thinking about giving up...

[samrggzy]

No, it’s not. The sand bed, when undisturbed, is home to anaerobic bacteria that will die when exposed to oxygen from the tank. When they die, there is an ammonia build-up that will kill the fish.

Even with a python, there is no way to prevent this. So you either disturb the sand bed regularly to prevent the accumulation of those anaerobic bacteria, or you leave it be and don’t disturb it.

If you decide to clean the sand bed after more than maybe 6-8 weeks of being left alone, then you need to do it slowly, one section at a time, over many weeks.

What if I have no fish?

 

[bruno3047]

No, it’s not. The sand bed, when undisturbed, is home to anaerobic bacteria that will die when exposed to oxygen from the tank. When they die, there is an ammonia build-up that will kill the fish.

Even with a python, there is no way to prevent this. So you either disturb the sand bed regularly to prevent the accumulation of those anaerobic bacteria, or you leave it be and don’t disturb it.

If you decide to clean the sand bed after more than maybe 6-8 weeks of being left alone, then you need to do it slowly, one section at a time, over many weeks.

I clean my entire 125 gallon tank’s sand bed after six months of not touching it, every six months. So I don’t know where you get the 6 to 8 weeks from, but it doesn’t apply in my universe.

 

[BanjoBandito]

I actually have an extra bag of the sand I used because I overbought so that is the only reason I asked.

There ya go.

 

[samrggzy]

There ya go.

Do i still have to rinse the new sand or its okay to just add it straight from the bag?

 

[3429810]

I clean my entire 125 gallon tank’s sand bed after six months of not touching it, every six months. So I don’t know where you get the 6 to 8 weeks from, but it doesn’t apply in my universe.

Just because something doesn’t apply in your universe doesn’t make it wrong. You also said you don’t do water changes but later in that same paragraph said you do changes and now your bringing it up again. I would probably just stop derailing this thread with random comments.

 

[3429810]

Do i still have to rinse the new sand or its okay to just add it straight from the bag?

Probably will want to rinse it to get rid of any dust. Up to you though I know some people that don’t.

 

[bnord]

Don't have any advice here that hasn't been shared, but would like to say that this thread is what this forum is for.
thanks for the whole group on helping with positive, practical working advice in a respectful and encouraging manner.

Best of luck

 

[samrggzy]

Don't have any advice here that hasn't been shared, but would like to say that this thread is what this forum is for.
thanks for the whole group on helping with positive, practical working advice in a respectful and encouraging manner.

Best of luck

Absolutely man, really appreciate all the words of encouragement and advice from everyone here. Givin me motivation to keep goin.

 

[Dburr1014]

thank you for this input, i only have a 32 gallon biocube so this is definitely manageable. Would it be easier to just remove the old sand and replace it with completely new stuff?

The thought behind this is to completly rinse the sand with tap water until you can grab a handful and drop it so there is no more clouding of the water. So either buy new sand and completely rinse or remove old sand and completely rinse. It would be more cost effective to remove the old sand and completely rinse.

 

[samrggzy]

The thought behind this is to completly rinse the sand with tap water until you can grab a handful and drop it so there is no more clouding of the water. So either buy new sand and completely rinse or remove old sand and completely rinse. It would be more cost effective to remove the old sand and completely rinse.

I only ask because I have an extra bag of the caribsea sand i originally used on hand. So even with the new sand I would still have to rinse it right, thats what a lot of people are telling me.

 

[Dburr1014]

I only ask because I have an extra bag of the caribsea sand i originally used on hand. So even with the new sand I would still have to rinse it right, thats what a lot of people are telling me.

Let me touch up on what certain people said here to clarify. One person said about the anaerobic bacteria in the sand, that only applies to a deep sand bed if it's more than say a couple inches deep. Yes there's going to be stuff caught in the sand but the anaerobic bacteria forming sulphate gas is highly unlikely. The bacteria processes ammonia and nitrite. You won't just strip that off the sand. Now as far as the sand, that's not is to rinse it. You are going to be able to pick up a handful and your tank and drop it and it's going to make a big dust cloud. This is what you want to avoid you want to clean that. If that's a brand new live sand bag you have it's going to have that dust also. Some people think if you rinse it you're destroying the bacteria that comes with it. The other thought is to rinse it to get rid of that cloud because that's what clogs everything up with food and poop. I suggest you take out your sand bed rinse it completely until there is no more dust cloud. If you want to add the new sand, do the same, rinse it completely.

 

[Idech]

What if I have no fish?

If you have no fish and nothing else that can suffer from an ammonia peak, then it doesn’t matter at all how much you disturb the sand bed. If the tank is cycled, the ammonia will be taken care of by the bacteria.

 

[bruno3047]

Just because something doesn’t apply in your universe doesn’t make it wrong. You also said you don’t do water changes but later in that same paragraph said you do changes and now your bringing it up again. I would probably just stop derailing this thread with random comments.

I’m not derailing the post. I’m just responding to challenges, just like I’m responding to this one. (duh). I do one water change every six months in conjunction with a thorough gravel cleaning of my entire 125 gallon tank, and it works for me. Contrary to the claim that if you don’t touch the sand bed for 6 to 8 weeks, you’re going to unleash holy hell when you finally do. When I said I don’t do water changes anymore, what I meant to say is that I don’t just take water out of the tank and replace it with new water. I assumed anyone with half a brain would be able to figure that out. You can see my tank on my build thread here:

Build Thread - Completely DIY 315 build

Just wanted to start my build thread, even though I still have a ways to go before it’s complete. I’ll start with a FTS of my current tank. A recently converted FOWLR 125. This was a Petsmart Black Friday Special that I bought for $349, no tax, at the local Petsmart. This is what I bought...

www.reef2reef.com

None of my comments changes from that.

