My tank looks ugly

[danielm5]

I've had this tank (IM 15g AIO) for about 18 months now. I don't mess much with it (I mean I usually don't add or remove much of anything), just weekly cleaning, water changes, and maintenance. It's been mostly fine and thriving until about 3 months ago when the "red stuff" got out of control. Then I lost inverts and corals (mostly zoas) and it's been downwards since then. I thought it was cyano as it was the only thing I knew at the time. I tried things but nothing worked. Then I realized they were dinos and I followed Dr Tim's recipe without much success. I've cut the light to 4hs each day recently and it's been slightly better in the last two weeks, but still ugly.

I'm sharing mostly for my own stress relief but off course any help would be appreciated.

 

[Mike Lemming]

Getting rid of dino's is a long, precise sequence of events. Check out Mack's dino group on Facebook. From there, you'll have to figure out which type of dino's you have (with a microscope). once figured out, there are certain ways to rid each type of dino. It's a pain, but you can defeat them! Tank looks good other wise!

 

[Chris.Reef]

Try a 3 day blackout.

 

[danielm5]

Try a 3 day blackout.

I did. I even got the IM UV light for this small AIO. After that I could see the water all red (I guess dinos were dissolved in water). It looked nice for a couple of days and slowly came back.

 

[Chris.Reef]

Like mentioned above from Mike I would get a microscope and try to identify what kind it is. Here is a good guide.https://www.reef2reef.com/attachments/dinoflagellateid12_12_2019-pdf.1324729/

 

[ChrisPchef]

I've had this tank (IM 15g AIO) for about 18 months now. I don't mess much with it (I mean I usually don't add or remove much of anything), just weekly cleaning, water changes, and maintenance. It's been mostly fine and thriving until about 3 months ago when the "red stuff" got out of control. Then I lost inverts and corals (mostly zoas) and it's been downwards since then. I thought it was cyano as it was the only thing I knew at the time. I tried things but nothing worked. Then I realized they were dinos and I followed Dr Tim's recipe without much success. I've cut the light to 4hs each day recently and it's been slightly better in the last two weeks, but still ugly.

I'm sharing mostly for my own stress relief but off course any help would be appreciated.

View attachment 216369

I have the same tank and maybe able to help out. Can you share your light schedule? Do you leave that window shade closed all the time?
If not, the natural sunlight could be contributing to your algae issue. Feel free to send me a pm.

 

[danielm5]

Yes, the window blinds are always closed. The light doesn't much options; it was set on a 8hs timer. Recently, I've an external timer to have more control, and for now it's on 4hs per day.

I'll check that reference you've posted. Thank you @ChrisPchef

 

[danielm5]

I was reading the document in Mack's dino support group and, if I understand correctly, I need to be checking phosphates and nitrates quite frequently. I've never checked them, and the Hanna checkers aren't inexpensive.

Is this correct? Do you often check those? Do you use Hanna checkers for this purpose, or something else?

Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

@Mike Lemming

 

[cablez]

I check phosphate 3x per week O_O
Nitrate about 1x a week. That one isnt a critical if it's high

 

[danielm5]

I check phosphate 3x per week O_O
Nitrate about 1x a week. That one isnt a critical if it's high

This is news to me ;-), would you recommend investing in the Hanna checker? What do you do if it's low? just feed more?

 

[cablez]

This is news to me ;-), would you recommend investing in the Hanna checker? What do you do if it's low? just feed more?

I use hanna for phosphate and redsea for nitrate. And if it were low, I would up feeding, or lessen GFO

 

[Mike Lemming]

I was reading the document in Mack's dino support group and, if I understand correctly, I need to be checking phosphates and nitrates quite frequently. I've never checked them, and the Hanna checkers aren't inexpensive.

Is this correct? Do you often check those? Do you use Hanna checkers for this purpose, or something else?

Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

@Mike Lemming

I would check them to see where you're at for sure. They say a major imbalance of No3 and P04 leads to dinos although I don't believe it's ever been proven. I would say the first step is to jump on amazon and buy a cheaper microscope. There might even be someone in the club that is willing to let you borrow theirs. Then, once you know what you're dealing with, you can figure out the method that has been known to fight that particular type if dino.

