Correction: dinoflagellates (not Cyano)

[hwk7072]

I know there are quite a few threads on cyano, and searches turn up quite a bit. I can't get rid of it, and the typical causes simply don't exist in my tank...

Tank: 32G, established in September 2014
BRS GFO/Carbon reactor (have phosban in the GFO chamber)
CAD pls50 skimmer

Phosphates: 0 for over 8 weeks
Nitrate: 0 for over 8 weeks
Fish: 0 (I had a few, but gave them away about a month ago)
Water changes: 20-30% weekly for the past four weeks
dkh: 9
Mg: 1400
Ca: 400 (just dosed to bring that up)

Some posts suggest having critters eat the stuff, but cyano is microscopic. The red slime is merely the waste, the byproduct. They're eating the symptom, not the cause.

I can scoop the red stuff off the sand and everything is clean and bright for about 30 minutes, when it starts collecting on the sand bed again. Driving me nuts.

What's a reefer to do?

[hwk7072]

Also, in the past month I have done two 3-day lights out periods.

[Neebles]

How's your flow in the tank? I will get cyano in spots where I have low flow. I pumped up the flow, bye bye cyano

[hwk7072]

Two powerheads, a Tunze 6020 and a Hydor 425. Everything is moving, but it's not kicking anything up. Interesting that that gets rid of your Cyano. I wonder what it's doing, maybe blowing it up and into the filter? But then what, since it's microscopic?

[Cazon]

I agree........ I just adjusted my flow moved some corals around, and vacuummed the substrate. finally the cyano has been gone for about 48 hours and I don't see a sign of it even starting up again when usually like you said it comes back right away.

[ajmckay]

hey Hwk,

 

So cyano is a bacteria. IME the best way to deal with it really is using lots of flow. I'm not completely familiar with your pump setup, but that you can tell do you have any slow spots? Even if you don't think you do adding another powerhead is an option. I recall that when I had my 29g I had 2 lower level (not nano though) Koralias and that was not enough, adding a larger one was easy enough though and helped - I still use it in my 40b! Make sure that you're not stacking rocks such that detritus gets trapped between/under them. It's best to have as much flow as possible going through the rocks to keep them clean because they can trap a lot of crap in some cases.

 

Another option is to dose an antibiotic/red slime remover. Chemiclean seems to get good reviews though I haven't used it.

 

Note that your nutrients like phosphates and nitrates are definitely not 0... It's just that these nutrients are being continually consumed by the cyano. If you were to suddenly remove all of the cyano I would bet that the tests would not come back undetectable!

 

So I guess I would just put together a plan of attack - whether it be adding flow, a more aggressive manual removal, chemicals, etc... stick to your plan and give it a few days then if it doesn't seem to be working change it up again. This methodical approach gives you a good chance of finding an effective solution.

[hwk7072]

Cazon & ajmckay, thanks for the help.

 

Interesting about the phosphates not actually being zero, just that the cyano is consuming them. Never thought of that, but it makes sense.

 

I ordered an MP10. Hoping that will take care of the flow, as I definitely have dead spots.

 

I also ordered Red Slime remover, not sure why that over chemo-clean, but they get about the same reviews. I was hesitant to go this route, but I can't stand looking at this thing any more.

 

I'll update next week

[hwk7072]

48 hours ago I dosed Red Slime Remover, and it's much worse than it's ever been. Unbelievable - looks like fields of red hairy bubbly wheat flowing on the sand and it's creeping in and around my zoas and others, consuming them. It was nothing like this before I dosed. Does anyone else have experience with this stuff? Does it get worse before it gets better? It was ugly before, but I'm worried now. It's like it's retaliating.

[GMay]

Try removing as much of the cyano as you can by syphoning it our. Then refresh your Red Slime Remover. Cyano is terrible but good flow and nutrient control are the two most important factor to getting under control.

[hwk7072]

Try removing as much of the cyano as you can by syphoning it our. Then refresh your Red Slime Remover. Cyano is terrible but good flow and nutrient control are the two most important factor to getting under control.

