Demodiki Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 So, I am quite positive I have dinos in my 90 gallon. I've been fighting a bubble algae problem for quite some time and I reckon, despite my efforts, the dinos have moded in and are now able to get a foothold. I have been doing 5-10 gallon water changes every week, changing out my carbon and GFO weekly, added chaeto to the fuge, and cut my lights back to 4 hours per day. I think this has limited the spread but certainly not stopped it. I've seen some folks have raised their magnesium up and gone total darkness for three days but...would almost totally switching out the rock and perhaps sand be helpful? I've had my rock for over 7 years and it's all kinds of covered in coraline algae but perhaps it's leaching phosphates? I had been planning on getting with Prof to get some rock and completely redoing my scape. The Mrs has just authorized this and I'm wondering if a 100% water change coupled with new rock and sand would help with the dinos. Thanks for your thoughts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I was doing similar water changes but was siphoning it all out the the process and it helped clear them up, I also raised my ph a lot too. With doing that once every day or two, they were gone pretty quick. Also with less feeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demodiki Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 I feed my three fish so little I'm surprised no one has called the cops on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Most dinoflagellates use multiple feeding strategies, being both heterotrophic and autotrophic, so cutting out lighting may not be the best way to rid your tank of them. In addition, they can also revert to a hibernation like state when nutrients/lighting is limited, reverting back to the original state when conditions are more favorable. Reducing phosphates is probably your best bet at controlling their populations since it plays a key role in their life cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+etannert Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 There are a number of threads over at DFWMAS about treating dinos with hydrogen peroxide. Anecdotally it seems from what I recall that lights out and siphoning helps, whereas water changes seem to make it worse. A 100% change in sand, rock and water would help but you would probably want to have several intermediate stages to dip and rinse corals to make sure nothing transferred over on those or fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesreyn Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Anecdotally it seems from what I recall that lights out and siphoning helps, whereas water changes seem to make it worse. +1. I had these in a 20 gallon I had about a year ago. I got so tired and frustrated I almost broke it down and wanted to quit. I did the lights out for 2-3 days multiple times. It would help a little but it seemed they always came back stronger. I was doing small water changes once sometimes 2 times a week while pulling out as much as I could each time. I tried everything I could think of. I tried SAT, carbon, biological clarifier. Finally after 3-4 months I just got sick of the work but I loved the clown I had so I just decided I was going to add a few more turbos and just leave it all alone. I fed him once every 3 days and just ignored the tank for a while. After about a month of no water changes or any matinance it slowly started going away and totally cleared up. I think all the changes were just giving nutrients and feeding the stuff. Sometimes these things happen and luckily mine ran it's course and just went away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demodiki Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 I like the idea of no water changes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I did 7 days of lights out, Siphoned through a filter sock, And no water changes for a month. So far so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I'm assuming you're talking about brown algae that covers the sand? I always just syphon it off when I do water changes. Can you post pictures and document what you do? This seems to be a topic that comes up on a regular basis and what works for one person doesn't always work for someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I guess I should better explain, I had very nasty brown slimy dino that covered everything sand rocks and corals and killed my turbo's. I only did no water changes for a month and have since went to a 2 times a month basis. I also ran carbon and skimmed heavily, And continue to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demodiki Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 This isn't diatoms but hardcore dinos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+o0zarkawater Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I had nasty slimy dinos in my 28gal for a while. Covered everything, killing snails, slimy, bubbly, etc. I tried less feedings, less light, more water changes, hardcore GFO/Carbon, eventually I just quit messing with it and they went away. I still ran the gfo/carbon, but just kinda left the tank and they eventually dissipated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demodiki Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Well, I want to really get new rock and maybe sand. You see, the wife has authorized that purchase so I better jump on it while the jumping is good. I'm trying to figure out if this will be a good idea or not. I reckon it wouldn't hurt things too much. I'm going to cook the older rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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