Please help me ID these Dino’s.

[francesco.mancini]

So my story begins a couple months when I decided to rearrange my tank . I wanted to re-do my aqua scape and make room only for high end acros in my system. I took all my acros out and put them in my frag tank . I turned some rocks upside down , I pulled rock from my sump to add to my scape which were full of Detritus , I took rock out of my Dt cut them up a bit so I could achieve the scape I was looking for .. after a couple weeks I started getting Dino’s in the high flow areas of my system and before you know it all my rocks very covered .. I currently tried the dr Tim’s method , than moved on to the elegance corals method, now I installed an 23 watt green machine uv inside my display tank . As the Dino’s have receded a lot they are still present . Please help my identify which species of Dino’s I am battling .. I have all my coral in my frag tank at the moment so I’m able to give these Dino’s a good fight . I have a total of 75 gallon system. I’m contemplating on whether restarting my main display system because I’m scared they can reappear after all my high end acros go back into the display tank . If I was to restart is there any precautions I can take to have an 100% Dino free system. Are there any dips that I can use on coral or fish to prevent the spread of Dino’s transferring to other systems?

 

[Steelheader09]

I'm not sure what they are but have you looked into Vibrant Aquarium Cleaner? I have heard it works wonders. I have not got a chance to test it myself yet but the reviews are pretty stellar.

 

[Purplelobst92]

you might have too much organic waste in the tank, I usually get through this by doing aggressive water changes, running skimmer 24/7 and by keeping feedings low, lightings is also a factor Ive cut the light cycle a few hours and had them die back quite well.

 

[francesco.mancini]

Thanks for input guys I’ll try out a big water change followed by a dosing of vibrant followed by another big change change .. my biggest fear is if I eradicate them now and show up a couple months down the road when my tank is stocked up with corals again . I know once my system has my corals again I’ll keep things more stable and maintain the system better . I’ve been slacking on this system because Ive been concentrating on my frag tank that is housing all my corals

 

[saltyhog]

Those look like ostreopsis. Water changes and Vibrant are not likely to do anything for them. This species is very sensitive to UV though. Keep your nitrates and phosphates elevated (I like NO3 around 5, PO4 0.06-0.1).

 

[Mikedawg]

Yeah, looks like Ostreopsis ovata; Dino X and UV seem to be working for me along with adjusting water parameters as mentioned.

 

[francesco.mancini]

If I install an properly sized uv with the manifold I have in my sump will it be effective .. a couple days ago I bought an 23 watt submersible uv from amazon called green machine and it’s currently inside my display . I will try an Dino x treatment as well . My current water volume is 75 gallons and the largest uv from bulkreef that can be hidden within my stand is the 25 watt version which is rated for 130 gallons . Do you think that will be an effective long term possibility as I don’t want to keep an uv inside my display . Also my nutrients at the time of the Dino outbreaks was nitrate 2 ppm to .04 phos issuing Hanna check ultra low pod and salifert for nitrate. If dinos are no longer visible in a display tank does it still mean they are still present .is there any way they can be eradicated 100% other than just keeping them at bay were we cannot visually see there slime. I’m hesitate on restarting my system as it Fowlr currently and if I could restart my tank to be 100% clear in the future now will be the time .. I have all my high end sps currently in my frag tank which Are fine in there if I have to re-cycle a new system

 

[Mikedawg]

If I install an properly sized uv with the manifold I have in my sump will it be effective .. a couple days ago I bought an 23 watt submersible uv from amazon called green machine and it’s currently inside my display . I will try an Dino x treatment as well . My current water volume is 75 gallons and the largest uv from bulkreef that can be hidden within my stand is the 25 watt version which is rated for 130 gallons . Do you think that will be an effective long term possibility as I don’t want to keep an uv inside my display . Also my nutrients at the time of the Dino outbreaks was nitrate 2 ppm to .04 phos issuing Hanna check ultra low pod and salifert for nitrate. If dinos are no longer visible in a display tank does it still mean they are still present .is there any way they can be eradicated 100% other than just keeping them at bay were we cannot visually see there slime. I’m hesitate on restarting my system as it Fowlr currently and if I could restart my tank to be 100% clear in the future now will be the time .. I have all my high end sps currently in my frag tank which Are fine in there if I have to re-cycle a new system

I imagine dinos of some sort are always "present" in most tanks, at least in the cyst form. For some species like ovata, I understand that temperature and phosphate levels can cause germination, so it is important to manage both parameters. Basically, over the long term you want to have enough biodiversity/other organisms to out compete the dinos; initially, you want to get them under control using UV, Dino X, etc.
You might find this article helpful: http://blog.coralwonders.com/en/dinoflagelados-en-el-acuario-marino/

 

[dwest]

If I install an properly sized uv with the manifold I have in my sump will it be effective .. a couple days ago I bought an 23 watt submersible uv from amazon called green machine and it’s currently inside my display . I will try an Dino x treatment as well . My current water volume is 75 gallons and the largest uv from bulkreef that can be hidden within my stand is the 25 watt version which is rated for 130 gallons . Do you think that will be an effective long term possibility as I don’t want to keep an uv inside my display . Also my nutrients at the time of the Dino outbreaks was nitrate 2 ppm to .04 phos issuing Hanna check ultra low pod and salifert for nitrate. If dinos are no longer visible in a display tank does it still mean they are still present .is there any way they can be eradicated 100% other than just keeping them at bay were we cannot visually see there slime. I’m hesitate on restarting my system as it Fowlr currently and if I could restart my tank to be 100% clear in the future now will be the time .. I have all my high end sps currently in my frag tank which Are fine in there if I have to re-cycle a new system

Having the UV inside the tank like you have your green machine is likely most effective. I would leave it in the tank as long as you can stand it. Some reefers have had success moving to a UV fed from the sump. Others, like me, figured out how to deal with one fed from display. FWIW, it’s strange that you encountered these with your nutrient levels. Good luck. Also, I believe most of us have some level of dinos all the time.