Yes, the whole outbreak was (obviously) my doing. I didn't have enough flow and I was over feeding, so it was inevitable. I just got an MPqd10W. Man is it ever quiet, essentially silent. But that's another topic. So I bucketed and swished all of the rocks, and took a toothbrush to them where coral wasn't attached. It's not a highly established tank, set up in November, So it wasn't too bad. Then I stirred the sand, siphoned, stirred, siphoned, and did a 30% water change - 32 gallon Mr. Aqua. I had been feeding mainly mysis, and that was obvious, because it looked like the sand was puking old mysis. Did that for a couple hours with what ended up being about a 70% water change.

 

Never again.

[hwk7072]

It seems this is not Cyano at all, but dinoflagellates, unfortunately. Sounds like it's much more difficult to eradicate. In addition to two doses of Red Slime Remover, I've probably changed 120% of the water in the past 14 days, stirred and blew the sand with a powerhead every day so it was clear, installed a very nice MP10qd for flow.

 

The only next step I can see is a complete teardown with new sand and a full clean of the sump. Ugh. I wouldn't mind so much, but I'm currently gearing up for a new build, a Nuvo 30L, and was hoping I could just coast on this one until everything comes in and its cycled.

[hwk7072]

Reading this and other forums, it's starting to sound hopeless (though I have hope). I've read about complete teardowns and the dino comes back as soon as everything is up and running again. Sounds like the cancer of the reef tank. Any dino success stories appreciated.

 

What I'm doing:

• My PH is low, 7.8, so trying to get it back up. Surprising with at least a 100% water change in the last week, kalkwasser in my ATO, dosing BRS Alk, Calc, and Mag manually. Windows open
• Lights out for 2-3 days at a time
• Increased flow (though not sure if it matters with dino as it does with cyano)

Maybe I'll try an Algae FX, but reading mixed results on that.

 

Thanks in advance for good advice!

[hwk7072]

OK I did find this on NR. Guess I didn't scroll down far enough - looks pretty comprehensive.

[jedimasterben]

OK I did find this on NR. Guess I didn't scroll down far enough - looks pretty comprehensive.

Unfortunately you'll find that those with 'success' never return, just as the dinoflagellates do.

[hwk7072]

I've got everything except the tank and stand for a new Nuvo 30L build. I need to build the stand or I would be setting it up now. Anyhow, when I transfer the coral, no fish, from this dino-infested tank, should I dip them first so they don't bring this heinous organism with them? If so, in what? I was going to use a couple of the Fiji rocks to help establish the Reef Cleaner dry rock, but now I'm not so sure.

[jedimasterben]

I've got everything except the tank and stand for a new Nuvo 30L build. I need to build the stand or I would be setting it up now. Anyhow, when I transfer the coral, no fish, from this dino-infested tank, should I dip them first so they don't bring this heinous organism with them? If so, in what? I was going to use a couple of the Fiji rocks to help establish the Reef Cleaner dry rock, but now I'm not so sure.

Nope, you'll also have to kill the coral to kill them. Corals are on the search for different zooxanthellae, and toxic dinos are very similar (zooxanthellae are dinos) and they take them in by mistake. They expel them later, which unfortunately infects your new system.

[hwk7072]

Nope, you'll also have to kill the coral to kill them. Corals are on the search for different zooxanthellae, and toxic dinos are very similar (zooxanthellae are dinos) and they take them in by mistake. They expel them later, which unfortunately infects your new system.

 

Thanks jmb. That's bad news, but makes sense. I haven't stocked it highly, but I have some acans that would be hard to part with. I'm thinking that I'll see this tank through for a while now. Maybe I can totally eradicate them. A couple months would tell, I suppose.

[805reef]

I've beat Dino's twice now. All doing the same thing. Three day blackout while dosing peroxide. 1mil per 10 gallons. When you turn your lights back on run them for 2 hours a day for a week. You might have to do this twice.

[jedimasterben]

I've beat Dino's twice now. All doing the same thing. Three day blackout while dosing peroxide. 1mil per 10 gallons. When you turn your lights back on run them for 2 hours a day for a week. You might have to do this twice.

If you beat them, why did you have to do it twice?

[Markburns43]

It would be a great help to me if I could see a picture