 

[ChrisPchef]

Yes, the window blinds are always closed. The light doesn't much options; it was set on a 8hs timer. Recently, I've an external timer to have more control, and for now it's on 4hs per day.

I'll check that reference you've posted. Thank you @ChrisPchef

Im referring to light schedule/intensity when I mention the light schedule, not the amount of time your light is on each day. What light are you running?

 

[afboundguy]

I've had this tank (IM 15g AIO) for about 18 months now. I don't mess much with it (I mean I usually don't add or remove much of anything), just weekly cleaning, water changes, and maintenance. It's been mostly fine and thriving until about 3 months ago when the "red stuff" got out of control. Then I lost inverts and corals (mostly zoas) and it's been downwards since then. I thought it was cyano as it was the only thing I knew at the time. I tried things but nothing worked. Then I realized they were dinos and I followed Dr Tim's recipe without much success. I've cut the light to 4hs each day recently and it's been slightly better in the last two weeks, but still ugly.

I'm sharing mostly for my own stress relief but off course any help would be appreciated.

View attachment 216369

Not sure if Ipswich MA is too far of a drive but I'd be happy to give you some of my phyto mix that has three diatom strands that are supposed to help with dinos. I have noticed a huge decrease in nuscience algae since I started dosing my phyto mix and want to see how it works on dinos.

 

[danielm5]

Im referring to light schedule/intensity when I mention the light schedule, not the amount of time your light is on each day. What light are you running?

I see... there isn't much of a schedule in my lights, they're a cheap Nicrew 30w I've got at a discount when I setup this tank. I've been thinking on upgrading them, probably if I can get some used AI prime or similar, but I haven't got to it. These lights only have 5 levels of white and 5 levels of blue and 8h timer. I've recently connected them to an external timer and programmed for 4hs as I said earlier.

 

[danielm5]

I just remembered I've API test kit. I know it isn't good (that's why I forgot about it!) but since I have it I tried it:
- PO4: 0.5 ppm
- NO3: 5.0 ppm

I'm sure I had dinos a couple of months ago, I'm not quite sure what I've now are still dinos. I'll try to get a microscope like it was recommended.

The dino outbreak killed my inverts and everything got out of balance. Now, I've started adding a small CUC since I've got a fair amount of algae (which is probably good?). Trying to restore balance. I've also have Microbacter Clean which I'll begin adding.

 

[danielm5]

Not sure if Ipswich MA is too far of a drive but I'd be happy to give you some of my phyto mix that has three diatom strands that are supposed to help with dinos. I have noticed a huge decrease in nuscience algae since I started dosing my phyto mix and want to see how it works on dinos.

You're very generous! I'd love to get some! It's about 90 min from my home. Let me see when could be a good time. Thank you!

 

[ChrisPchef]

I see... there isn't much of a schedule in my lights, they're a cheap Nicrew 30w I've got at a discount when I setup this tank. I've been thinking on upgrading them, probably if I can get some used AI prime or similar, but I haven't got to it. These lights only have 5 levels of white and 5 levels of blue and 8h timer. I've recently connected them to an external timer and programmed for 4hs as I said earlier.

Roger that, sent you a Pm.

 

[TPhan]

I just remembered I've API test kit. I know it isn't good (that's why I forgot about it!) but since I have it I tried it:
- PO4: 0.5 ppm
- NO3: 5.0 ppm

I'm sure I had dinos a couple of months ago, I'm not quite sure what I've now are still dinos. I'll try to get a microscope like it was recommended.

The dino outbreak killed my inverts and everything got out of balance. Now, I've started adding a small CUC since I've got a fair amount of algae (which is probably good?). Trying to restore balance. I've also have Microbacter Clean which I'll begin adding.

Dont add anymore cuc until u confirm u dont have dinos. If your cuc are dropping left and right than it could be from dino toxin they ate.

 

[danielm5]

I've spent some time today cleaning. I think it isn't as bad as it was. I've removed a ton of GHA, which is probably due to the increased PO4 since I began feeding more heavily when I learned about dinos. I definitely see improvement from 1 or 2 months ago: