Possible dinos?

NorwichReefer · Feb 9, 2021

Hi guys I'm having some issues in my tank. I noticed some bubble algae in the tank so started dosing vibrant (have done so in the past with success) but I now have what I think is dinos and some of my easy corals such as star polyps and lps are not opening. Only changes to the tank are dosing the vibrant and I added 4 t5 tubes as well. Water params are fine, here they are.

Po4 0.046 (possibly lower its hard to tell) (elos)
Alk 8.2 (hanna)
Nitrate 5ppm (salifert)
Mag 1300 (salifert)
Cal 400 (salifert)
Potassium 410 (salifert)

What would you guys recommend? Discontinue the vibrant?

RobertTheNurse · Feb 9, 2021

Can you take a better picture of where you think you are seeing the Dinos?

Nice tank btw

NorwichReefer · Feb 9, 2021

RobertTheNurse said:
Can you take a better picture of where you think you are seeing the Dinos?

Nice tank btw

I'll take some now still early so just blues!!

NorwichReefer · Feb 9, 2021

NorwichReefer said:
I'll take some now still early so just blues!!

NorwichReefer · Feb 9, 2021

They get worse throughout the day

RobertTheNurse · Feb 9, 2021

It looks like it. I'm fairly new so please wait for others to chime in. You'll hear ita best viewed under microscope. But, generally looks like snotty slime...and characteristically has a bubble appearance.

NorwichReefer · Feb 9, 2021

Yes there's lots of bubbles once light has been on for a while. I'm trying to blow them off the rock but they just reappear.

RobertTheNurse · Feb 9, 2021

NorwichReefer said:
Yes there's lots of bubbles once light has been on for a while. I'm trying to blow them off the rock but they just reappear.

UV sterilizer helps I've read. There are things like Dino X you can use as well. I'm sorry I don't have much experience with Dinos.

lelandmarine · Feb 9, 2021

I agree UV is very helpful, especially if osteoporosis

RobertTheNurse · Feb 9, 2021

What I have a harm time understanding is how a product like Vibrant can cause Dinos and still be labeled as a product that can treat it.

I stopped dosing vibrant just for that reason.

lelandmarine · Feb 9, 2021

Here’s a good website for dinoflagellates if you have a microscope. It’s really helpful to know which dinoflagellate you’re dealing with.

Identification

If you currently have pest algae in your aquarium and would like help identifying your pest, please consider mailing me a sample. I can provide an ID, and if your pest isn’t already pictured h…

algaeid.com

NorwichReefer · Feb 9, 2021

lelandmarine said:
Here’s a good website for dinoflagellates if you have a microscope. It’s really helpful to know which dinoflagellate you’re dealing with.

Identification

If you currently have pest algae in your aquarium and would like help identifying your pest, please consider mailing me a sample. I can provide an ID, and if your pest isn’t already pictured h…

algaeid.com

Hi I don't have a microscope, I'm going to stop vibrant, stop water changes and try and ride it out. Ill try raising nutrients a tad as well and hopefully get on top of it.

Reefer1978 · Feb 9, 2021

You can't ride it out. Dinos do not just go away. They will eat up all your nutrients and starve your coral.

Idoc · Feb 9, 2021

Microscope pics are really needed to definitely confirm dino presence. Your parameters aren't the norms for dino problems.

qhduong · Feb 9, 2021

It looks like osteoporosis dino I dealt with. You can't wait this out. Run carbkn immediately and add UV with slow pump into the display. Do it asap or your corals will start dying off... If you can, dose phosphate and nitrate to get them up to 10 and 0.1.

Reefer1978 · Feb 9, 2021

qhduong said:
It looks like osteoporosis dino I dealt with. You can't wait this out. Run carbkn immediately and add UV with slow pump into the display. Do it asap or your corals will start dying off... If you can, dose phosphate and nitrate to get them up to 10 and 0.1.

How are you making the identification?

qhduong · Feb 9, 2021

Reefer1978 said:
How are you making the identification?

I had the same thing and confirmed with microscope.

It doesn't really matter on on ID. If you see corals affected, you either need UV and or dose silicate. Most of the time UV will do the trick. I would argue ID is not as important...

Reefer1978 · Feb 9, 2021

qhduong said:
I had the same thing and confirmed with microscope.

It doesn't really matter on on ID. If you see corals affected, you either need UV and or dose silicate. Most of the time UV will do the trick. I would argue ID is not as important...

I still don't understand how you identified the species without a microscope picture. All dinos look almost identical to the naked eye. How do you know you had the same identical thing?

If you statement "I would argue ID is not as important" - there wouldn't be so many reefers struggling, with thread after thread trying to figure out best method of attack on specific species.

qhduong · Feb 9, 2021

Reefer1978 said:
I still don't understand how you identified the species without a microscope picture. All dinos look almost identical to the naked eye. How do you know you had the same identical thing?

If you statement "I would argue ID is not as important" - there wouldn't be so many reefers struggling, with thread after thread trying to figure out best method of attack on specific species.

There's only 2 known way to solve dino. Either dosing silicate or UV. What else does ID specific dino do? Just get nutrients up, add UV, and dose silicate if dino doesn't go away with just UV.

Reefer1978 · Feb 9, 2021

qhduong said:
There's only 2 known way to solve dino. Either dosing silicate or UV. What else does ID specific dino do? Just get nutrients up, add UV, and dose silicate if dino doesn't go away with just UV.

You must be an expert on this topic that knows more then people who researched it for years before you even joined Reef2Reef, so with that, I am going to take a step back from this conversation and leave it to you.

OP, good luck in your fight.