Vibrant is not a known solution for dinoflagellates -- at least not the 5 species common to our captive systems.
It sounds as though you are looking for a Hail Mary with both of these problems. You could just go with a known, cheap algaecide like AlgaeFix to work down the turf algae.
Once you are done with that, get a confirmation on your dinos. Here is part of an article I am clacking on regarding dinos. Some of the links won't work yet, but it will set you on the right path for dino resolution.
Here ya go:
As the title suggests, this is intended as a short guide of what to do when you suspect dinoflagellates are trying to overtake your system. It is an attempt to boil down the protocols discussed across 11,000 posts in this "Are you Tired"
thread along with thousands of other dino threads. I did not craft this protocol, nor have I conducted proper scientific tests to produce efficacy data. This is a simple distillation of many hundreds of observations. Nothing here is 100% effective nor terribly immediate, but if followed diligently, the odds are pretty good that you will reduce harm and get back to a more stable biome. There is one hobbyist I must shout out to as my mentor on this subject and that is
@taricha. Whenever I have a question, I typically want his answer. There are many great contributors to the hobby on R2R and he is in my top 5.
We commonly find 5 different dinoflagellates in our captive systems. If your system has any vintage to it, some blend of these are already present. Like bacteria, you can't really avoid some blend of them entirely, nor should you try. They are a very natural microorganism that
typically leads a very marginal existence alongside other, more dominant competitors. These competitors include diatoms, bacterial film, film algae, coralline algae, GHA, turf, corals, pods, etc. Some of these competitors are aesthetically pleasing while others are not, but they all have a role in managing surface space when the biome is healthy and stable. I could dump a bucket of dinos into my system today and my reef would not miss a beat. My competitive population is too established and healthy to cede surface to dinos. The point is, dinoflagellates are not super predators, rather they are marginal scavengers that only thrive once a reefer has starved, poisoned, or otherwise weakened the natural (attractive or otherwise) competitors.
So let's get to it. Here is the outline for this article:
Section 1: Do I have dinoflagellates or something else?
Section 2: What type of dinoflagellate do I have and why does it matter?
Section 3: Treatment protocols common to ALL dinoflagellate species
Section 4: Treatment protocol for Ostreopsis, Prorocentrum, Small Cell Amphidinium & Coolia
Section 5: Treatment protocol for Large Cell Amphidinium
Section 6: What to expect next & Avoiding relapse
Section 7: FAQs
Section 1: Do I have dinoflagellates or something else?
I will include some images of what dinos typically can look like in the aquarium. Each of the 5 species has a slightly different look in the tank. They can also look very different and meld into any of the other competitors mentioned above. They all form some kind of mucus. Some have long strands with bubbles while others do not. The mucus could be reddish, brown, gold, or in between. They can take over rock, sand, glass, plastics. They can be confused with diatoms, cyanobacteria, bacterial film and chrysophytes to name a common few. Good news: you don't need a microscope to find out if the gunk is dinoflagellates.
The coffee filter test:
a) Syphon out a good sample of the gunk along with some tank water.
b) Place in a container with a lid and shake very hard for 30 seconds or so. The gunk should be dissolved now.
c) Pour the solution through a coffee filter into a clear glass. The water should be largely clear now.
d) Place the jar under a light source for roughly an hour.
e) If the gunk coagulates back into a glob, well, welcome to the club nobody really wants to be in.
Section 2: What type of dinoflagellate do I have and why does it matter?
We can make some educated guesses without a microscope based on appearance and location, but I strongly encourage everyone to confirm which species is/are present. It is very common to have more than one species. Some are toxic while others are just a visual nuisance. Most respond well to UV treatment while one does not. They have different competitors too.
You can buy a student microscope for under $50 that will work just fine. 400X magnification is all you need, really. My son and I use it at least twice a month for all kinds of tank related stuff. Here is a
link to one I bought but there are plenty of other suitable models. You will use your camera phone to take a
video through the eyepiece. Experiment with zooming in with the camera for a bit more magnification. You might consider buying a phone
cradle unless you have the hands of a surgeon. If you can find one with better reviews, buy that one. I recommend making a video because the swim pattern helps to determine the species almost as much as the shape -- especially when the image quality isn't perfect. Nothing special about slide prep, just use a dropper to suck up gunk & water and drop it on the slide. You get 400X by using the 10X eyepiece and 40X barrel.
Once you have a video, you have options:
a) You can ID them yourself, thanks to the fine
Dinoflagellate Identification guide put together by
@taricha. Be sure to look at the videos he has linked so you can compare swim patterns.
b) You can post the video to the main
"Are You Tired" thread. There are a handful of people that watch the thread regularly and are quite good at identifying dinos. In the event of a split decision, tag
@taricha for confirmation.
Again, getting a proper ID on your dino(s) determines a few important things:
a) Do I need to (properly) implement UV equipment? Or is that a waste of time & serious money?
b) Do I need to do a blackout of the tank? Or not?
c) Do I need to be concerned with potentially serious toxins? Or not?
d) Should I order and dose some silicates? Or not?
I just saw the BRS video of them using vibrant and it work amazing for them and I also have heard of people use it for Dinos. This is my third time with Dinos and so I’m okay with it being a last resort or strong. So will it work and what’s your experience or knowledge of it?
