I’m stuck - what should I do ?

[Idech]

My tank is 20 months old. I’ve been having dinos for most of it’s life and I’ve dosed lots of silicate to get rid of them. It worked but there are still a few patches of dinos in the tank. They disappear at night but I haven’t checked them under the microscope. I’ve had two types before : the first one I never checked and the second one was prorocentrum.

My ICP test done before last Christmas showed 10.75 (ppm ?) of calculated silicate (3000% the ideal level) and there is even more now because I had to add more when dinos came back with a vengeance after a big water change. I also dose All for Reef daily which contains amino acids, said to feed dinos.

The tank is generally doing well but I can’t seem to keep most torches and hammers alive and besides mushrooms, there isn’t much growth. I would like to improve on growth.

So, here is my question : how do I bring my silicate levels to acceptable ones without triggering a dinos outbreak ?

Thanks !

 

[harrylarry]

Use a uv

 

[Idech]

Use a uv

There is one running 24/7. UV only works for certain types of dinos.

 

[Lavey29]

I had high silicates on ICP and it was coming from my RODI water. I switched to a spectrapure silicate buster DI filter and now 0 silicates in my RODI. My sand gets patches of dinos to. They are in every tank. I just siphon during water changes or turkey baste them. Tanks are gonna do what they are gonna do. My corals flourish so I don't care about dirty sand.

You need to stay the course with consistent parameters in the proper range, good lights and proper flow. Dose pods and phytoplankton to get those little guys munching on your dinos.

 

[Idech]

I had high silicates on ICP and it was coming from my RODI water.

ICP test checked Rodi and there was 0.25 ppm of silicate. I’m dosing 37,5% pure silicate so that’s the source.

I just siphon during water changes or turkey baste them.

I can’t do WC or it makes dinos 100 times worse.

You need to stay the course with consistent parameters in the proper range, good lights and proper flow. Dose pods and phytoplankton to get those little guys munching on your dinos.

I’ve dosed lots of pods, lots of phyto. Parameters are fine, I can post them if needed but I don’t think it matters.

My question is more about decreasing silicate levels without the use of WC, if that’s even possible.

 

[Miami Reef]

Dinoflagellates do NOT consume silicate. Reducing them will only reduce competition from diatoms.

Are you sure the ”dinos” aren’t just diatoms?

 

[Miami Reef]

Silica will deplete very quickly on its own. Just don’t keep adding it.

 

[Lavey29]

ICP test checked Rodi and there was 0.25 ppm of silicate. I’m dosing 37,5% pure silicate so that’s the source.


I can’t do WC or it makes dinos 100 times worse.


I’ve dosed lots of pods, lots of phyto. Parameters are fine, I can post them if needed but I don’t think it matters.

My question is more about decreasing silicate levels without the use of WC, if that’s even possible.

GFO and activated alumina will remove silicates.

 

[Idech]

Dinoflagellates do NOT consume silicate. Reducing them will only reduce competition from diatoms.

Are you sure the ”dinos” aren’t just diatoms?

No, they don’t. The purpose of adding silicate is to have diatoms.

I do have diatoms, but also a few patches of dinos. Their color is different, more vibrant. Diatoms are more brown. I should check it under microscope though. I just haven’t done it because I am fed up of this problem.

 

[Idech]

GFO and activated alumina will remove silicates.

I’ll have to research this. Can you have a GFO without a sump ?

But won’t GFO trigger dinos by removing phosphates ?

 

[Lavey29]

I’ll have to research this. Can you have a GFO without a sump ?

But won’t GFO trigger dinos by removing phosphates ?

Yes and yes but you can monitor and add neophos as needed.

 

[Zero_Cool]

This helped me:

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

ICP test checked Rodi and there was 0.25 ppm of silicate. I’m dosing 37,5% pure silicate so that’s the source.


I can’t do WC or it makes dinos 100 times worse.


I’ve dosed lots of pods, lots of phyto. Parameters are fine, I can post them if needed but I don’t think it matters.

My question is more about decreasing silicate levels without the use of WC, if that’s even possible.

This is a bold move Im going to tepidly suggest. It's outcome for me may be coincidence. Maybe not.

I had a dino problem exactly like yours. Months and months. I tried everything. Peroxide, days of darkness (repeatedly), clean tank, dirty tank, changing rodi, pods, phyto, combo attacks, always with a UV. All of it over and over. All I ever ended up with was dead corals who were being constantly assaulted with bad parameters. My efforts to make my tank pretty were harming it more than the dios I was fighting.

I gave up and decided to "manage the population. A few weeks later I had an order of Tampa Bay wild live sand for a different tank. I had a few of cups left in the bottom of the bag. Rather than throw it out, I spread a thin layer of the TBSaltwater sand over the worst effected areas. In days my dinos were gone. Now I can go in to fixing my phosphate problem that was caused by fighting dinos with a dirty tank.

Its anecdotal, way less than scientific. Whether it was my "management" program finally winning, or the TBS sand I'll never know for sure. But I do know my tanks dinos are whipped and I haven't seen any in two months.

 

[billyocean]

In addition to what some have mentioned.

Turkey baste before lights out to get them waterborne. Add a piece of filter floss on a nori clip in high flow area..like in a powerheads flow path. Take out floss in the morning and rinse in sink/tap and leave on counter or whatever for the day. Repeat this the next evening.

 

[Idech]

This helped me:

This is what I did for the first type I had a year ago and it worked.

I’ll check it under microscope and see if that’s what I have. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Dinoflagellates do NOT consume silicate. Reducing them will only reduce competition from diatoms.

Are you sure the ”dinos” aren’t just diatoms?

He's battling dinos I'm sure, If they go away when the lights go off.

 

[Lavey29]

He's battling dinos I'm sure, If they go away when the lights go off.

So do diatoms

 

[Idech]

I gave up and decided to "manage the population a few weeks later I had an order of Tampa Bay wild live sand for a different tank. I had a couple of cups left in the bottom of the bag. Rather than throw it out, I spread a thin layer of the TBSaltwater sand over the worst effected areas. In days my dinos were gone.

I like that idea. It seems like it might work, as the problem is really in one are (where there is less flow. I tried a powerhead but it didn’t do much and it was annoying corals).

I’m in Canada and can’t get that sand though. Only « live sand » from bags sitting on shelves for months, even years. I wonder if regular sand would do ?

Also, this is the spot where my tiger pistol shrimp lives so I don’t know how long it will be before she disturbs the new sand…

Turkey baste before lights put to get them waterborne. Add a piece of filter floss on a nori clip. Take out floss in the morning and rinse in sink/tap and leave on counter or whatever for the day. Repeat this the next evening.

This is something I did also for the first type I had. Maybe I should try it again. I do have filter floss in the filter but it doesn’t get changed everyday for sure.

 

[Idech]

He's battling dinos I'm sure, If they go away when the lights go off.

She.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

So do diatoms

Not in 20 years have I seen diatoms come and go at night in a 2 year old tank. I'm not a expert, I'm a fledgling hobbyist who had a long bad start in this hobby but it's come together for me in the last 10 years. If this fellow lady gets out a microscope we are going to find out it's dinos, I suspect.