Y'all I'm soooo discouraged right now....

limhgs · Nov 6, 2017

revhtree said:
I am so discouraged right now with my tank. There are a TON more important things going on around the world today and my tank is the least of them but alas we are here to talk about aquariums and mine isn't doing well at all.

It was doing wonderful and then BAM out of nowhere I get this huge outbreak of what looks like dinoflagellates again. Super snotty, brown, LONG stringy algae that is taking over everything.

Almost to the point I want to rip everything out and start over......

I've never battled this type of algae until this tank and it's come and gone a few times already.

Good morning bro. I'm in the same situation as you. Try turning off your lights for a few days after cleaning off as much as you can.
Without light it will not be able to grow.

chefjpaul · Nov 6, 2017

Sorry Rev.

I am going through it as well.
I have it beat back pretty good, it's gone for now, it took me a month.

Mine happened when I went fallow after a velvet outbreak and nutrients dropped to zero.

We all know how if feels, almost defeated, but we all get through this together.

That's why we are here, together, with all the craziness of the world at least we can escape to R2R and figure this out.

Fudsey · Nov 6, 2017

Another +1 for Vibrant. And it takes more than a couple doses to do it. I had them, BA and GHA in my rescue tank and Vibrant for a month and a 1/2 did the trick on all of them. As well as manually removing as much as I could every week. I was dosing 2x a week and that did it for me.

Black Pearl · Nov 6, 2017

I agree with a lot of the aforementioned, nutrient imbalance and the use of dead rock. My tank is 18 months old and hardly any sponges in the display tank and a few small ones in the sump, right now I'm looking for a way to add more biodiversity, maybe a few trays of miracle mud in my sump and finding some sponge laden rock to add. Never had these issues with Live rock though po4 and aiptasia was an issue. Good luck Rev hope thing settle Happy Tank Happy Life

DSC reef · Nov 6, 2017

Keep positive rev! I've personally never dealt with dinos but from what I've read it's no fun. My take is the harder the battle the stronger and more knowledgeable reefers we become. Perseverance and all the support from the members of this forum provides that recipe.

John Ostler · Nov 6, 2017

What about doing an ICP test?
Maybe there's something trace that you're not aware of poisoning the well?

MARK M. DAVIS · Nov 6, 2017

Manual removal. 1/2 “ siphon to a filter sock to sump! Then blue leg hermits, snails and sea hare and tangs, blenny for control. Good flow like you mentioned. Should be gone in no time.

Salty1962 · Nov 6, 2017

Valleys and mountains. Hang in there, you'll get through your rough patch!

melev · Nov 7, 2017

I'm hearing good things about Dino-X by Fauna Marin, David.

Forsaken77 · Nov 7, 2017

Bouncingsoul39 said:
My theory is that either something in dead rock or artificial rock creates an environment that allows Dinos and Cyano to proliferate. Or, something that is missing from it, that exists in real ocean live rock. One thing that has been confirmed by hobby experts is that a reef tank takes much longer to mature and be capable of keeping more demanding corals when started with dead or artificial rock. It is my anecdotal observation after 10+ years in the hobby is that we had much more success keeping reefs and had less issues with Dinos when real ocean live rock was the primary source of biological filtration being used in the hobby.

I don't think that's completely true, but I do think the Real Reef Rock is the problem.

Rev, you can check this thread where @Sabellafella has both Real Reef Rock, and CaribSea Life Rock in his tank (on the 1st page) and has bad algae issues with only the Real Reef Rock, nothing on the Life Rock. He also did a cross section of both and the cement of the Real Reef Rock has virtually no porosity and leeches PO4. Here's the thread...

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/caribsea-life-rock-vs-real-reef-rock.243955/#post-2861315

It's mainly why I suggest against using rock that is made of concrete and instead go with CaribSea because it's porous and made with aragonite instead. I think that rock in the tank is the problem. My brother, who has his own frag business for 20 yrs, uses Life Rock and has never had an algae outbreak once. Not even during cycling.

We also always use the 1-pound of rock per gallon rule for necessary bacteria filtration. I notice a lot of people nowadays use much less rock and try to supplement with other things. Doesn't usually work out to well, though a big block of Marine Pure in the sump helps a lot. That's one of the old school ways that hasn't been beaten by technology.

griff500 · Nov 7, 2017

Didn't Sanjay have problems when using Real Reef Rock and the problems went away when he changed it for live rock?

reeferfoxx · Nov 7, 2017

griff500 said:
Didn't Sanjay have problems when using Real Reef Rock and the problems went away when he changed it for live rock?

I think that was Mike Palleta

griff500 · Nov 7, 2017

reeferfoxx said:
I think that was Mike Palleta

Could be - it was one or both of them anyway.

reeferfoxx · Nov 7, 2017

@Mike Paletta

VelasCorals · Nov 7, 2017

Fin said:
I really don't know what took over my nano for months, but it was thick, grayish green (like snot and it didn't smell very good) and it grew fast and wiped out most of my LPS corals that it overgrew. I was constantly cleaning it and doing water changes. Did the 3 day blackout (it just laughed at that). Nothing I tried worked. As a last resort (before I dismantled the tank), I tried Vibrant. The stuff is now all gone and my water is crystal clear. It made a believer out of me. I know that what you have may not be what was in my tank, but I would recommend that you at least give Vibrant a try.

REV try Vibrant! It’s like the one product that is a fix that isn’t snake oil. I wish I was some way affiliated with the company because it works so well.

Buy two of the big bottles. Dose weekly and I bet it will be gone in two months.

griff500 · Nov 7, 2017

VelasCorals said:
REV try Vibrant! It’s like the one product that is a fix that isn’t snake oil. I wish I was some way affiliated with the company because it works so well.

Buy two of the big bottles. Dose weekly and I bet it will be gone in two months.

I'm giving that a go at the moment after getting some version of dinos and it seemed to start improving things almost immediately, although I'm only into my second week so far.

Pmj · Nov 7, 2017

I also used Vibrant - Zero effect on Dinos. There are different strains of dinos.

RamsReef · Nov 7, 2017

Don't worry about the world right now Rev. Sort out your house first. Something is bugging you and demands your attention. Once your tank is sorted you can again reach out and help others help themselves.

You know the drill, you have our support.

Bunnee911 · Nov 7, 2017

I had a 10g planted with lots of caulerpa. It went north on me and released a lot of crap in the little tank.
After removing the dead caulerpa, the tank cleared up for about a week. THEN DINOS.

I tried Fluconazole to beat back the bryopsis. Let it sit for a month then, big water change and added carbon for a week. All this time, I mostly kept the light off.

After the Fluconazole, I dosed metro for a month, then big water change and added chaeto and a tiny uv filter. The lights have been back on a week, and no snot or bubbles. Fingers still crossed.