Dino outbreak

[OpenOcean33]

Hello, I’m still really new to saltwater and recently i just finished dealing with brook and now algae. My tank is only a month old and i noticed brown algae buildup which i assumed was diatoms. But now that i look at it, it looks like nasty sludgy algae which one if my co workers told me was called dino. How in the world do i treat this? I wanted to get some coral but something keeps on happening that prevents me from doing so.

May or may not be Dinos, however, I can tel you go to amazon an order a cheep microscope for 10-15 bucks its all you need. This will save you so much time and frustration and put you on the right track and peace of mind for treatment. I thought when I first started I would guess and try some things but it just was a big waste of money. Go on over to the Dino thread anyways and maybe do some reading. but definitely get a microscope.

 

[Fscarr2216]

May or may not be Dinos, however, I can tel you go to amazon an order a cheep microscope for 10-15 bucks its all you need. This will save you so much time and frustration and put you on the right track and peace of mind for treatment. I thought when I first started I would guess and try some things but it just was a big waste of money. Go on over to the Dino thread anyways and maybe do some reading. but definitely get a microscope.

just ordered it now

 

[OpenOcean33]

May or may not be Dinos, however, I can tel you go to amazon an order a cheep microscope for 10-15 bucks its all you need. This will save you so much time and frustration and put you on the right track and peace of mind for treatment. I thought when I first started I would guess and try some things but it just was a big waste of money. Go on over to the Dino thread anyways and maybe do some reading. but definitely get a microscope.

Also looks like you don't have any corals yet which is a BIG plus as some treatment options and be a bit abrasive and fish can usually handle it, corals can to but a lot of the time they also get smothered by Dinos.

 

[Fscarr2216]

Also looks like you don't have any corals yet which is a BIG plus as some treatment options and be a bit abrasive and fish can usually handle it, corals can to but a lot of the time they also get smothered by Dinos.

Yeah I’ve heard about dinos killing coral, it’s so frustrating all i want is to finally start this reef tank but these dinos keep preventing it.

 

[OpenOcean33]

Yeah I’ve heard about dinos killing coral, it’s so frustrating all i want is to finally start this reef tank but these dinos keep preventing it.

Well it's good to happen now if it's going to happen so then you dont lose all the coral or inverts

 

[cain720]

I had a dinos outbreak after adding new rock to my tank. I suspected they were feeding on silicates off the new rock. It only took a 3 day blackout to put them in remission, and the remaining small amount burned itself out over time.

Since you don't have a ton of livestock at risk, I would just see if they'll burn themselves out over time. Dosing chemicals might be a temporary fix, but whatever they are consuming will still be there to potentially fuel a future outbreak. Just my $0.02 .

 

[Dual40IM]

What are your Po4 and No3 levels? If they are unbalanced or out of whack that can cause problems also. I am nearly at the end of fighting my dino problem. Started out with zero No3 and .4 Po4. Dosed Brightwell Neo Nitro to 5ppm, Po4 dropped to .2 and dinos started disappearing. I used the Hanna ULR for Po4 and Salifert for No3 to test.

 

[BeejReef]

*Update* after cleaning the rock blackouts, taking the anemone, back a few days later my dino started spreading like crazy again. So my LFS told me to get Ruby Reef Rally. And dosing my tank with it hasn’t done anything. I tested my parameters with the master test kit and they’re all really good. I’m legit at a standstill and losing all hope. Does anyone have any more advice by any chance? Greatly appreciated!!

those look more like diatoms to me.. at least in the sandbed.
My tank is a month old also (a month from finishing cycle) and the rocks are changing color every week or so. First diatoms, then a little hair algae, now all the rocks are green. Whatever you have, those things that look like snot bubbles, I have a few of those too. I brush off any obvious chunks and siphon them out with my weekly water changes. I also had one snail die, but the rest are fine. Snails die.

I've been told to just keep up the good fight and not to go to any extreme measures unless faced with extreme circumstances. The various bacteria and algae are fighting it out. Killing them off can sometimes just delay the battle. Everyone tells me to let them do their thing while keeping nitrate and phosphate at reasonable levels so it doesn't become epic. It's like turning up the stereo to "fix" squeaky brakes. My green algae looks like coraline under full blues

I guess I'm just sympathizing w u, bc I don't have any more experience than you. I wouldn't rinse my live rock in freshwater though. You can scrub them in tank water during a water change, even can spray them with peroxide and put them back in. You don't want to kill all your bacteria with freshwater and have to cycle again though. Get some rubble rock to glue your frags to if you want to add coral. Easy to clean, easy to move, and when your main rocks stabilize, you can glue the small rocks to them!

 

[jeffchapok]

IME, diatoms simply form a thin brown layer on your rocks that brushes away like dust very easily. Dinoflagellates form more of a gooey looking mat over everything that tries to hold together when you brush it off.

This is my current dino outbreak. I'm combatting it by raising nitrates a bit (they got to zero), lowering my white lights and running a 24W Green Killing Machine UV sanitizer 24x7. I also added a bottle of bio-spira to make sure my good bacteria level is up to compete with the dinos.

 

[OpenOcean33]

Looking at the last picture it looks like diatoms, but when you get it under the microscope and post it here or in the dino thread we will tell you for sure tho,