My dreaded dinos thread

[Thrassian Atoll]

Following.  I am dealing with some nasty stuff myself right now.  

[paulsz]

I have  bunch of algae covering my glass (not much hair algae, mostly just dust algae). The dinos are still there, and although not growing as fast as they would a few months ago, they do come back. 

 

I'm debating doing another 5 day blackout, like I had previously mentioned. However, will a black out also hurt my algae growth? I wouldn't want to ruin the progress that the algae has made so far. 

 

With the blackout, my PO4 will likely increase like crazy, with all the die off. So i would think i'd be okay for algae growth once the lights go back on. But I just wanted to see if anyone would advise against doing this

 

 

[j.falk]

On 2/26/2019 at 8:24 AM, paulsz said:

I have  bunch of algae covering my glass (not much hair algae, mostly just dust algae). The dinos are still there, and although not growing as fast as they would a few months ago, they do come back. 

 

I'm debating doing another 5 day blackout, like I had previously mentioned. However, will a black out also hurt my algae growth? I wouldn't want to ruin the progress that the algae has made so far. 

 

With the blackout, my PO4 will likely increase like crazy, with all the die off. So i would think i'd be okay for algae growth once the lights go back on. But I just wanted to see if anyone would advise against doing this

 

 

How are things doing today?  Did you get rid of your dinos?

[mcarroll]

Before anyone copies someone's random "formula" for getting rid of dino's, remember that mist folks don't really know if what they treated is actually dino's, they just guess based on macro-level appearances vs confirming with a microscope or another test.

 

So confirm what you really have before you do anything big to get rid of them.  (Ask if you don't know how to tell.)

 

Then remember that dino's bloom because they're starving.

 

Undo the starvation conditions that you created (dosing liquid nutrients is the fastest, most efficient way, but often there are also needed changes to the tank's filtration and maintenance scheme as well) and things will begin heading in the right direction.

 

The OP, given how long he'd been battling, should have (maybe in addition to other changes) raised NO3 and PO4 and maintained those levels until dino's were apparently gone and good algae (cyano, hair algae, anything else) with daily testing and dosing just like we do with allalinity.

 

Activated carbon will adsorb toxins if your pods and CUC are lethargic (or dead).

 

UV or micron filtration can help in heavy established blooms, but shouldn't be needed for smaller, newer ones.  (Won't help at all for the types of dino. that don't leave the sand.)  

 

If your other animals aren't being bothered, then everything but fixing nutrient levels is very optional.

 

2¢

 

[paulsz]

19 hours ago, j.falk said:

How are things doing today?  Did you get rid of your dinos?

the dinos aren't gone for good. But they aren't taking over and are not killing anything in the tank. Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but dinos are in every tank. It's more a question of whether or not they'll take over.

 

Now, whenever I take a sample of the algae under a microscope, i'll only see minuscule amounts of dinos.  

 

9 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Before anyone copies someone's random "formula" for getting rid of dino's, remember that mist folks don't really know if what they treated is actually dino's, they just guess based on macro-level appearances vs confirming with a microscope or another test.

 

So confirm what you really have before you do anything big to get rid of them.  (Ask if you don't know how to tell.)

 

Yes! anyone who suspects dinos should check it under a microscope for confirmation before any treatment.

 

9 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Then remember that dino's bloom because they're starving.

 

Undo the starvation conditions that you created (dosing liquid nutrients is the fastest, most efficient way, but often there are also needed changes to the tank's filtration and maintenance scheme as well) and things will begin heading in the right direction.

This is pretty much what I did. I can't tell if it'll work for everyone, but it worked for the strand that i was fighting

[Clown79]

On 2/26/2019 at 9:24 AM, paulsz said:

I have  bunch of algae covering my glass (not much hair algae, mostly just dust algae). The dinos are still there, and although not growing as fast as they would a few months ago, they do come back. 

 

I'm debating doing another 5 day blackout, like I had previously mentioned. However, will a black out also hurt my algae growth? I wouldn't want to ruin the progress that the algae has made so far. 

 

With the blackout, my PO4 will likely increase like crazy, with all the die off. So i would think i'd be okay for algae growth once the lights go back on. But I just wanted to see if anyone would advise against doing this

 

 

Check out my journal and what I did to get rid of the dino's I had in 2 tanks.

Microscope identification is a must for dino's.

 

Black outs don't work. It's just a bandaid.

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, paulsz said:

the dinos aren't gone for good. But they aren't taking over and are not killing anything in the tank. Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but dinos are in every tank. It's more a question of whether or not they'll take over.

 

Now, whenever I take a sample of the algae under a microscope, i'll only see minuscule amounts of dinos.  

 

Yes! anyone who suspects dinos should check it under a microscope for confirmation before any treatment.

 

This is pretty much what I did. I can't tell if it'll work for everyone, but it worked for the strand that i was fighting

Dino's are always present but often in dormancy until the conditions are right for them to thrive and multiple(rapidly)

 

Starvation of the tank and lack of biodiversity is the main cause of dino.

 

Blackouts, bleach, peroxide, waterchanges, amino's, all aid in dino reproduction, don't work, or cause further issues.

[j.falk]

Bleach?  In a tank with livestock?  Is that really a thing?

[mcarroll]

Yes.

 

File under:   DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME

 

(...or anywhere else!!!)

 

Our hobby has a distinct crazy side that we really ought to worry/do more about than we often do.

[mcarroll]

One problem is how we think about pictures of super-clean tanks*.   

 

Somehow this dubious mindset has transmogrified into thinking clean = sterile.

 

Pictures of super-clean tanks pull in TOTM awards all the time, so it's not like newbies aren't baited into thinking this way -- they most definitely are.

 

But the reality is that there's nothing more unnatural than a "clean reef".

 

If the hobby could let go collectively of that fake goal of a clean sterile tank, lots of bad trends would disappear along with it.

 

Ifwouldashouldacoulda though....

 

*  From the dictionary a word most folks misuse...and misunderstand: Fetish.  Noun.  Any object, idea, etc., eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect, or devotion: to make a fetish of high grades.  You can't find too many seasoned reefers keeping a super clean reef (almost none here in n-r.com it seems) and even when you do it's almost always a mature reef, not a new one, so doesn't even make a good example to the newb.  So it's really down to the newbies and the bait-pictures IMO....they get sucked into some terrible trends this way.

[seabass]

29 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

Somehow this dubious mindset has transmogrified into thinking clean = sterile.

That's a good differentiation.

[Clown79]

On 9/30/2019 at 3:17 PM, j.falk said:

Bleach?  In a tank with livestock?  Is that really a thing?

Ya, unfortunately.

I was really shocked to hear ppl doing this.

 

Yes bleach kills dino's but most of those who tried it, didn't have long term success- dino's returned.

There were also other problems that came from it(not surprising)

 

The success stories were those that went the natural route.

 

Some had success with UV, some didn't.

[Ratvan]

On 9/30/2019 at 8:17 PM, j.falk said:

Bleach?  In a tank with livestock?  Is that really a thing?

A lot of people that I know that use the Triton method often dose bleach to combat ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential) it all sounds very interesting and not for me. I use bleach all the time in my FW tanks (Chlorine and Chloride Bubblers)

[j.falk]

* goes to grab a bottle of bleach *

 

I'll pretend like I'm going to feed the fish so they'll come to the top of the water and then dump it in real quick before they can get away!

 

* And that's how John created the first tie dye clownfish *  

 

😛