Still struggling with dinos, need advice please!

[TheReefDiary]

thanks everyone. guess I will get a microscope and identify the dino strain and go from there. I think I'm going to stop cleaning the tank as it really hasn't done anything and it's super time consuming for me currently. I've kept my po4 and nitrates at a good level recently so hoping that consistency starts to help alleviate some of the problems in the next week or so.

my new tank arrives December 7th and will be set up and transferred by the end of the year, but id still love to try and figure this out before then as a good learning experience.

 

[ReefGuard Systems]

Had a similar issue from nitrate and phosphate zeroing out. I siphoned them out daily (into filter sock in sump). Increased feeding, reduced water changes and added another power head to target different areas of the tank. I know its hard to keep putting in the work and not see results but stay at it and stay positive. Good luck!

 

[leighton.bingham]

yeah vetteguy told me the same thing. I had done exactly that, but nothing really changed unfortunately. again because my nutrients were really low when I did this. during the blackout period it was slightly better, but clearly the blackout didn't work. also, I clean the tank like a madman (you'd think my tank was dino free by the time im done).

Sorry to hear that. I bought some Dino-c I was going to use if the blackout didn’t work. But heard it only works on center types of Dino’s

 

[doubleshot00]

Sorry you’re dealing with dinos. They are awful.

This group on Facebook was life changing for me. Super helpful in my small cell amphidinium battle. https://www.facebook.com/groups/259474048655429/?ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF

This is the only place I recommend also. They have helped me with mine. Guys on here will suggest this and that but unless you know which dino you have you may be doing nothing or more harm than good.

My only suggestion is get your nutrients up. LIKE WAY UP. Guys that say nitrate at 5 and phos at .03 are experienced reefers.

Get a microscope asap. Then post videos/pictures on there and they will help you.

Here are the three items you will need.

 

[TheReefDiary]

Had a similar issue from nitrate and phosphate zeroing out. I siphoned them out daily (into filter sock in sump). Increased feeding, reduced water changes and added another power head to target different areas of the tank. I know its hard to keep putting in the work and not see results but stay at it and stay positive. Good luck!

I'm not going anywhere. first hobby I've really really been into, just a pain in my ****

 

[TheReefDiary]

y'all are great thanks again. will repost when the microscope arrives tomorrow

 

[doubleshot00]

Also it looks like you have a 13.5 fluval? Man just restart that thing. So Small.

I'm not going anywhere. first hobby I've really really been into, just a pain in my ****

Oh this hobby will make you more mad than anything. I now have a love hate relationship with it. If i didn't have so much $ into it i would bail.

 

[mikerosi]

FWIW most people on that Facebook group do not recommend cleaning as it has little to no impact. I’ve been following their instructions for about two weeks now…other than occasionally sucking up strings directly on/irritating corals, I’ve not cleaned the sand or rock. I’ve also not done any water changes. In just two weeks I’ve seen a 70% reduction in dinos

So how did you reduce your dinos sorry I can’t access the Facebook page thanks

 

[doubleshot00]

So how did you reduce your dinos sorry I can’t access the Facebook page thanks

You need to ID which dinos you have then treat accordingly. Either by dosing silicates, MB7 and phyto or using UV plumbed directly to your tank.

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

thanks any recommendation on a cheap one that will work?

This is the one I use.
SWIFT SW200 Compound Monocular...

 

[TheReefDiary]

You need to ID which dinos you have then treat accordingly. Either by dosing silicates, MB7 and phyto or using UV plumbed directly to your tank.

I've been dosing phyto and mb7. only started the mb7 last week though

 

[TheReefDiary]

Also it looks like you have a 13.5 fluval? Man just restart that thing. So Small.

Oh this hobby will make you more mad than anything. I now have a love hate relationship with it. If i didn't have so much $ into it i would bail.

new tank coming this month. moving to a 40g. I don't like this small tank. parameters are just difficult to keep in check.

