Dinos in my tank.

[baja_minnesota13]

I have a 55gal reef tank that's been running since may. I have 2 Snowflake clowns, 1 baby blue hippo (I know he will outgrow my tank) and a coral beauty angel. 3 shrimp, 2 feather dusters, 2 crabs and numerous coral, and cleanup crew.

I noticed yesterday that I have the start of a dino outbreak. I only saw 2 small spots on 2 rocks, and the back glass of the tank had brownish yellow algae spots with air bubbles. Wondering what steps I should be taking exactly?

I scraped the glass and rocks right away, turned my protein skimmer up, ive already been using phosphate rx for about a week as my last test showed .5 phosphate. I turned off the lights and am planning on doing a 72hr blackout period. I didn't vacuum the sand, as I just got rid of a red slime outbreak by vacuuming daily for a week and using red slime rx for 2 days.

My water parameters show
Ammonia-0
PH-8.2
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-0
Calcium- 460
Carbohydrate/Alk-14dkh
Phosphate-0.5

Media/tank info
RO/DI water only
Canister filter (containing 1lb activated carbon, bio balls, bio rings, 2 floss pads, phosphate removing pads)
13 watt UV Sterilizer
Small internal protein skimmer
Tank stays at 80°
2 wave makers

Additives (or things added to tank) include:
Calcium or purple up
Iodide
Strontium/molybdenum
Marine Buffer
Marine builder
Reef builder
Reef dip
Marine Zoe
Red slime rx
Phosphate rx
(dependant on what's needed based on tests ect, not all used at once)

Feed: Dr eco phytoplankton, seachem zoo plankton, cobalt aquatic mysis spirulina flakes, frozen mysis, and ocean nutrition green marine algae w/garlic sheets.

Any suggestions of what I may be doing wrong, stop doing, add or change would be great

 

[Reefing Madness]

Your phosphates are HUGE. .50 is a huge number, its supposed to be between .05-.03. You need to knock that number way down.
GFO or Lanthanum IE SeaKlear, or Brightwells Phosphate E

 

[baja_minnesota13]

That was a result from my test last Monday, I'll test again tomorrow since I've been using the phosphate rx all week... But it just started showing up yesterday

 

[baja_minnesota13]

Also my test kit shows color options for 0, .25, .50, 1, 2, 5, 10 ppm. There's not even options for lower levels like a .03-.05

 

[Reefing Madness]

Hanna Low Range Tester. If your using a liquid tester, you want it not to change any color at all when adding the drops.

 

[brandon429]

Lots of dino challenge tanks lately online


Agreed on phosphate stripping above.




My own action would be

1. While preparing, be removing them all via siphon. This is the opposite of what the dino challenge tanks did, as the current resounding advice is to not remove them. Current advice is take a colonial invasive organism that gains benefit from mutual mass, and go ahead and let it stay in the tank.


Treat it like MRSA that you can see, my offering.

Got a rock with them on it? Lift it out to remove and work outside the tank

Try handle them like one would infectious tissue, remove it and be insulated from it regarding the rest of your tank

2. Get a uv sterilizer meant for a koi pond and run it for a while it will not harm your reef. Considering gallonage ability ranges with just a few extra dollars, and there is no amount of UV you could hook up in parallel to harm your reef for a two month burn, you buy a pond sterilizer not an aquarium sterilizer. The reason I believe in grossly oversized uv and manual export is from the times we collected that as a cure for dinos in one of the peroxide threads, the nano-reef.com one particularly.


3. Hand remove 100% of them, w uv running, tape the tank black for 100% opaque light xmission, run like this for 3 days, Reacclimate fish back to light slowly. 99% blacked out isn't good enough, forego the method if total coverage cannot be attained, we have thousands of examples of partial blackouts preceding this detail

Many lfs will link you to pond owners who keep their giant uv arrays covered up dusty in the garage, seek them out.

Its possible to borrow oversized Ive seen creative acquisitions online

The first time I cheat burned a tank with oversized uv was 1995 in my 75 gallon using a uv for my grandmothers koi pond that was worth about $750 and had four uv bulbs in array for a rating of 10,000 gallons. The outcome was so positive I'm still happy about it to this day apparently

 

[brandon429]

Many places online sell gigantic pond sterilizers with a 30 day money back guarantee if you repackage it exactly. I know this because I commonly receive such items in preparing for having ordered intended new ones.


I get these returns in doing simple online trade and frankly all of you recall times you kept it anyway because it worked. Returns are in the game, cast some out as needed

If I bought something that saves me from the scourge of reef kind I'd prob keep said item in my garage for the next round. But if it didn't seem to factor in a save by oh say day 29.5 hrs well you can send it back and not pay. To me its the heart of the 30 day mbg. You got 30 days to convince me.