Help still! what’s going on?

[Alphawolfxz3]

So about two weeks ago I posted about my tank looking really bad because all the nutrients are striped out of the water. And I thought I fixed the issue but nothing has improved. The coral still aren’t opening up as much and I have the brown algae just growing like crazy! I just did a 50% water change to clean up the algae in the tank. And I can’t really figure out what my problem is.

2 1/2 gallon pico
Sg- 1.025
Ph- .01
No3-.01
Temp-77.49
Today

Feb5th

jan 18th

 

[Idoc]

Is the brown algae going away in the dark and then re-appearing/worsening after the lights are back on?
What is your phosphate numbers?

A huge concern with brown algae is dinos...especially if the tank has sustained low/zero No3/Po4 for long periods of time. Do you happen to have access to a microscope to get a picture of the algae?

 

[Alphawolfxz3]

Is the brown algae going away in the dark and then re-appearing/worsening after the lights are back on?
What is your phosphate numbers?

A huge concern with brown algae is dinos...especially if the tank has sustained low/zero No3/Po4 for long periods of time. Do you happen to have access to a microscope to get a picture of the algae?

I have very low phosphates and very low nitrates it is a brown/ green stringy bubbly algae witch I beleave is Dino’s

 

[Idoc]

I have very low phosphates and very low nitrates it is a brown/ green stringy bubbly algae witch I beleave is Dino’s

A microscope slide picture would help in definitely identifying which type of dino it is...some react well to UV sterilizers, others don't. Increasing those nutrient levels and increasing biodiversity in the tank seem to be the norms for fighting dinos. You may also want to look into dosing phytoplankton daily...many are having very good success with this effort. I fought small cell amphidinium dinos for about a year before finally getting them under control. I used the Elegant Corals dino/cyano treatment which worked well for me.

 

[Oregon Grown Reef]

Looks like dinos to me, but you'll have to grab a microscope to confirm which kind. @Idoc gave some great advice.

I was battling dinos for probably 6 months, but that was due to my lack of effort. I quickly beat it once I got a UV sterlizer, started dosing phytoplankton daily, and scraped off as much of the dinos I could on a regular basis to get it floating in the water column for the sterilizer to do it's magic. I haven't seen dinos in my tank for a few months at this point.

This may not work for you, but don't give up! Good luck.

 

[Alphawolfxz3]

A microscope slide picture would help in definitely identifying which type of dino it is...some react well to UV sterilizers, others don't. Increasing those nutrient levels and increasing biodiversity in the tank seem to be the norms for fighting dinos. You may also want to look into dosing phytoplankton daily...many are having very good success with this effort. I fought small cell amphidinium dinos for about a year before finally getting them under control. I used the Elegant Corals dino/cyano treatment which worked well for me.

Thank you. So would you suggest getting a UV sterilizer even with that small of a tank. And dosing the phytoplankton?

 

[Alphawolfxz3]

Looks like dinos to me, but you'll have to grab a microscope to confirm which kind. @Idoc gave some great advice.

I was battling dinos for probably 6 months, but that was due to my lack of effort. I quickly beat it once I got a UV sterlizer, started dosing phytoplankton daily, and scraped off as much of the dinos I could on a regular basis to get it floating in the water column for the sterilizer to do it's magic. I haven't seen dinos in my tank for a few months at this point.

This may not work for you, but don't give up! Good luck.

Thank you for your testimony I think that is what I’m going to try.

 

[Oregon Grown Reef]

Thank you for your testimony I think that is what I’m going to try.

Hold up. Don't rush into this. Act with urgency, but not rashly. There isn't just one kind of dinos. You need to identify what type before moving forward.

Purchase a cheap microscope from Amazon or see if you've got a local reefer who has one. The local high school might even be willing to let you take a sample in if you ask them. Take a picture/video of what's under the microscope and post it here so we can't help identify what strain it is. From there, we can make a plan to move forward. A cheap microscope will save you a ton of money if you have a strain of dinos that isn't fixed with a UV sterilizer.

I got lucky when I bought everything. I didn't know what strain it was because I hadn't yet purchased a microscope, but I could have been out $200+ and not had a solution if I had a different strain. I now have a microscope so I don't have to guess in the future.

Dinos are a pain and make people leave the hobby for good, but the reward of persevering is so much better than quitting. You've got this.

 

[Alphawolfxz3]

Hold up. Don't rush into this. Act with urgency, but not rashly. There isn't just one kind of dinos. You need to identify what type before moving forward.

Purchase a cheap microscope from Amazon or see if you've got a local reefer who has one. The local high school might even be willing to let you take a sample in if you ask them. Take a picture/video of what's under the microscope and post it here so we can't help identify what strain it is. From there, we can make a plan to move forward. A cheap microscope will save you a ton of money if you have a strain of dinos that isn't fixed with a UV sterilizer.

I got lucky when I bought everything. I didn't know what strain it was because I hadn't yet purchased a microscope, but I could have been out $200+ and not had a solution if I had a different strain. I now have a microscope so I don't have to guess in the future.

