Fauna Marin Dino-x treatment

[preecy]

Be gentle, its my first post on R2R!

I've a Red Sea Reefer 350 which has been running around 2 years now. I'm by no means a pro but it's my third reef setup and i've been in the hobby around 8 years now. I managed to get through the early diatoms and new tank issues fairly unscathed. Unfortunately, around 9 months ago, i had a mishap with my doser which resulted in a bottle of NoPox emptying itself into my sump overnight. The end result wasn't great. I lost a lot of lps/sps and most my cuc. Since then i've had issues with what i thought was Cyano but later figured is actually dinoflagellates. Over the last few months i've try the usual tricks (3 day black out, 5 day blackout, increased PH, daily cleaning/siphoning, etc) but it always returns. I try not to use chemicals where i can but i was getting desperate so purchased a bottle of Fauna Marin Dino-X. I dosed it as instructed and i was amazed to find by the second dosage it had cleared the dinos. I continued the treatement until the fourth dosage just to be safe. It's been almost two weeks now but i think i'm starting to see dinos slowly return again. I'm 99% sure my water parameters are good as is my ro source. I've been running a ULNS Zeovit system for a few months and use a combination of Hanna checkers and Red Sea Pro test kits. I also had an icp test just to double check my parameters. With exception to low iodine and slightly lowered magnesium all parameters were in the green.

Any thoughts on how i i can shift the dinos once and for all? The Dino-x instructions say i can treat for 20 days but suggests you stop one all traces of dinos are gone (which is what i did). Should i just go nuclear and treat my tank for 20 days?

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

I had dinos and beat them over a year ago. They haven't returned on me. Dinos bloom when your nutrients, especially phosphates, bottom out. Treatments like Dino X are hit or miss but will return if nutrients are not maintained at 0.1ppm phosphate and 5 ppm nitrate.

So before I can make a recommendation, first I have to ask, what are your nutrients at?

 

[preecy]

Sorry for the slow reply. I started again with the Dino-X treatment and tomorrow will be my the 10th and final dosage. The dinos have gone again but the Dino-X has took its toll and i've lost 2 cleaner shrimp which i've had for around 2 years.

My po4 is currently 0.18ppm (usually between 0.00 and 0.004), using my Hanna checker.
My no3 is 10ppm (usually <5ppm) using Red Sea Pro test kit.


My nutrients are usually lower than this but i've not done a water change in 3 weeks due to the DinoX treatment.

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Sorry to hear about your shrimp.

Your nutrients are now at a good level. I don't recommend a water change. Running nutrients below 0.10 ppm phosphates and 5.0 ppm nitrates is how you got dinos. If these levels are not maintained, then they will keep coming back. Additionally, these levels almost always result in better coral health and coloration.

I recommend running GAC for any lingering dino toxins now that they are gone.

 

[preecy]

Hi Bret

Thanks for the prompt reply and advise.

In the Zeovit world of Reef keeping i was under the impression PO4 @ 0.18 ppm and NO3 @ 10ppm is considered very high. I am still new to Zeovit (only 3 months into using this system/method) but I thought the idea was to remove all nutrients and supplement with Zeovit products.

I can confirm i am running GAC in my sump and it was replenished a week or two ago.

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Systems are usually much more tolerant of a wider range of nitrates than phosphates. Generally 0.10 ppm phosphates is the target to shoot for on a new tank. Then you can dial in more or less depending on what your system prefers. I have seem people recommend anywhere between 0.05 to even 1.00 ppm phosphates.

While I'm not familiar with running a Zeovit system, I am very familiar with dinos, including what causes them to bloom. Systems that bottom out phosphates and have higher PAR, usually from LED lighting which can get crazy high PAR, are a sure fire way to get dinos.

 

[preecy]

Ok thanks Bret, i'll try keep phosphates and nitrates around this level.

I've just finished a 20 day treatment of Dino-X yesterday. The Dino-X instructions recommends i carry out a water change two days after the last dosage (ie: tomorrow). How long would you recommend i wait before doing the water change? I've changed the GAC this morning just to be on the safe side.

Also, not sure if your familiar with Ecotech Radion led lights but i am currently running 100% blue/violet at 70% intensity for 12 hours per day with a 2 hour ramp up/down at the start/finish. Prior to the dino outbreak i had my whites running at 30% for 6 hours in the middle of the lighting schedule. The dinos we much more prevalent when my lighting was set higher. The Dino-X instructions recommend turning off whites and keeping blues to 10-12hrs. Any tips on getting a good balance for lps/sps corals whilst not encouraging dinos to return?

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

I recommend following the Dino X instructions for water changes and lighting until you have completed the entire process. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. But better to give it an honest chance instead of doing something that will make you second guess yourself later.

I have yet to see blue lights only make a difference in dinos personally. Reducing other spectrums while keeping blues the same will reduce overall PAR which helps with dinos though. The main thing is to reduce light intensity and duration to drive down nutrient demand. The more you do those things, the faster you'll recover. Corals benefit the most from blue and UV so I think they are trying to eliminate all light except the most efficient for them. Any settings will work so long as it is less PAR and less on time. After they are gone, you can change the lighting slow back up and longer to what ever you want so long as you maintain nutrients.

 

[biophilia]

Dinoflagellates often dominate in systems with declining nutrients. The ULNS approach is basically just slowly starving your corals anyway. Corals need nitrogen inputs from food or the water column as their algae symbionts don’t really provide it in meaningful amounts. If you’re set on maintaining ULNS, make sure you’re feeding the system a lot (coral food at least daily) and insure there’s a regular source of silica to the system so that diatoms can colonize surfaces quicker than dinoflagellates. A little diatom boost and plenty of grazers to consume it is the easiest way to keep a tank algae free IMO