 

[beesnreefs]

So how did you reduce your dinos sorry I can’t access the Facebook page thanks

• Got the microscope and ID'd the dinos. I have small cell amphidinium which is not susceptible to UV
• Had a Triton ICP test run. Corrected all trace elements (there are several trace elements that may inhibit dinos)
• Stopped dosing amino, stopped feeding corals directly
• Began testing nitrates (Hanna high range) and phosphates (Hanna ULR) daily
• Started dosing NeoNitro and NeoPhos daily to maintain a 10:1 ratio of nutrients (shooting for 4-5 nitrates, 0.04-0.05 phosphates)
• Dosing live phyto daily (I had already been doing this but doubled my dose)
• Added live pods, ordered a 96 oz 7-species mix from Jay's Reef Bugs (which arrives today to add another boost)
• Stopped water change, stopped sucking up dinos (except any nasty strings on or irritating corals)
• Started dosing beneficial bacteria every day. I rotate between Microbacter7, EcoBalance, and Aquaforest LifeSource
• Ordered 8 pounds of live rock (rubble) from Tampa Bay Live Rock (arrives next week)

The only thing I haven't done that they recommend is dosing silicates. The idea is, you dose silicates to induce a diatom bloom which will quickly outcompete the dinos. I wanted to see if I could beat the dinos without inducing a diatom bloom.

I've been doing this religiously for 2 weeks and have seen a significant improvement. I am starting to get a bit of red cyano but have been advised this is actually a good thing as the cyano will outcompete the dinos....and the beneficial bacteria I'm adding will eventually outcompete the cyano and establish a healthy, balanced biome. So I'm staying the course.

I'm attaching the "Dealing with Dinos" instruction manual from the Facebook group here. It's an excellent resource.

Good luck! Dinos sure do suck and can be such a frustrating PITA....but they can be defeated. You got this!

 

[TheReefDiary]

• Got the microscope and ID'd the dinos. I have small cell amphidinium which is not susceptible to UV
• Had a Triton ICP test run. Corrected all trace elements (there are several trace elements that may inhibit dinos)
• Stopped dosing amino, stopped feeding corals directly
• Began testing nitrates (Hanna high range) and phosphates (Hanna ULR) daily
• Started dosing NeoNitro and NeoPhos daily to maintain a 10:1 ratio of nutrients (shooting for 4-5 nitrates, 0.04-0.05 phosphates)
• Dosing live phyto daily (I had already been doing this but doubled my dose)
• Added live pods, ordered a 96 oz 7-species mix from Jay's Reef Bugs (which arrives today to add another boost)
• Stopped water change, stopped sucking up dinos (except any nasty strings on or irritating corals)
• Started dosing beneficial bacteria every day. I rotate between Microbacter7, EcoBalance, and Aquaforest LifeSource
• Ordered 8 pounds of live rock (rubble) from Tampa Bay Live Rock (arrives next week)

The only thing I haven't done that they recommend is dosing silicates. The idea is, you dose silicates to induce a diatom bloom which will quickly outcompete the dinos. I wanted to see if I could beat the dinos without inducing a diatom bloom.

I've been doing this religiously for 2 weeks and have seen a significant improvement. I am starting to get a bit of red cyano but have been advised this is actually a good thing as the cyano will outcompete the dinos....and the beneficial bacteria I'm adding will eventually outcompete the cyano and establish a healthy, balanced biome. So I'm staying the course.

I'm attaching the "Dealing with Dinos" instruction manual from the Facebook group here. It's an excellent resource.

Good luck! Dinos sure do suck and can be such a frustrating PITA....but they can be defeated. You got this!

the funny thing is every once and a while I get a pod explosion on my glass. then they're gone for a few days then boom another explosion of them on my glass. very strange.

