Help with dinos in fluval evo

[BigOunce11]

Hi all, in January I set up my fluval evo, all going well, other than the dinos i am currently watching fester. From what Ive read, the solution seems to be to raise phosphate and nitrate, mine currently being 2ppm nitrate and 0.1ppm phosphate, however am unsure of the best way to do this with such a small volume of water. In terms of available food I have some pellets and various frozen foods, as well as reefroids, and currently only feed once a day and only a small ammount- I only have two small clowns and a sharknose goby. I considered trying dosing vibrant, however it seems expensive in the UK so any other suggestions would be very useful.

 

[RafaelsReef]

I’m actually going through the same thing but on a mature tank. It was neglected and during the lockdown I done a major cleanup on the tank. It seems with all the water changes and chemical medias made the Dino’s more aggressive.
With the research I have done, sounds like tank it’s too clean and needs bacteria. My plan is to do lights off for 2-3 days and get rid off any gfo and No Water Changes.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Hi all, in January I set up my fluval evo, all going well, other than the dinos i am currently watching fester. From what Ive read, the solution seems to be to raise phosphate and nitrate, mine currently being 2ppm nitrate and 0.1ppm phosphate, however am unsure of the best way to do this with such a small volume of water. In terms of available food I have some pellets and various frozen foods, as well as reefroids, and currently only feed once a day and only a small ammount- I only have two small clowns and a sharknose goby. I considered trying dosing vibrant, however it seems expensive in the UK so any other suggestions would be very useful.

Try siphoning the sand bed into a filter sock and pour the water back into the tank. Stop all wc’s immediately. You might want to get something like dino x to help out. A cheato reactor and uv sterilizer helped me out but the Dino x is what kicked it.

 

[NS Mike D]

ok. first things first, get a microscope (cheap ones on amazon will do if you don't have one). and post the pics so we (well not me) can confirm it's dinos and which strain.

don't start any treatment before knowing for sure what you are dealing with and having a plan.

Lot's of threads, me included, that made things worse with band aid stop gap approaches.


edit: @45ZoaGarden post about cleaning the sand bed through a filter sock should help without throwing anything out of balance. It will get the trapped detritus out of the tank, and help getting dinos out, but don't expect too much as those suckers can pass through anything including time. Also, UV is good is you want to go that route as well.

 

[BighohoReef]

If it is dinos you in such a small tank you can black it out. Dinos are photosynthetic you should be able to get rid of them that way. BRS has a good video on getting rid of them:

 

[45ZoaGarden]

If it is dinos you in such a small tank you can black it out. Dinos are photosynthetic you should be able to get rid of them that way. BRS has a good video on getting rid of them:

It’s never that simple lol. Some strains are uneffected by it. Including large cell amphimidium which he most likely has.

 

[NS Mike D]

one note on UV. Do some research. it is effective at killing dinos and parasite but it also kills beneficial bacteria and other life. As a dino killer, I give it thumbs up. If you go that route, give thought to whether or not you want to use it over permanently. I'm neutral on he long term pros and cons.

 

[Crustaceon]

Look into chemicals that are used for freshwater planted tanks. We in the reefing community commonly use seachem flourish phosphorus and nitrogen to boost those parameters. Go slow though!

 

[NS Mike D]

Hold off on the reef roids. I cannot confirm it, but I have read enough posts where dinos showed up after using them. could be their corals couldn't consume them fast enough and ended up feeding the dinos

It won't hurt any if you stopped it for the time being

 

[BighohoReef]

It’s never that simple lol. Some strains are uneffected by it. Including large cell amphimidium which he most likely has.

I totally agree nothing is simple and easy in this hobby. With such a small water column it's a challenge because any change could have some impacts, with that said @BigOunce11 take your time with this, research before doing anything to your tank. I have a 13.5 Evo as my QT tank so I'm familiar with the challenge. GL mate!

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Hold off on the reef roids. I cannot confirm it, but I have read enough posts where dinos showed up after using them. could be their corals couldn't consume them fast enough and ended up feeding the dinos

It won't hurt any if you stopped it for the time being

I saw my first dinos pop up over a year after feeding reef roids. I still feed it and don’t have any issues. I suppose if you put too much of ANY food in the tank it could cause a spike.

 

[BigOunce11]

ok. first things first, get a microscope (cheap ones on amazon will do if you don't have one). and post the pics so we (well not me) can confirm it's dinos and which strain.

don't start any treatment before knowing for sure what you are dealing with and having a plan.

Lot's of threads, me included, that made things worse with band aid stop gap approaches.


edit: @45ZoaGarden post about cleaning the sand bed through a filter sock should help without throwing anything out of balance. It will get the trapped detritus out of the tank, and help getting dinos out, but don't expect too much as those suckers can pass through anything including time. Also, UV is good is you want to go that route as well.

How do you recommend collecting the sample to put on a slide? Ive already got a microscope

 

[BigOunce11]

Hold off on the reef roids. I cannot confirm it, but I have read enough posts where dinos showed up after using them. could be their corals couldn't consume them fast enough and ended up feeding the dinos

It won't hurt any if you stopped it for the time being

Fear not, I dont actually use them regularly I just listed them as something that i could feed to increase the nutrients, sorry, i wasnt very clear

 

[BigOunce11]

I totally agree nothing is simple and easy in this hobby. With such a small water column it's a challenge because any change could have some impacts, with that said @BigOunce11 take your time with this, research before doing anything to your tank. I have a 13.5 Evo as my QT tank so I'm familiar with the challenge. GL mate!

Cheers en

 

[BigOunce11]

Look into chemicals that are used for freshwater planted tanks. We in the reefing community commonly use seachem flourish phosphorus and nitrogen to boost those parameters. Go slow though!

Is that more effective than dosing separately as seen in the BRS video?

 

[BigOunce11]

Try siphoning the sand bed into a filter sock and pour the water back into the tank. Stop all wc’s immediately. You might want to get something like dino x to help out. A cheato reactor and uv sterilizer helped me out but the Dino x is what kicked it.

Dont suppose you know of any decent sterilizers for such a small tank- ive seen the innovative marine ones but have no idea of theyre any good. Also, if you start using a sterilizer, can you stop when the problem is over without it all going to the dogs again?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

I actually have the IM one. I think it works. Lol. I never really noticed a difference.... once the dinos are gone, you could wean the tank off the sterilizer by running it on a timer and cutting an hour off daily. As for collecting a sample, I always used a 10ml syringe, held it close to the sand bed, and sucked some of it in. It’s fine if you just get a grain of sand, you should still be able to see the dinos on the sand itself.

Dont suppose you know of any decent sterilizers for such a small tank- ive seen the innovative marine ones but have no idea of theyre any good. Also, if you start using a sterilizer, can you stop when the problem is over without it all going to the dogs again?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

you could also collect them off the rocks the same way.

 

[NS Mike D]

How do you recommend collecting the sample to put on a slide? Ive already got a microscope

never mind, already answered

 

[BigOunce11]

I actually have the IM one. I think it works. Lol. I never really noticed a difference.... once the dinos are gone, you could wean the tank off the sterilizer by running it on a timer and cutting an hour off daily. As for collecting a sample, I always used a 10ml syringe, held it close to the sand bed, and sucked some of it in. It’s fine if you just get a grain of sand, you should still be able to see the dinos on the sand itself.

Looks like ive got some shopping to do then )