 

[Tamberav]

I only ask because I have an extra bag of the caribsea sand i originally used on hand. So even with the new sand I would still have to rinse it right, thats what a lot of people are telling me.

rinse it

 

[fish farmer]

I battled Dino’s to , almost made me quit. You have to think differently to beat it (depending on species ) first need to identify. I had osteo Dino’s - all over rocks , white sand stilll and toxic . Introducing a ton of other micro fauna and keeping elevated nitrate and phosphate allowed me to beat it . Introduce competitors, other bacteria like probidio bio digest , add macro algae a direct competitor for nutrients , add more fish ect. Feed more

Here you go. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-–-are-you-tired-of-battling-altogether.293318/

Mack's reef...Dinoflagellates support group! on Facebook is excellent as well.

I lost a year battling mine and it was so frustrating. What finally helped was getting a seed rock from a healthy system. I was doing all the stuff with uv and nutrients but then I got that seed rock and bam a month later Dino’s gone and sps growing. I did pick up some aptasia with it that I kill off every month or so buy it pretty manageable

Do you have an army of small life? The more the better I believe they are essential and remove what you can not.

Prepare by starting with a water change and blow this stuff loose with a turkey baster and siphon up loose particles.
Turn lights off (at least white and run blue at 10-15% IF you have light dependant corals) for 5 days and at night dose 1ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide per 10 gallons for all 5 nights. If you dont have light dependent coral- turn all lights off.
During the day dose 1ml of liquid bacteria (such as bacter 7 or XLM) per 10 gallons.
Clean filters daily and DO NOT FEED CORAL FOODS OR ADD NOPOX as it is food for dinos.
Day 5,, you can start with blue lights - ramping up and work your white lights up slowly

Start with live rock for your 1st tank!

@samrggzy You have to keep in mind that when you joined this hobby you were committed to the challenge and pleasure of keeping a piece of the ocean at your home. At times it is difficult, but in the grand scheme of things this opportunity to experiment and be triumphant stands tall.

Let's get down this straight. Your tank is 3 months old, it is showing normal signs of what is a new tank. We have all gone through this difficult phase and its as a result of a nutrient imbalance. The primary resolution to this is going to be to be patient, and certainly avoid making drastic changes to your tank for they must be gradual. Dinoflagellates will go away upon running their course.

In the meantime here are some options you can take advantage of to combat dinoflagellates:

1. Stop water changes until the bloom has run its course.

2. Boost alkalinity by using buffers. *Follow directions aggressively on packaging*

3. Mix Kalkwasser in your top off water. This will help raise the PH to an intolerant level for the dinoflagellates. *Please read this article prior to doing so. Kalkwasser has a very high PH of 12.3 that can kill your inhabitants if not used properly*: http://www.mrsaltwatertank.com/how-to-use-kalk-safely-and-effectively-in-your-tank/

4. Use activated carbon to remove organic compounds that promote dinoflagellates .

5. Use an algae turf scrubber.

6. Leaving the lights off for 3 days which may cause the dinoflagellate bloom to crash.

And lastly, definitely utilize this forum to search and read other posts about other people who struggled with your issue and future issues you may have. There is great advice on here that has helped me tremendously.


Good luck and happy reefing!

- Town Clown

I’m pretty sure I had dinos too. It was pretty bad. The kind that doesn’t dissipate overnight and even grows on sand. Didn’t ID it though.

I stopped doing water changes.

I sucked up as much as I could with one of those power heads you can attach a hose to and through a felt filter sock that went back into my sump instead of through a water change.

Reduced photo period and intensity of light.

Dosed microbacter7.

Increased temp to about 78-80 degrees.

Used activated carbon just in case of dino toxins.

Its been around a month and dinos are gone. But now my nitrates have gotten to around 10 so I’m doing water changes to get them back to 5. Every week got better.

Sorry about your fish man but I believe you can do this. Stuff like this makes you stronger in the end. Good luck bro.

Remove, starve, add other bio to compete, bacteria, live rock, other algae. Do you have corralline growing?

Read these AGAIN.

I really don't think a rip clean is warranted in this case. If you have a massive GHA or cyano problem which would indicate a sandbed/rock needing a cleaning reset....then go for it. Dinos from what I've read thrive in low nutrient conditions with little competition from other life.

So does resetting/cleaning all your sand and starting with a clean slate sounds like setting up your tank for the exact thing you are battling now...dinos?

If you do go the reset route, I suggest adding some real live rock to the new setup.

 

[samrggzy]

Read these AGAIN.

I really don't think a rip clean is warranted in this case. If you have a massive GHA or cyano problem which would indicate a sandbed/rock needing a cleaning reset....then go for it. Dinos from what I've read thrive in low nutrient conditions with little competition from other life.

So does resetting/cleaning all your sand and starting with a clean slate sounds like setting up your tank for the exact thing you are battling now...dinos?

If you do go the reset route, I suggest adding some real live rock to the new setup.

I think im gonna do some what of a rip clean but more of just a sandbed replacement and deep turkey baster blasting of my current rocks along with re-scaping them.

 

[Nate Chalk]

Read these AGAIN.

I really don't think a rip clean is warranted in this case. If you have a massive GHA or cyano problem which would indicate a sandbed/rock needing a cleaning reset....then go for it. Dinos from what I've read thrive in low nutrient conditions with little competition from other life.

So does resetting/cleaning all your sand and starting with a clean slate sounds like setting up your tank for the exact thing you are battling now...dinos?

If you do go the reset route, I suggest adding some real live rock to the new setup.

Op disregarded multiple similar advices, will run into the same issue again.