right?

 

[Fishbike13]

Would seeding with something like purple helix be a good way to encourage a preferred type of algae to outcompete the dinos?

 

[ScottB]

Not sure you have the time to read through this thread, but it is the basis of my recommendation.

Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

Need help with ID please

www.reef2reef.com

My recomm is not solid without a species ID, but based on a preponderance of limited evidence and time you have:
MOST dinos are sterilized by ultraviolet light. 1 watt per three gallons of volume minimum will halt their propagation. Install such that flow is IN TO AND OUT OF DISPLAY tank (not sump.

Have someone dose specific amounts of NO3 and PO4 while away along with enhanced feedings. Or set up dosers to do so.

Sorry for the anxiety!

 

[Grigs]

Do the Dr Tim's Dino recipe. Easy peasy.

 

[Fishbike13]

I dont have a doser available, nor can i shell out a few hundred bucks at the moment for a multi head dosing pump, which is why i have been trying to watch the rate at which the tank will consume the nutrients. If it stays current at the 1ppm no3 per day then i can relatively safely elevate that to 15-20 while im gone and it wont be bottomed out when i get back. Po4 may be a little more tricky.

I dont really have anybody who can come by the house every day and dose these somewhat concentrated chemicals into the tank. That said:

Day 1 of the blackout, i see a lot more green on the rocks than before, which hopefully is a good thing. The clowns are just as happy as always, and the gramma is hiding, but it is still relatively new to the tank so i will give it a few more days before worrying. Began dosing mb7, which according to the directions on the bottle, seem very low doses than what i had expected.

 

[Saltyreef]

Yes do follow the low dose instructions. Any more than instructed usually ends in waste.

 

[Sirspeedy77]

Do a 4 day blackout - No lights other than ambient room light. During day add liquid bacteria and at night when dark, 1 m/l of hydrogen Peroxide per 10 gals. Loosen up dino with turkey baster and either siphon up or net it and discard.
Day 4=5 should be literally gone. DO not feed coral food or add NoPox during this time. On vacation, run blues only until you return from your trip

+1 and almost a guaranteed 7 day eradication lol.

 

[Fishbike13]

Yes do follow the low dose instructions. Any more than instructed usually ends in waste.

Im following the no more than 1 drop per 10 gallons daily, it will work out to 7 days at that level, then when i get home i can resume at once ir twice a week if progress has been made.

Is there anything else i can do to add biodiversity? Or just slow and steady.

 

[Fishbike13]

Day 6, slowly increasing photoperiod, and still dosing MB7, kind of overshot the nutrients, as NO3 was at 50ppm yesterday, and PO4 was at .1ppm, however the corals dont seem upset, nor do the fish. In fact the corals are showing more extension than they ever have under my care.

The dinos presence has definitely decreased, will continue dosing mb7 until i leave, and only run the blue light during photoperiod.

Also utilizing my new 3d printer for a filter sock holder that will snap onto the trim of my sump, as my current pvc pipe holder doesnt really work that well.

Was looking at the tunze 9001 skimmer, and considering adding it to the tank to help remove organics so i can control the nutrient flow a little better going forward, reccomendations on other skimmers?

 

[Zoajohn]

If you can add a UV sterilizer. UV+ 1ml/10gal h202 + 60 hr black out eliminated my dinos

 

[Cbones1979]

After a week of increased feedings and siphoning as well as 2 nights of h2o2, sand bed is clean.

 

[ScottB]

So the reccomendation going forward is to leave the lights off for 3-4 days, manually remove what i can of the dynos, dose microbacter7 while keeping the nutrients elevated with the Neonitro and Neophos, and run a small bag of carbon in the sump changing it out weekly. Continue doing so until everything stabilizes and dinos are gone. I think i can handle that all.
Thanks for the help so far, and as always, open to any more suggestions.

I do have one question though, why is my relatively young tank (10 months old) having such a hard time retaining nutrients? I dont run a skimmer, i do a partial water change maybe once a month, i dont have a large coral population, and i feed what i thought was pretty heavily (1/3 cube of mysis daily, and a small pinch of pellets which equates to 2-3 pellets per fish.) It seems immature tanks dealing with high nutrients is much more common, so what do i need to fix going forward? What do you more experienced reefers see wrong with what im doing?

Yeah, it is hard to find Goldilocks levels for many many months. Perhaps you have a better than average nitrifying bacteria colony. Perhaps another tank started with rock that was pre-loaded with phosphate while your rock had zero initially, and is therefore now acting as a phosphate sink. Different types of food (not just volume) can play a role. Flow & detritus removal. So many factors. But if you keep a steady handle, eventually the organism populations reach some level of balance. (Until we run off and start changing things.)

My nutrients were barely detectable for a very long time. Now they are moderately high. This transition happened over a two year span very gradually. My display has never had algae beyond the green film variety. I think my saving grace was starting with some very old live rock that gave me a diverse bacteria colony.

 

[Cbones1979]

After a week of increased feedings and siphoning as well as 2 nights of h2o2, sand bed is clean.

Lost a gobi in the process tho. Not sure if related but never know

 

[Fishbike13]

Yeah, it is hard to find Goldilocks levels for many many months. Perhaps you have a better than average nitrifying bacteria colony. Perhaps another tank started with rock that was pre-loaded with phosphate while your rock had zero initially, and is therefore now acting as a phosphate sink. Different types of food (not just volume) can play a role. Flow & detritus removal. So many factors. But if you keep a steady handle, eventually the organism populations reach some level of balance. (Until we run off and start changing things.)

My nutrients were barely detectable for a very long time. Now they are moderately high. This transition happened over a two year span very gradually. My display has never had algae beyond the green film variety. I think my saving grace was starting with some very old live rock that gave me a diverse bacteria colony.

Yeah, though i think id rather fight algae than dinos, however the slight progress is a step in the right direction. Started with zero live rock, so it was all sterile and the only bacteria added were some bio spira and dr tims which explains the lack of diversity.

If the philosophy is to just keep adding different types of life that are more voracious than the dinos then slow and steady it is

Thanks all for the suggestions so far.

 

[Cbones1979]

After a week of increased feedings and siphoning as well as 2 nights of h2o2, sand bed is clean.

And now it’s back I think?

phosphates .10
Nitrates 10-20

 

[ScottB]

And now it’s back I think?

phosphates .10
Nitrates 10-20

Those numbers are fine. Keep 'em there. In an early tank they might grow a tad of algae but that is not a problem in moderation.

Look up the coffee filter test in the absence of a microscope.

 

[Cbones1979]

Those numbers are fine. Keep 'em there. In an early tank they might grow a tad of algae but that is not a problem in moderation.

Look up the coffee filter test in the absence of a microscope.

Already on it. Thanks

 

[Cbones1979]