Dinos? Recommended plan of attack?

[ifarmer]

Donate or sell all livestocks to lfs and start all over again would be the easiest attack.

 

[SurfLife]

Donate or sell all livestocks to lfs and start all over again would be the easiest attack.

Without knowing yet what I am dealing with? That is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[SurfLife]

I used this.

Thanks for the info. When you used it, did you follow the instructions on the bottle or did you dose a different amount?

 

[K. Steven]

Thanks for the info. When you used it, did you follow the instructions on the bottle or did you dose a different amount?

Dosed per instructions.

 

[SurfLife]

Update:
I have not had the chance to examine the brown slime under a scope to determine if it is indeed dino yet but hope to get to that this weekend.
I retested my water and found that the Phos may be a bit higher then I thought or its just my eyes. Its very light. So difficult to match those colors to me, so I ordered all the Hanna checkers and will recheck everything this evening and have more accurate results (I hope).
Since my last post I decided to leave the bed alone and let it build up some more to see what I get. I also made some adjustments to flow. Recently added Gyre 280's so I am still adjusting to that. Now, instead of most of the bed covered in brown, I am only seeing it on about 25-35% of the bed in an area that is possibly not getting the flow the rest of the tank is getting.
In the attached photo is one of my snails munching on the algae(?). What is odd is that I have NEVER seen one of these 5 particular snails out when there is any hint of light. They hide during day and clean the glass at night. They have been in there for 1 year.

 

[wyattray]

Looks like dino would be best for you to identify what is is before you continue.

 

[Dana Riddle]

As others have stated, your issue may not be with dinoflagellates at all - the stuff could well be filamentous diatoms. I went through this and initially misdiagnosed it as dinoflagellates when they were indeed diatoms. I tried different things but the problem wasn't resolved until I added Chaetomorpha to the sump using 24-hour lighting. The turnaround was amazing - gardens of this stuff disappeared literally overnight. In addition, I had previously added a dozen Turbo and Astrea snails, as well two conchs (which was working, albeit very slowly). I found that manually removing this stuff only stressed some of the corals - a Blastomussa ejected some of its green fluorescence through its mouth both times I scrubbed (this was visible as stringy material that glowed green.) What worked for this diatom species might not work with others, so, for what it's worth.

 

[SurfLife]

As others have stated, your issue may not be with dinoflagellates at all - the stuff could well be filamentous diatoms. I went through this and initially misdiagnosed it as dinoflagellates when they were indeed diatoms. I tried different things but the problem wasn't resolved until I added Chaetomorpha to the sump using 24-hour lighting. The turnaround was amazing - gardens of this stuff disappeared literally overnight. In addition, I had previously added a dozen Turbo and Astrea snails, as well two conchs (which was working, albeit very slowly). I found that manually removing this stuff only stressed some of the corals - a Blastomussa ejected some of its green fluorescence through its mouth both times I scrubbed (this was visible as stringy material that glowed green.) What worked for this diatom species might not work with others, so, for what it's worth.

I am starting to think the same but being cautious anyway. Its funny you mentioned the Chaeto. I have never run any in my sump and have some coming tomorrow. I also agree about the corals. I dont mind the cleaning daily at all but I am starting to think the few corals I have are getting a bit tired of it. Another issue, I honestly think I have been overfeeding no matter how much I keep telling myself that I am not. Thanks for your input.

So I tested my Phos with the Hanna checker and I am reading 0.08. I guess I was reading my other test wrong Time to start testing other params that I thought I knew the values of.
Nitrates are still 20.

 

[Seth Francis]

As others have stated, your issue may not be with dinoflagellates at all - the stuff could well be filamentous diatoms. I went through this and initially misdiagnosed it as dinoflagellates when they were indeed diatoms. I tried different things but the problem wasn't resolved until I added Chaetomorpha to the sump using 24-hour lighting. The turnaround was amazing - gardens of this stuff disappeared literally overnight. In addition, I had previously added a dozen Turbo and Astrea snails, as well two conchs (which was working, albeit very slowly). I found that manually removing this stuff only stressed some of the corals - a Blastomussa ejected some of its green fluorescence through its mouth both times I scrubbed (this was visible as stringy material that glowed green.) What worked for this diatom species might not work with others, so, for what it's worth.

Chaeto grows MUCH faster and you have less browning when you give your chaeto 6+ hours without light a day. I learned that after a few months of having my lights on to long. Personally I’ve also seen a faster growth rate when I added a 2 hr “nap” into the routine.
Current fuge light schedule:
5pm-7pm on
7-9pm off
9pm-9am on
Display:
8-9 AM Ramp on
9AM-6PM on
6-9 pm fade out

 

[Dana Riddle]

Agreed that 24-hour lighting is unnatural and probably inhibits cell reproduction cycles (if studies of other plants/algae are any indication.) It was originally my intent to run RDP (reverse daylight photosynthesis) after adding the Chaeto but I didn't have a timer for the BML light strip, hence the 24 hour photoperiod. The tank is now almost entirely free of diatoms - even on the glass - so I will likely begin to reduce the photoperiod.
Coincidentally, I was going through my notes and found details of a conversation I had years ago with David Chai about the fabulous Hawaii coral reef tank he ran at the Hualalai/Four Seasons resort on the Big Island of Hawaii. He ran a 24-hour photoperiod on his Caulerpa prolifera- based refugium and said he had nothing but problems with the tank until he began this protocol.
Would you clarify what you mean by 'browning'? Is this overgrowth by a brown alga/diatoms, or a negative response by the Chaeto itself? Thanks!

 

[SurfLife]

Chaeto grows MUCH faster and you have less browning when you give your chaeto 6+ hours without light a day. I learned that after a few months of having my lights on to long. Personally I’ve also seen a faster growth rate when I added a 2 hr “nap” into the routine.
Current fuge light schedule:
5pm-7pm on
7-9pm off
9pm-9am on
Display:
8-9 AM Ramp on
9AM-6PM on
6-9 pm fade out

What great info to have for a first time Chaeto user. I have noticed everyone recommends running their fuge lights on an opposite schedule then their DT, do you happen to know the reasoning behind this?

 

[Seth Francis]

Agreed that 24-hour lighting is unnatural and probably inhibits cell reproduction cycles (if studies of other plants/algae are any indication.) It was originally my intent to run RDP (reverse daylight photosynthesis) after adding the Chaeto but I didn't have a timer for the BML light strip, hence the 24 hour photoperiod. The tank is now almost entirely free of diatoms - even on the glass - so I will likely begin to reduce the photoperiod.
Coincidentally, I was going through my notes and found details of a conversation I had years ago with David Chai about the fabulous Hawaii coral reef tank he ran at the Hualalai/Four Seasons resort on the Big Island of Hawaii. He ran a 24-hour photoperiod on his Caulerpa prolifera- based refugium and said he had nothing but problems with the tank until he began this protocol.
Would you clarify what you mean by 'browning'? Is this overgrowth by a brown alga/diatoms, or a negative response by the Chaeto itself? Thanks!

In my experience when I was lighting my chaeto too long the outer most sections of the chaeto started to turn brown. I now also rotate my chaeto every day or two (physically turning it). It no longer turns itself in the sump. I need to upgrade my sump haha

 

[Seth Francis]

What great info to have for a first time Chaeto user. I have noticed everyone recommends running their fuge lights on an opposite schedule then their DT, do you happen to know the reasoning behind this?

Running the opposite schedule helps to balance ph swings. By always having some photosynthetic action going on in the tank there is always gas exchange going on in the water.