godfathernikki Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Hey guys! A couple weeks ago I had some of what I'm assuming is dyno (brown snotty/slimy gunk) grow in my sump. I cleaned it out and it has yet to return with the exception of being in my chaeto. Some of the dyno got caught up in it and now I'm having issues cleaning it out. I tried vacuuming it but the chaeto is so tangled that it doesn't really work. Manual removal tends to result in my pulling out chunks of chaeto with the dyno. Any ideas? I have a couple I'm going to experiment with but I'd rather hear if any one has any suggestions first. Thanks! Link to comment
awpong Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Remove and replace your chaeto. It will save you a lot of time and effort. The dinoflagellates that usually plague our reefs are Gambierdiscus toxicus, a nasty little species that you don't want to mess with. Link to comment
godfathernikki Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 Remove and replace your chaeto. It will save you a lot of time and effort. The dinoflagellates that usually plague our reefs are Gambierdiscus toxicus, a nasty little species that you don't want to mess with. I was afraid this would be the case :/ It doesnt seem to really be growing anymore, or fast for that matter, I just can't seem to clear out what's left. I think I'm going to try a couple things before I toss it completely though- a dip in regular old chlorinated tap water, and a dip in some peroxide water. plan is to break it up into a few pieces and try a different method on each. Link to comment
fretfreak13 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Please correct me if I'm wrong because I'm not 100% positive on this, but from what I've read to understand about the peroxide water is that it does something with the oxygen levels in the water and suffocates out algae. Since cheato is a plant, like algae, wouldn't dipping it in the peroxide kill it as well as the dyno? I agree with the above poster though. I'd say dump the cheato you have and get some new. It's very cheap. Link to comment
godfathernikki Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 Just tried an experiment on a small piece about twice the size of a golf ball. Ingredients: 4 cups tap water 1/3 cup 3% hydrogen peroxide chaeto Process: Mixed tap water with peroxide in a small container Placed chaeto in the solution and agitated/scrubbed the algae for 5 minutes Returned chaeto to tank Immediate results: The dyno reacted with the solution, first forming bubbles on the surface, then disintegrating. The entire solution turned brown. Chaeto remained unchanged. Long term results: +15 hours: Chaeto still unchanged. Dyno has not returned. +40 hours: Chaeto became limp and lighter in color Please correct me if I'm wrong because I'm not 100% positive on this, but from what I've read to understand about the peroxide water is that it does something with the oxygen levels in the water and suffocates out algae. Since cheato is a plant, like algae, wouldn't dipping it in the peroxide kill it as well as the dyno? I agree with the above poster though. I'd say dump the cheato you have and get some new. It's very cheap. I'll be getting back to you on that one Link to comment
godfathernikki Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Everything is looking good. It has been around 15 hours, 8 of which were under the sump light. Dyno has yet to return and the chaeto looks green and shinier than ever - very 'clean' would probably be the best way to describe it. So far all of the results have been positive, so I think I will give the rest of the chaeto a shot this afternoon. I'll try to get some before and after shots this time around, too. Link to comment
godfathernikki Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 I managed to clean the rest of it today, with a stronger solution of 6parts water 1part h2o2. So far everything has gone as smoothly as the first time around. I took pics but don't have time to edit/post right now, expect them tomorrow. Link to comment
godfathernikki Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 It took a couple days to show the effects, but about half of the original piece I dipped has become lighter in color and soft/limp. Pretty sure it's not going to make it. The plan now is to toss the bulk of what I dipped to avoid crashing the tank, and replace it with some new. And just for some follow through on the test, I'm going to leave that little original test subject in the sump to see what happens. I fully expect it to die out, but I'm still curious to see the final result. Link to comment
I<3SPS Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Please correct me if I'm wrong because I'm not 100% positive on this, but from what I've read to understand about the peroxide water is that it does something with the oxygen levels in the water and suffocates out algae. Since cheato is a plant, like algae, wouldn't dipping it in the peroxide kill it as well as the dyno? I agree with the above poster though. I'd say dump the cheato you have and get some new. It's very cheap. Chaeto, short for Chaetomorpha, IS an algae species, thus hydrogen peroxide is going to/did kill it. Definitely much easier to just replace it since, Chaeto is easy to find. If your LFS doesn't have any, I'm sure some people on the forum would be willing to send you some. Link to comment
godfathernikki Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 It's not like it took a whole lot of effort. Figured I'd do some experimenting since it was going to end up in the trash anyway Link to comment
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