clancaster23
Reefing newb
I got a bad case of dinoflagellate algae going on in my 40 gallon and read a bunch of different stuff to combat it. Anyone had a case and successfully cured it?
Fighting Dinoflagellates
- Thread starter clancaster23
- Start date
Cheeser
I Love Reefer
what u needa do is try to remove as much as possible by hand....if your clean up crew eat enough of the dino algae theyll die...... then do a big water change. like 15-20 percent. try to suck up whats on the sand and rocks. then...
u gotta do a 100% black out. no lights on. not even in your sump or fuge. also cover your entire tank with a blanket or trash bag, anything to block any light whatsoever. i would say do this for no less than 3 days. after 3 days u can turn ur lights back on but i would start gradually with a shorter photo period or even just your blues the first couple of days. i would also do another 10% water change after the black out. and you should be good.
dont half ass any of this either...3 day black out is important. dont think 1 or 2 days will cut it. your corals will be fine. also another thing i found that helps is to try to keep your ph up during the whole process..somewhere like 8.2-8.5 that usually will make it harder for the dinos to come back...
hope this helps.
u gotta do a 100% black out. no lights on. not even in your sump or fuge. also cover your entire tank with a blanket or trash bag, anything to block any light whatsoever. i would say do this for no less than 3 days. after 3 days u can turn ur lights back on but i would start gradually with a shorter photo period or even just your blues the first couple of days. i would also do another 10% water change after the black out. and you should be good.
dont half ass any of this either...3 day black out is important. dont think 1 or 2 days will cut it. your corals will be fine. also another thing i found that helps is to try to keep your ph up during the whole process..somewhere like 8.2-8.5 that usually will make it harder for the dinos to come back...
hope this helps.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
The blackout is the key, I think. Cheeser has got you covered.
clancaster23
Reefing newb
Now, from what I read, some say that water changes just feed the algae and that's why I'm hesitant on that part. What I did was took most of the rock out, scrubbed them pretty well, sucked up the bad stuff off the sand bed then set all the rock back in. I didn't immediately turn lights back on but didn't do a blackout. A couple days later I turn lights on and hours later, the algae is back. So the plan is to remove all I can by blowing out and cleaning up what's regrown then do a 20% change. I'll blackout for three days then do a regular 10% change. Also going to bump up the ph to see if this helps as I have heard that that works also. Thanks for the help guys. Just needed some clarification.
Cheeser
I Love Reefer
ive batteled dinos a couple times in different tanks and this always worked for me. good luck.
chichimom79
reef junkie
Careful not to raise the pH too suddenly. The only reason WC would feed it is if your water source or salt mix is contaminated in some way.
little_fish
Moderator
Also dont do a 100% water change, that would be dangerous for your critters. I would do a maximum of 50% at any one time.