Dinos are a pain and make people leave the hobby for good, but the reward of persevering is so much better than quitting. You've got this.

Thank you that helps. I’ll look into a cheep microscope for it

 

[Idoc]

Thank you. So would you suggest getting a UV sterilizer even with that small of a tank. And dosing the phytoplankton?

UV is a significant cost...but for a small tank like this, you could get away with a small Green Killing Machine to see if it works. Some dinos don't take to the water column very much so UV doesn't work...others that go into the water column are more easily knocked out with UV. Dosing phyto would be a good option as well.

 

[Alphawolfxz3]

UV is a significant cost...but for a small tank like this, you could get away with a small Green Killing Machine to see if it works. Some dinos don't take to the water column very much so UV doesn't work...others that go into the water column are more easily knocked out with UV. Dosing phyto would be a good option as well.

With looking in a microscope what exactly am I looking for to distinguish the different types of Dianos?

 

[Oregon Grown Reef]

With looking in a microscope what exactly am I looking for to distinguish the different types of Dianos?

Just take a picture with your phone and post it here. We'll get some professionals in here to identify what kind it is. From there, we'll be able to create a plan of attack.

 

[Oregon Grown Reef]

I will say, doing a water change isn't going to help since dinos usually take hold from having too low of nutrients. One thing you can do is siphon the water into a filter sock that goes into your sump, then remove the sock. This removes the big clumps and helps stop it from taking over.

 

[Alphawolfxz3]

I will say, doing a water change isn't going to help since dinos usually take hold from having too low of nutrients. One thing you can do is siphon the water into a filter sock that goes into your sump, then remove the sock. This removes the big clumps and helps stop it from taking over.

Ya. I just found that out as I did the water change. But I don’t have a filter sock or anything because I don’t have a sump on the 2 gallon with a filter sock

 

[Idoc]

Ya. I just found that out as I did the water change. But I don’t have a filter sock or anything because I don’t have a sump on the 2 gallon with a filter sock

A small nano tank does have some challenges. You could always use a very small type of hose (1/4" diam) and siphon some water through a 10micron sock into a small bucket, then pour that water back into the tank and continue to repeat until you can get most of the brown junk out of the tank. I know this is difficult...especially since a gravel vac for that size tank is almost impossible to find...it would have to be made DIY probably! But any dino treatment works best if you can get rid of the majority of the dinos by siphoning.

The other option is a total tank break down...way easier to do with a 2g tank than a large tank! But going this route, everything you use for filtration, etc... must be deeply cleaned with bleach, etc... I honestly don't think this will totally remove them from your system since you will want to keep your corals...which will probably ultimately bring a few back into the new tank for them to take over again. But, it does allow you to restart and create an environment from the start that fuels other biodiversity vs that preferred by the dinos. I restarted a 20g coral quarantine tank 4 times trying to get rid of dinos...and they kept coming back. So, now I manage them in that particular tank.

I wish someone with a small nano tank would jump in to help since nanos are a totally different animal for controlling nuisance issues and nutrient control...

 

[Alphawolfxz3]

A small nano tank does have some challenges. You could always use a very small type of hose (1/4" diam) and siphon some water through a 10micron sock into a small bucket, then pour that water back into the tank and continue to repeat until you can get most of the brown junk out of the tank. I know this is difficult...especially since a gravel vac for that size tank is almost impossible to find...it would have to be made DIY probably! But any dino treatment works best if you can get rid of the majority of the dinos by siphoning.

The other option is a total tank break down...way easier to do with a 2g tank than a large tank! But going this route, everything you use for filtration, etc... must be deeply cleaned with bleach, etc... I honestly don't think this will totally remove them from your system since you will want to keep your corals...which will probably ultimately bring a few back into the new tank for them to take over again. But, it does allow you to restart and create an environment from the start that fuels other biodiversity vs that preferred by the dinos. I restarted a 20g coral quarantine tank 4 times trying to get rid of dinos...and they kept coming back. So, now I manage them in that particular tank.

I wish someone with a small nano tank would jump in to help since nanos are a totally different animal for controlling nuisance issues and nutrient control...

Ya that does make sense but I do need to figure out how to stabilize my tank and create the environment to control the dinos

 

[Idoc]

Ya that does make sense but I do need to figure out how to stabilize my tank and create the environment to control the dinos

It's takes a lot of monitoring in nano tanks. But at least water changes are easy!

 

[Alphawolfxz3]

It's takes a lot of monitoring in nano tanks. But at least water changes are easy!

That’s for sure. I like the monitoring. But I am trying to learn the best I can for everything.

 

[Alphawolfxz3]

Well I haven’t been able to find someone that has a microscope to look at the algae but I have noticed it has died down in growth rate ever since I got the nitrate and phosphates back up. And it only frowns where light is present. I have been takeung the rocks out every week and cleaning them off with a tooth brush and that seems to help and control it for the time being. But I am still far from wining the battle

 

[Alphawolfxz3]

Today March 13

And I need help with knowing how to clean these zoanthyds off