Luvmyreef's 180g Diary

[luvmyreef]

Yes, it is quite something. It was scary as he## to do too!!! Supposedly the peroxide doesnt penetrate enough to do a lot of damage to the biological system it just kills free swimmers, etc in the water column. But it can harm corals. That is why it is risky and all other methods should be tried first. I am trying not to give specifics, and was juat listing it in the info that I found. And basically that the method is out there and anyone wanting to attempt it should research it a lot. I have even read that people use it to keep tanks oxygenated during long power outages..... Oh well. I am trying all the methods I listed and will go from there...

 

[acrylic51]

I commented on the practice a while ago elsewhere on this forum

 

[siptang]

Googling dino and oh my.....
Luv I salute you for your efforts and still making this thing look so beatiful.

 

[luvmyreef]

Thanks Sip. Pretty crazy stuff huh! You don't know a real headache until you've had to deal with this stuff. I have to keep kicking myself in the butt to do all necessary maintenance, cause I feel it is futile..

 

[siptang]

no, you will come on top soon. I have a feeling.
BTW, found the joker zoas and it's coming to me soon!!!! WOO HOO!!!!

 

[snakeblitz33]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Siptang http:///t/378946/luvmyreefs-180g-diary/840#post_3495781
no, you will come on top soon. I have a feeling.

 

[siptang]

hmmm... Seth... What am I missing here?

 

[novahobbies]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Siptang http:///t/378946/luvmyreefs-180g-diary/840#post_3495798
hmmm... Seth... What am I missing here?
Ahem. Seth here has a dirty mind, and with Florida Joe being so quiet, he's decided to sub for a little while.
Thing is, Seth and I think alike. I just giggle and keep it to myself. Mostly. I'm still quietly chortling to myself over Rlaban's claim that I won the booby prize in her thread a few weeks ago.....but I digress.
LMR, I completely feel your pain. It's such a hard scourge to get rid of. IMO, Dinoflagellates and red turf algae are the top two most difficult pests to deal with, and very hard to even prevent getting into our systems.
Just so you know, I had a bad Dino problem in my 20g tank four or five months ago. It went away only after (a) I added a whole bunch of Caulerpa Prolifera to the tank, and (b) I got frustrated and ignored the tank for a month or more. No water changes, bare minimum lights....no fish and no feeding. Just a tank of water and algae. Eventually the macros starved out everything else that thrived on phosphate or nitrate, and the dinos disappeared. But like I said....I didn't feed, which is kinda hard to do in a tank full of fish!

 

[luvmyreef]

Thanks guys. I just got off work and read the posts. Seth, guys, I needed the laugh!!

Sip, congrats on the jokers, you'll love them. Nova, I know, it is my bane. I came home and suctioned off the rock again. I just told my husband that I dont want to do this anymore. You lucked out. I have a refugium with chaeto, but some got wiped out during my treatment for the lobo i finally got rid of. I am gonna do a lights out period again, and change out the sand bed. And actually drip kalw. to up my ph at night. If this doesnt work, its peroxide time again for 9-10days with lights out. I am gonna hit it hard one last time, only because the hubby asked me to.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I'll see if I can ask around and find out any solutions to dino from a few people smarter than I. We'll figure this thing out.

 

[luvmyreef]

I would appreciate that. I have read about so many cases, I think I dream about them!!

I want them gone once and for all.......

 

[luvmyreef]

Ok. I left the metal halides off today. Only ran actinics. Just got home from work. The algae that is on the sand has finally showed up in scant amts on the new sand. The same colored algae is on the rock in a lot of places. No snotty look to it at all. Then, in only a few places I have the little lighter colored dino spots. This has got to be two different algaes. They have no similarites. But anyway, I suctioned the rock AGAIN! Good news is, I got the equipment to dose the kalkwasser. I will pick up some from the lfs thursday. My new sand should be here then too. I am also making up new water to do a huge change this week. Got more chaeto and pods coming. I need to replenish.

 

[siptang]

hmmm I'm starting to see little bit of algae on my sand too and I'm freaking out..
I vacuumed everything out yesterday but they returned today.. I'm thinking that there is too much nutrients.. I need to get on top of this as well.

 

[spanko]

Hey Luvy
Sorry I did not go back and read a lot of the thread but how long have you tried with the lights out? I had a small case of dinoflagellates one time, left all lights off and tank totally covered with a blanket for 3 days and they were gone and have not returned.
Just my limited experience with them.

 

[luvmyreef]

Hey Spanko!! Thanks for chiming in here!! I left the lights out for 4 days. I had it covered with a blanket as well. They are slowly creeping back into my system. A few factors in play are being addressed. I lost some chaeto awhile back, so I ordered more to help for the moment. Normally, I am trimming it weekly, but I lost some when I used algaefix to kill the lobo. Adding that and I am gonna do a large water change tomorrow. Start dripping kalk. at night to keep ph up and we will see.

 

[spanko]

I have read that some varieties of dinoflagellates cannot survive on elevated Ph. Perhaps low Ph is a welcome environment to them. On your large water change, when the water is all out that you will take out try some spot attack with peroxide. I can see you know the dangers here but it they are at or above the water surface a spot attack may help.

 

[luvmyreef]

Yeah, during the day my ph is 8.4. and at night 7.8. They say to go above 8.4 constantly, so I need to drip the kalk. I am also changing out the rest of the sand. I have done 1 of three sections so far. Tomorrow, I will do the second section. I think I have some built up organics as well as dry sand that could be leaching silicates. Couldn't hurt. and I am doing it in sections slowly.

 

[luvmyreef]

Well, since this is my diary, I will update as I go I guess. I got home from work. Day 2 of no metal halides. I notice the dark algae on the sand is still there and on the rock in places that it wasn't yesterday. BUT, the weird thing is that I only found 4 tiny blobs of dino. So, could this be a worsening case of diatoms due to the sand change last week? And if so, could it be out competing the dinos? I am not saying that this algae on the sand is not dino, but it is not slimy and is darker. If so, they will be eradicated in time with the sand changes I guess. and maybe the dinos will be gone too. I am just puzzled about it.

 

[luvmyreef]

Alright, just got my sand delivered. Time to change out the second section and with it a large water change. Bought all new tubing as well. Gonna change it out too. Well, by the end of today, I will probably want to drink the vodka I bought to dose the tank with (which I am not gonna do at this moment).

 

[luvmyreef]

Oh, btw, I found a video on you tube called diatom algae control by sally jo. The tank she shows has some (if not) exactly what grows on my glass and rock! So, my diatom theory continues lol.