What is covering my sand bed

[leepink23]

So I have been battling this for a few months now. Tank is 2 years. All coral growing great, nothing on the rocks. I use a spectrapure Ro/di. Algae turf scrubber and skimmer for filtration. I feed LRS reef frenzy and rods. Phosphate usually 0.01-0.03, nitrate 3-5. The tank looks great with fast growth. Lighting metal halide with t5, bulbs about 4 months old. Any suggestions?

 

[sixty_reefer]

It looks it could be dinoflagellates, what’s your current po4 and no3

 

[Mical]

When was the last time you changed your RODI filters/membranes? Have you checked TDS from your RODI?

 

[leepink23]

Po4 was 0.01, didn’t check nitrates today. I feed 3-4 day

 

[leepink23]

When was the last time you changed your RODI filters/membranes? Have you checked TDS from your RODI?

Tds 0, changed 4 months ago.

 

[leepink23]

It looks it could be dinoflagellates, what’s your current po4 and no3

I ordered some live phytoplankton from algae barn, it claims to help with Dino. I am going to stop water exchanges for awhile, considering a uv sterilizer, any other recommendations?

 

[leepink23]

 

[eraserhead187]

Yep, definitely dinos. If it's only on the sand, probably amphidinium. There is a big thread specifically for that species somewhere around here...

 

[leepink23]

Yep, definitely dinos. If it's only on the sand, probably amphidinium. There is a big thread specifically for that species somewhere around here...

Thanks, I found it. Explains why it goes away at lights out and comes back strong with lights on.

 

[eraserhead187]

Thanks, I found it. Explains why it goes away at lights out and comes back strong with lights on.

I fought it for a while. It responds to UV quite well, but I believe amphidinium is benthic so that is a problem. What I did is hooked up a UV sterilizer to a very slow little pump and connected it to a small gravel vacuum. Odd way to do it, but it was fairly effective.

 

[Dj City]

Looks like you have dinos. Amphidinium dinos both large and small cell.

Goooooooood luck getting rid of them.
I battled then for about 4 years. UV does nothing for this type of dino. They are not in the water column. They primarily live on the sand. I used my UV like a gravel vac. Sucked the dinos directly through the Pentair Aquatics 40w UV. Still no effect. I wound up pulling the entire sandbed. Replaced it with brand new sand and....
They came back.

I broke the tank down, upgraded to a 180gallon with ALL new equipment.

 

[eraserhead187]

Thanks, I found it. Explains why it goes away at lights out and comes back strong with lights on.

Don't despair, you can beat them. I had bubble algae and used Vibrant. It took out the bubble algae, but then I got Ostreopsis ovata. Killed that off, then amphidinium took over in its place. Got rid of that, then Coolia replaced it. Then it just disappeared one day and I have been Dino free since then, which was about a year and a half ago. You've got this!

 

[leepink23]

I fought it for a while. It responds to UV quite well, but I believe amphidinium is benthic so that is a problem. What I did is hooked up a UV sterilizer to a very slow little pump and connected it to a small gravel vacuum. Odd way to do it, but it was fairly effective.

I bought a uv that can be placed in the sump or tank, considering putting it close to the sand. Plan on adding it tomorrow. I read dosing silicates helps. Might try that as well.

 

[Dj City]

I truly wish you the best in this fight.
After 4 years, I admitted defeat.

I ran my UV as a gravel vac. I had slooooow flow through it.
Gravity fed from the display down to the 2 micron sock in the sump with no luck.

 

[Dj City]

Check out the dino threads.

Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

I don't know what percentage of folks had luck battling dinos with any of the methods in the old Dino thread but it's obviously a very low percentage, so I'd like refresh folks on the natural alternatives and lay out three areas of info: some of the factors that contribute to a dino outbreak...

www.reef2reef.com

Amphidinium Dinoflagellate Treatment Methods

This thread is a spin-off from the @mcarroll very successful Dino thread The purpose is to discuss methods for removal and fighting against a particular strain of dinoflagellate - Large Cell Amphidinium. It seems to make up about a third of the cases of dinos. The reason this strain gets its...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[leepink23]

I truly wish you the best in this fight.
After 4 years, I admitted defeat.

I ran my UV as a gravel vac. I had slooooow flow through it.
Gravity fed from the display down to the 2 micron sock in the sump with no luck.

Thanks, my tank looks so good I am going to try everything, we shall see. I will go slow with different methods.

 

[jordan10]

So does this travel in on a frag or rock or how does someone get this?

 

[eraserhead187]

So does this travel in on a frag or rock or how does someone get this?

It seems like it just is kind of there, it's ubiquitous. Always around in some minor fashion, then just breaks loose and goes nuts for one reason or another.

 

[Dj City]

Dinos are prehistoric.
They were here before us and will most likely be here after us.

Thay can come in on coral, rock, sand, inverts, open window, the D train, #2 bus, those new Jordan's that just came out...

 

[leepink23]

Video under microscope