How do I know if I have dinos?

[seabass]

You might end up having to remove the sand bed.

[Bcb577]

You might end up having to remove the sand bed.

man,I sure hope not I wouldn't even know where to begin,lol after I take out all the sand,do I put new live sand back in or could use any kind? Would it start another cycle,I mean if I have to ill do it but hopefully I won't!!

[seabass]

If it comes down to it. You can remove (clean, or replace) the sand bed without crashing your tank:

As promised, here's how to clean or replace your sand bed without crashing your tank. Replacing it is easier, and arguably safer than cleaning it (but cleaning is an option).

First don't disturb the sand bed with livestock in your tank. Disrupting it will release trapped organics and nutrients into the water column. You must remove everything from your tank first. Any tank water you wish to reuse, must be saved prior to disturbing the substrate.

Now fill some buckets with tank water to hold your livestock. Use a separate bucket(s) for your live rock (so it doesn't crush anyone). Then move everything out of your tank. Again, trying to disturb the sand as little as possible. Once the sand is disturbed, you must discard the remaining water in your tank.

Now you have a tank with just sand and dirty water. It's time to clean. Remove the sand, then clean out the tank and equipment. A vinegar solution is a good cleaning product.

If you are using new sand, you can add it now, or wait until you have returned the rocks. If you plan on reusing the sand, skip this step until after you have your tank back up and running.

If there is any cyano on your rocks, clean it off before returning it to your clean tank. You can use a turkey baster to blow it off, or a soft bristle toothbrush. I would also consider a peroxide treatment before returning them to your tank. Again, I'll write a separate post for you on this topic.

Fill your tank about half full of saltwater. Or enough to cover the rocks once they are in the tank. You can use saved tank water, new saltwater, or a combination of the two.

Return your rocks to the tank. Then return your livestock. Use a turkey baster to gently blow off any cyano from your corals prior to returning them. If you wish, you can use a peroxide treatment for your corals as well (I'll discuss this later).

Top off the tank with saltwater. Note, you'll need a lot more new saltwater than you think you will.

So if you plan on reusing your sand, it's time to clean it. Use a five gallon bucket. Fill it no more than 1/4 full of sand. Add enough water to cover the sand, plus a few extra inches. I've been using RO/DI water, but you can use saltwater if that seems better to you. Now stir the sand with your hand until the water is nice and dirty, empty the dirty water, and repeat until the water is just slightly cloudy (but not dirty). It's this point where I dump in a bottle of peroxide, stir, empty, then rinse again (but using peroxide is an optional step). Generally I'll let it sit overnight, and rinse it again the next day before I return it to my tank. I know this sounds like a lot, 'cause it is. But it has to be clean, or you risk adding nutrients, organics, or even causing an ammonia spike.

For your case, you would leave the tank bare bottom until the dinos are gone. Then you could add new (or cleaned) sand back into your tank.

 

However, let's see how things go first, before you take this step.

[Bcb577]

I can't say thank you enough,thank you for putting in the time to help me,hopefully it won't get to this point but if it does I now know EXACTLY how to handle things!!

[Hammerstone]

That's what I have going on in my tank. The tear down. I'm hoping to get it done this weekend. Oh and I wish you the best

Of luck!!!

 

Seabass knows what he's talking about ?

[Bcb577]

That's what I have going on in my tank. The tear down. I'm hoping to get it done this weekend. Oh and I wish you the best

Of luck!!!

Seabass knows what he's talking about

oh no I'm sorry to hear that!dinos?I think mine is getting better but these things are nasty,thank you and I wish you luck too!

[Hammerstone]

oh no I'm sorry to hear that!dinos?I think mine is getting better but these things are nasty,thank you and I wish you luck too!

I don't have Dino's I have very persistent cyano and algae and a very dirty three year old two inch sand bed. Thank you for the luck!! Me and the clowns need it!!???

[vegasgundog]

I battled dinosaur a couple of years ago. I tried everything I could. I tried a three day black out , didn't work. Finally I did a seven day black out and it wiped out all the dinosaur. Wrapped my tank in black plastic with the only light from the front lid of my bc. All corals did just fine and only lost my urchin I think because the algae die off maybe.

[Pjanssen]

Thanks seabass!I actually did one ml of peroxide once a day all three days,my wife and I took a good hard look at the tank and we decided it does look noticeably better after my last dose of peroxide which I put in right before I took the blanket off so I'm marginally excited!lol I'm not sure if the sand bed looks better yet I'll know more tomorrow when the day lights are due to be turned back on.my next question is should I run a shorten my total daytime lights by a few hours and run them the first day for like a maximum of a col hours and build back up over the next few days or just go b back to everything as normal right away?good news is I think it's working!!

In response to your question about lights, bring them up slowly if they are dimmable, and shorten the amount of time they are on. You don't want to shock your corals.

[seabass]

I've had lights out for about 72 hours...

I've read cases where a three (or even four) day blackout wasn't long enough, and required a week long blackout with peroxide.

[PorscheCaymanGT4]

I battled dinosaur a couple of years ago. I tried everything I could. I tried a three day black out , didn't work. Finally I did a seven day black out and it wiped out all the dinosaur. Wrapped my tank in black plastic with the only light from the front lid of my bc. All corals did just fine and only lost my urchin I think because the algae die off maybe.

Glad i dont have dinosaurs in my tank

[vegasgundog]

......stupid phone......

[Bcb577]

Well after 72 hours of no light and peroxide I saw limited,but progress was starting to show,so now it's been a week and things are looking good,a lot better,all dinos have really started to "dry"up no more slimy stringy stuff,but still dosing peroxide foe a col more days,I'm back to two hours of lights being turned on with night lights on for 4hours,during the dynamic the tank is just getting ambient light in the room.I know I might be proven wrong but I'm almost ready to claim victory,lol fingers,legs crossed,prayers many prayers,lol

[Bcb577]

Well everyone,I haven't been on in awhile but I did end up getting rid of the Don is,the 3days with no light,exporting the dinos I could,and peroxide treatment got rid of that slimy snot like algae! Now when I turned the lights back on I did it in incriminates,a cpl hours a day for a few days and added more hours so on.now I'm back to 8/12 hours of light a day and no algae on the sand or anything other than some green on the glass which is what scrapers are made for,lol thanks all for helping me

[seabass]

Nice work. Hopefully it won't come back. Try to keep the organics and nutrients in check.

[Bcb577]

Oh trust me I'm keeping my eyes on it,that was a mess,lol I'm doing something right my trumpet coral started out with two heads and now both heads are splitting into two more heads,tonight is water test night so hopefully everything is good thanks for your help!