Dino Open Season

[Toomanymatts]

I've been researching of the last week about how to fix my Dino issue.  I was finally able to pull the trigger.

 

Over the last week I've been cleaning and doing water changes daily.  I'd remove all of the Dinos and within 24 hours this is how things would look.  If i was busy and let 48 hours slide, OMG. 

 

I'm mostly following these two articles:

https://myfirstfishtank.com/how-to-get-rid-of-dinoflagellates/

https://s3.amazonaws.com/brsinstructions/brsDrTims/DrTims_Dinoflagellate_Recipe_BRS.pdf

 

I've been working on the Nitrates over the last week, they are at 5, but phosphates are at 0.  I added a dose, hopefully that's at a decent range.

 

My only modifications from the two articles:

That I'm not increasing the temp.  I'll try that the second time around, but I don't want to make adjustments and possibly have it revert back.  I'll try it on the 2nd go around if needed.

No UV light.  I'll order one on round 3 if needed.

After the water change on day 10 I plan to add copepods and phytoplankton.  (Which has led down another rabbit hole of learning how to culture these myself...)

 

I only have inverts in there at the time.  I'm letting it sit fallow for the time being due to ICH.  

 

I do see my next battle starting.  After I cleaned and did a water change, that flat white rock has hair algae on it.   Something to look forward to, maybe the cleanup crew will do more damage to it when its not covered in brown snot.

[NanoGrant]

Good luck shifting the dinos.

 

Looks like you have a good plan in place, raising nutrients and adding loads of pods/phyto worked well for me.

 

Don’t worry about the hair algae, it’s easy to deal with in comparison to dinos lol. 

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

This particular tank that you have Dinos, when de you start it and when did you start to see them appear.  There are a variety of Dino’s and being able to ID the one you have helps a lot.  

 

For example, Amphinidiums will not be affected by UV and will hug rocks and love sand beds, spreading all over during the highest peak of your lighting period only to recreate deep into the sand bed during the night.  

 

Osteopsis is another Dino that is much more toxic than the other but this one will detach during the need and enter the water column during the night thus being able to come in contact with a properly tuned UV system.  

 

Both these types of Dino’s have different protocol if you are to tackle then and control them.  

 

Siphoning is a burnout of time, they will multiply what you take out no need to try that since they come right back in 24 hours or less.  Reducing the lighting period and less feedings for now, will help out.  Dinos are mixotrophic meaning they pull from light and nutrients found in the water. 

 

Stun them there and then they pull back until you can start the phytoplankton bloom that your tank requires for out competing them.  Remember this, Dinos took months to arrive they will take months to even 1 year to literally go away from sight, but they remain there just in smaller undetectable levels to the naked eye.

 

[Toomanymatts]

12 hours ago, Micro-Reefs Aquariums said:

This particular tank that you have Dinos, when de you start it and when did you start to see them appear.  There are a variety of Dino’s and being able to ID the one you have helps a lot.  

 

For example, Amphinidiums will not be affected by UV and will hug rocks and love sand beds, spreading all over during the highest peak of your lighting period only to recreate deep into the sand bed during the night.  

 

Osteopsis is another Dino that is much more toxic than the other but this one will detach during the need and enter the water column during the night thus being able to come in contact with a properly tuned UV system.  

 

Both these types of Dino’s have different protocol if you are to tackle then and control them.  

 

Siphoning is a burnout of time, they will multiply what you take out no need to try that since they come right back in 24 hours or less.  Reducing the lighting period and less feedings for now, will help out.  Dinos are mixotrophic meaning they pull from light and nutrients found in the water. 

 

Stun them there and then they pull back until you can start the phytoplankton bloom that your tank requires for out competing them.  Remember this, Dinos took months to arrive they will take months to even 1 year to literally go away from sight, but they remain there just in smaller undetectable levels to the naked eye.

 

Thank you for the info.

If I remember correctly they really started to show up around the time the last fish died, or shortly there after.  According to my log (before I had the phosphate test)  Nitrates continued to decline after it died.   I had a chunk of red macro in there, so I'm guess it absorbed the remaining Nitrate and any phosphate in the water.

 

How often and how much would you recommend adding phtoplankton?  I've looked a few DIY culturing posts and plan to try to culture it once I make my initial order. 

[Toomanymatts]

Took a peek this evening with the lights off and a flash light.  I didn't see any dinos rebound like any other prior 24 hour period that I remove them

I decided to only dose once with refresh, instead of 3 consecutive days during lights out.  I read on the bottle that it can be harmful to shrimp and snails and not to over dose.  The bottle says once a week, so I'm sticking with that.  I did notice a ton of activity in the sandbed.  I thought all the pods I had in there died off,  but maybe they were just active at night?  It's been night for 24 hours in there so maybe all of the nocturnal activity is really showing.

 

Tested Nitrate, it stayed at 5.  Phosphates didn't budge.  I was aiming for .05, which is how I dose it per the bottle.  I'm not convinced that tank is "carbon limited"  I've never dosed carbon, and I took the carbon sack out a week ago.   Also, the Nitrate dose responded as expected.  I added more and am aiming for .07 this time and see what happens.   

[Toomanymatts]

Phosphates still 0.  Dosed again for ,07.  Any ideas?  It the take absorbing it quickly?  Maybe I'll try another test in 20 mins.  Tank should have turned over a few times by then. 

[jservedio]

9 hours ago, Toomanymatts said:

Phosphates still 0.  Dosed again for ,07.  Any ideas?  It the take absorbing it quickly?  Maybe I'll try another test in 20 mins.  Tank should have turned over a few times by then. 

With dinos, you are going to likely have to re-dose multiple times to get it to register. Because your phosphates are zero, biological activity is close to a standstill and limited by phosphate. Because of this, it is immediately utilizing any phosphate as it becomes available. Until there is an excess of phosphate, it won't register. I wouldn't be surprised if you dosed 0.07ppm of P 3-4 times before it registers at all.

[Toomanymatts]

Not sure why these are upside down...

Took the foil off and things look normal again.  I guess I didn't realize how bad it was before.  

Phosphates and Nitrates are inline.  Started the DR Tim's waste away.  We shall see what happens...

[Toomanymatts]

This has been interesting to watch.  I still have one more dose of waste away within the process, but I've watched dinos slowly come back mostly on the flat white rock, bit as the week went on the green alage is fighting it back.  In the sand, it never completely went white during lights out, something is coming back, not sure if dinos or something else.  Overall I'm happy with the progress.