What is wrong with my tank??

[Chris_Noles]

Should I turn off my skimmer also?

And get a UV sterilizer?

 

[Chris_Noles]

Lots of people will disagree with me but I recommend dosing phosphate and nitrate. The benefits are you'll be able to control your phosphates without having to worry about how much to feed in order to have certain levels. Also if you have a protein skimmer, stop using it.

How do I increase these levels gradually?

 

[BostonReefer300]

Should I turn off my skimmer also?

You can put your skimmer on a timer and run it for only part of the day. Problem with that is reduced oxygenation. You can keep it going but at reduced restriction so you’re not collecting skimmate (or drain skimmate back into aquarium but then you have to remember to collect skimmate sometimes or your nutrients will grow too fast

 

[BostonReefer300]

And get a UV sterilizer?

Having a green machine on hand wouldn’t be a bad idea if you have the extra cash

 

[BostonReefer300]

How do I increase these levels gradually?

Adding supplements is done by many. Just follow the directions on the bottles. I occasionally use seachem’s Flourish Nitrogen and Phosphorus

 

[Chris_Noles]

Adding supplements is done by many. Just follow the directions on the bottles. I occasionally use seachem’s Flourish Nitrogen and Phosphorus

So would running a UV sterilizer plus adding the seachem would be ideal?

 

[Chris_Noles]

So would running a UV sterilizer plus adding the seachem would be ideal?

And is the seachem the planted aquarium supplement?

 

[BostonReefer300]

And is the seachem the planted aquarium supplement?

I believe so

 

[Chris_Noles]

I believe so

Sounds good, hopefully this will solve the problem

 

[Chris_Noles]

I believe so

Just to confirm is this what you are talking about?

 

[BostonReefer300]

Yup

 

[Chris_Noles]

Yup

Thanks man I appreciate all the help, hopefully I can finally shake these dinos, they have haunted me from when I set up my first tank

 

[attiland]

So I have an AIO tank so the UV might be a pain to fit in an already packed back portion of the tank, I already tried a blackout with dosing bacteria and hydrogen peroxide, should I just go for a uv sterilizer and call it a day or is there another option?

Dinos are not killed by blackout just make them to go to the water column or the substance depending on the type.
as per UV the good news is you need to plum it Display to Display to be effective so thae fact you have AIO make no difference. I strongly recommend not to do anything before you ID your strain you have. Different strains have different treatment. Microscope cost £30.

read the Dino treads will help a lot.

 

[Chris_Noles]

Dinos are not killed by blackout just make them to go to the water column or the substance depending on the type.
as per UV the good news is you need to plum it Display to Display to be effective so thae fact you have AIO make no difference. I strongly recommend not to do anything before you ID your strain you have. Different strains have different treatment. Microscope cost £30.

read the Dino treads will help a lot.

99% sure I have Prorocentrum dinos and my nitrates and phosphates are 0 so I need to get these elements into the tank regardless

 

[BostonReefer300]

Thanks man I appreciate all the help, hopefully I can finally shake these dinos, they have haunted me from when I set up my first tank

Good luck! Ive managed to get my dinos down to a modest level and they don't appear to be bothering my corals---so I'm declaring victory. Trying to eradicate them entirely had been driving me insane, so I've decided that I just need to "manage" them.

 

[Chris_Noles]

I agree with this. But I'd go for 0.1 ppm PO4 and 10-15ppm NO3. You can accomplish by doing fewer, smaller water changes and feeding a bit more.

Will having 10-15ppm nitrates effect my corals at all?

 

[attiland]

Will having 10-15ppm nitrates effect my corals at all?

Yes they will like it

 

[Chris_Noles]

Yes they will like it

Well I accidently read the instructions wrong on the bottle and dosed enough to raise my nitrates to 5ppm hopefully everything will be fine

 

[BostonReefer300]

Yeah the 0.1 ppm PO4 and 10-15ppm NO3 will be great for your coral.

 

[anthonygf]

You can put your skimmer on a timer and run it for only part of the day. Problem with that is reduced oxygenation. You can keep it going but at reduced restriction so you’re not collecting skimmate (or drain skimmate back into aquarium but then you have to remember to collect skimmate sometimes or your nutrients will grow too fast

I run my skimmer when main lights are off and have the skimmate draining into the filter box, just the heavy particles will get collected in the filter and the water with the nutrients will go back into circulation. Maintaining no4 @ 5-10ppm and po4 @ 20-30ppb with just very little dosing.