 

[TheReefDiary]

• Got the microscope and ID'd the dinos. I have small cell amphidinium which is not susceptible to UV
• Had a Triton ICP test run. Corrected all trace elements (there are several trace elements that may inhibit dinos)
• Stopped dosing amino, stopped feeding corals directly
• Began testing nitrates (Hanna high range) and phosphates (Hanna ULR) daily
• Started dosing NeoNitro and NeoPhos daily to maintain a 10:1 ratio of nutrients (shooting for 4-5 nitrates, 0.04-0.05 phosphates)
• Dosing live phyto daily (I had already been doing this but doubled my dose)
• Added live pods, ordered a 96 oz 7-species mix from Jay's Reef Bugs (which arrives today to add another boost)
• Stopped water change, stopped sucking up dinos (except any nasty strings on or irritating corals)
• Started dosing beneficial bacteria every day. I rotate between Microbacter7, EcoBalance, and Aquaforest LifeSource
• Ordered 8 pounds of live rock (rubble) from Tampa Bay Live Rock (arrives next week)

The only thing I haven't done that they recommend is dosing silicates. The idea is, you dose silicates to induce a diatom bloom which will quickly outcompete the dinos. I wanted to see if I could beat the dinos without inducing a diatom bloom.

I've been doing this religiously for 2 weeks and have seen a significant improvement. I am starting to get a bit of red cyano but have been advised this is actually a good thing as the cyano will outcompete the dinos....and the beneficial bacteria I'm adding will eventually outcompete the cyano and establish a healthy, balanced biome. So I'm staying the course.

I'm attaching the "Dealing with Dinos" instruction manual from the Facebook group here. It's an excellent resource.

Good luck! Dinos sure do suck and can be such a frustrating PITA....but they can be defeated. You got this!

I'm afraid to dose pods because they're so expensive and they die from the dinos. don't want to literally throw money away.

 

[bobnicaragua]

One thing that helped for me was turning up the tank temperature to 83F. I did this over several days.

 

[beesnreefs]

I'm afraid to dose pods because they're so expensive and they die from the dinos. don't want to literally throw money away.

I totally get it. It’s heartbreaking to watch them (and your $$$) disappear. That said, they absolutely make a huge difference with dinos. Some species of pods have been confirmed to eat dinos as part of their diet. As far as I know, at least two of those species are in Jay’s Reef Bugs mix. And his pods are wicked affordable.

I’ll say this about the pods and disappearance. Most copepods are extremely tiny and difficult to see. Just because you don’t see them with the naked eye doesn’t mean they aren’t there. The pods that look like itty bitty shrimps running around are actually Amphipods, not Copepods. I got confused by that for years.

I know it’s an expense and it can feel like it isn’t doing much but I’m 100% converted on the value of copepods. A few bucks could go a long way in your battle against dinos…and benefit your tank long term

 

[TheReefDiary]

One thing that helped for me was turning up the tank temperature to 83F. I did this over several days.

were corals irritated? what about fish? thanks!

 

[TheReefDiary]

I totally get it. It’s heartbreaking to watch them (and your $$$) disappear. That said, they absolutely make a huge difference with dinos. Some species of pods have been confirmed to eat dinos as part of their diet. As far as I know, at least two of those species are in Jay’s Reef Bugs mix. And his pods are wicked affordable.

I’ll say this about the pods and disappearance. Most copepods are extremely tiny and difficult to see. Just because you don’t see them with the naked eye doesn’t mean they aren’t there. The pods that look like itty bitty shrimps running around are actually Amphipods, not Copepods. I got confused by that for years.

I know it’s an expense and it can feel like it isn’t doing much but I’m 100% converted on the value of copepods. A few bucks could go a long way in your battle against dinos…and benefit your tank long term

my only issue right now anyway is that I'm literally transferring all this stuff to a 40g in a month. if anything I'll buy pods to seed the new tank.

 

[Aqua Man]

I'm afraid to dose pods because they're so expensive and they die from the dinos. don't want to literally throw money away.

I don’t know for sure but I don’t think pods die from the Dinos. I saw them cleaning my glass when I had them. I still have pods and the Dino are gone. Dino is definitely ugly, as far as I can tell I’ve not lost any livestock to them.