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

What lights are on your tank and how long are they on? I have seen tanks with good nutrient levels get dinos due to intense and long photo periods. I'm also curious if you use GFO.

 

[francesco.mancini]

I have an 6 bulb Ati 4 blue plus and 2 coral plus ... y total light schedule is 12 hours because my tank is located in my restaurant and it’s on when I’m open .2 bulb are on for 12 hours and all 6 bulb are on for 5 hours .. I had stared this tank up about 18months ago .. only bubble king skimmer and a cheato reactor which is only on 6 hours over night .. no gfo no carbon only daily water changes via Neptune dos . Everything all stared as soon as I played around with my rocks . I’m really thinking about starting over. I’m going to give Dino x a shot and than vibrant a shot see if any of these chemicals will be effective .. uv is running and I have been feeding fish more to get nitrates and pho’s up a bit ... the slime has recessed a lot but there is still a thick algae covering my rocks with is where I siphoned the water from to get my sample under the microscope.

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Increasing nutrients through feeding is not as effective as dosing inorganic sources. Feeding also increases other things that can aid dino and other algae blooms like carbon and sulfer. Dosing inorganic sources like KNO3 (Spectrocide stump remover) and SeaChem Flourish (phosphates) will help drive them back into the water column where they are invisible and increase the effectiveness of your UV.

When you moved your rocks did you reposition any of them higher up closer to the lights? Water changes also tend to make dinos worse so I recommend stopping them for now. Carbon will help with any dino toxins that may get released into the water. If any livestock seems to be suffering, then I highly recommend running GAC. Vibrant and Dino X seem to be ineffective long term (and Vibrant even in the short term) against dinos but using MicroBactor 7 in cases like yours has yielded sustainable improvements for many people without having to continually dose it. I suspect your bacteria population was compromised when the rocks were moved around.

 

[francesco.mancini]

I’m glad you made this point because the rocks that had been affected the most by the Dino’s we’re the rock from my sump and one rock that was turned upside down to achieve the scape I was looking for .. I have both brightwheel versions of NeoPhos and nitrate which I’ll start dosing and cut back on the feeding .. my rock that is fully encrusted with coralline has not been affected at all . I dosed a full bottle of dr Tim’s waste away , re fresh , one and only , and mb 7 over the last couple weeks . As the Dino’s have receded a lot I still see small patches of brown stringy algae on my glass and bottom of thank .. although there is no bubbles associated with them I cannot confirm they are Dino’s bc I can’t get a sample to test as it’s so minimal. The strong flow areas of my tank and the rocks which were affected by the Dino’s now have a thick short dark green algae on it , I took a sample from them and could not find Dino’s under the microscope . It seems tank is going in the right direction maybe time will cure . Will you advise of not dosing Dino x or vibrant as my bacteria may be catching up or can these products set me back again

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Other algae growing and out competing the dinos means you are winning. Just keep doing what you are doing. I don't recommend the other stuff if this is working. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[francesco.mancini]

Hey wanted to let everyone one as of today I don’t see any more Dino’s .. keeping my fingers crossed here .. I did dose vibrant along side another 3 day black out and all algae is gone . I will keep dosing bacteria for the next couple weeks and permanently keep the 23 watt uv in my display tank. In a couple weeks I will do a water change and run some carbon to clean up my water followed by a heavy introduction of some pods and snails . Throughout this process I dosed a lot of different bacteria , some hydrogen peroxide, ran my uv , cut my light schedule down and did a total of 2 (3 days blacks outs without covering the tank) .. I will try to posts a schedule of everything I did.

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Glad to hear things are looking so good!

Turn off the UV for a hour when you dose bacteria to give it a chance to settle on the rocks and sand more. I also do not recommend dosing hydrogen peroxide with bacteria.

If your water test out good, then I recommend not doing a water change as that tends to make dinos a little worse during or shortly after an outbreak.

If you are done with Vibrant, then you can start GAC at any time. If there is no algae in the tank, then hold off on the pods and snails because they won't have anything to eat yet.

 

[francesco.mancini]

I was planning on dosing pyto along with the Addition of pods .. I’ll send out an Ati test today make sure I’m nothing crazy creeped up on me while I was taking care of the Dino’s ..I haven’t dosed the peroxide in a while I’ll discontinue for sure . hopefully in couple weeks I’ll be good to add corals back as long as I don’t see anything

 

[francesco.mancini]

My rock as of yesterday

 

[francesco.mancini]

Last question , what do you guys think of adding more live rock in my sump . Blue zoo aquatics sells wysiwyg live rock that is encrusted with coralline algae ...I was thinking of purchasing it breaking it up in pieces and using it to add more natural bacteria and at that same time use a breeding area for pods etc .. my cheato is currently in my pax bellum reactor

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Phyto is for filter feeders like feather dusters and clams. Pods need algae on the surfaces. Adding more live rock to the tank could help with dinos in terms of bacteria. You may also get some other algae hitchhiker though. I would do it if it was me but I would also expect a different algae bloom as a result. If you're okay with dealing with that, then do it. Otherwise let things settle and be calm for a while before any new additions.