Dinos? On the sandbed, but also on rocks.

Meatball_reef · May 18, 2020

Hello everyone -

Been dealing with this algae for a few months. The tanks has been up for a few years. I have a skimmer running, refugium with chaeto, carbon/phosguard filter socks. I've been doing manual removal on this stuff, but it obviously keeps coming back. I had a fish die a few months ago while I was out of town for the week, never found it. Seems like this stuff started right after, but I'm not totally sure. It is on the sandbed, but also getting all over the rocks.

I've been feeding lightly once or twice a week. There is only one wrasse in the tank right now, along with coral. Was thinking about just doing a 3 day blackout to try and rid myself of this. Any other suggestions?

Much appreciated!

Meatball_reef · May 18, 2020

Well, after some research I think they are probably dinos. I ordered some Dr Tim's Waste Away, Poly Filter, and a UV sterilizer. I'm pretty tired of dealing with this so I'm going to throw everything I've got at it. Will scrub all the rocks clean (again..hopefully for the last time..) and possibly do a 48h blackout after the UV is installed. We'll see.

Meatball_reef · May 28, 2020

I'm in day 2 of a 3 day blackout. Whatever is on the sand does not seem to be subsiding at all. Not getting any bigger, but is still there when I check with a flashlight. I put the UV sterilizer in the DT instead of the sump. The water is pretty clear, but the algae (dinos?) are still there. Haven't been feeding a whole lot. The polyfilter is right in front of the return pump, and I did a half dose of Dr. Tim's waste away last Friday.

I guess I'm just really surprised that the dinos or whatever it is remains after 2 days blackout. Not sure where to go from here.

Frais · May 28, 2020

So when I had a pretty bad out break I did a few things that help. Manually blowing them off the sand in the evening, change my filter sock out a few hours after that. Add a UV sterlizer and as of right now I'm basically dino free. Still have a few spots here and there that I will go in blow off and then change out the filter sock after wards.

Meatball_reef · May 28, 2020

Thanks for the reply. I've been kinda pushing them along with my fishnet on the sand. Perhaps getting a turkey baster and actually blowing them into the water column would be better?

I've read through the long dino thread on here, which was very helpful. Still no luck though.

And I'm not still 100% they are in fact dinos, anyway. I attached a few more pictures that I've taken this afternoon when I turned the lights on briefly to take a pic.

FLReef32043 · May 28, 2020

I'm having an outbreak of dinos that is on the sand bed and moving to my rock work. For me the key was a microscope and images. This identified the species as Amphdinium which pretty much stays on the sand, so the UV won't help at all.

I'm still struggling coming up with a viable treatment plan but I wanted to toss this out there. that while you may be following the "proscribed" plan for dinos, it may not work depending on which species you have.

Meatball_reef · May 29, 2020

FLReef32043 said:
I'm having an outbreak of dinos that is on the sand bed and moving to my rock work. For me the key was a microscope and images. This identified the species as Amphdinium which pretty much stays on the sand, so the UV won't help at all.

I'm still struggling coming up with a viable treatment plan but I wanted to toss this out there. that while you may be following the "proscribed" plan for dinos, it may not work depending on which species you have.

Thanks for the advice. Good idea, I'll look into getting my hands on one.

FLReef32043 · May 29, 2020

Some pictures showing my pain

Clean sand on 24th and what it looks like today.

Meatball_reef · May 29, 2020

Yeah, it looks like you have what I do. Mine also spreads so quickly after I blow it off. I'm going to dose waste away again today, maybe full dose, and see what happens.

ShepherdReefer · May 29, 2020

Sorry, I am not much help with the issue. I have been in the saltwater tanks for over 30 years, just set-up a tank (first time in a very long time) and I have been dealing with Dino's. Major pain in the butt.

Meatball_reef · May 29, 2020

Yeah I agree. I just did a full dose of Dr. Tim's Waste Away. I will report back if it works.

Since they always form on the sand, I am thinking about pointing a powerhead towards the sandbed. Not enough to stir it up hopefully, but enough to keep the water moving close to the surface. I like the look of the sand on the bottom too much, I could never get rid of it and go bare-bottom. But if you are desperate, perhaps that is a solution.

And I was thinking about getting a microscope, but I figure I'll just keep trying things and see what works. So far, blackout and UV did not seem to help. Have held off on any water changes for the last few weeks as well. Hopefully the waste-away works. Will update.