In need of

[yote]

Some tips on how to get rid of dinoflaggents(sp?)?
Ammoina,nitrites,nitrates,and phosphates are zero.
PH-8.46 after 8 hours of light
alk-10DKH
cal-480
mag-1400
temp-80.1
Doing 10% water changes every week and topping off with RO/DI thats got a TDS reading of 3.
Havent feed anything in 2 weeks.Running Rowa-Phos in a reactor.They seem to get worse when I leave the lights off.
I'm stumpped:frustrat: Any ideas?

 

[RyanG]

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1188089

This is what I found at RC Yote, looks like a major issue to solve. Looks like high Alk, High PH, lots of big water changes, low calcium, and daily vacuuming.

 

[Smitty]

Hey Yote, I've been researching them for you, and it seems that there is really no way to get rid of them, they feed on access nutrients in the water(diatoms,algae) at night and photosynthesize during the day. Seems like tons of water changes and no light at all will eliminate them, but the corals will suffer...I will continue to read up on them for more info and knowledge...

 

[yote]

DOUBLE DANG:grumble: Some of those guys battled the stuff for YEARS:frustrat:
Strating now,I'm running the PH to 8.5.With what ever it takes to hold it there.
Seems that doing water changes just helped the :pooh: spread.

 

[ccCapt]

If your still using that built-in insump skimmer, get youself a real skimmer. That will definitely help.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/rhf/index.php

Here's a series of actions besides raising pH that may help aquarists to deal with problem dinoflagellates.

1. Reduce available nutrients in the water. These include nitrate and especially phosphate. In a severe case, the concerns with driving phosphate too low may be minor compared to the dinoflagellates (and their toxins). In addition to the usual ways of reducing nutrients (skimming, growing macroalgae, deep sand beds, etc.), aquarists should consider very aggressive use of granular ferric oxide (GFO). Putting a larger than normally recommended amount into a canister filter or reactor, and changing it every few days, may help. Don't bother to measure the phosphate level, because the goal is to have it well below normally detectable levels (say, 0.02 ppm).

2. Reduce the photoperiod to four hours per day. This may help to keep the dinoflagellates under control, but by itself will not usually eradicate them.

3. Use more than normal amounts of activated carbon, and possibly ozone, to deal with toxins that the dinoflagellates may be releasing. This may allow snails and other organisms to survive while the dinoflagellates are still at nuisance levels.

4. Manually siphon out as much of the mass of dinoflagellates as possible. Daily removal would be preferable to keep populations at a reduced level.
​

 

[yote]

Already doing all the above.

This is the best my parameters have EVER been,and now this crap starts.
Think I'll be investing in this http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=18267&cat=517&page=1 when my tax money comes in.

 

[ccCapt]

That's a nice skimmer. The VP of my reef club runs 1 on his 180.
Once you add the cost of a pump, that's a pretty expensive skimmer tho. Check out this 1 for $500. It should be available mid March. SWC Mini S Cone I personally would go with the cone if I was spending $500+ on a skimmer.

Also, in 1 of the older threads on dosing, you listed what you dose.
Brightwell Aquatics Zooplanktos L on Monday night
Brightwells Zooplanktos M on Wednesday night
Brightwells Reef Snow on Friday night
Brightwells Micro Bacter7 on Saturday night
Did you stop all that? IMO, none of it is needed.

 

[yote]

I havent dosed anything except calcium,magnesium,and baking soda for about a month now I guess Capt.
And I'll look into those cone skimmers.

 

[yote]

Tomorrow makes a week since I cut the lights off.
Nothing seems to be working at all.Been changing out my GFO and carbon every other day,light completely off,dripping kalk to keep the PH up (8.52).Even done a 50% water change.Nothing is cutting it.
All my SPS is looking bad.All the snails are dead.Still no sign of nitrates or phosphates in the water(confirmed by LFS tests along with mine).
I'm about ready to throw the whole dang tank out the window.

 

[Alexander]

damn yote it saddens me to hear this friend. really sorry

 

[Bifferwine]

Wow I hate to hear that. It sucks! I'm sorry no one has been able to find a solution that works.

 

[yote]

Heres what I'm thining about doing.
Take whats left of my corals out along with the fish and take them back to the store.
Then dump a gallon of chlorine bleach in and just let it run for a few days.
Drain it and re-fill with fresh water and run that a couple of days.Drain re-fill and run with massive amounts of chlorine remover.
Drain and start all over with some new live rock.
Just an idea.

 

[ccCapt]

Hold on there Yote. Let's not get to drastic.
Let me make a few suggestions. It's will be lots of work, but not as drastic as killing off your rock.

Prepare another water change, but buy a 50g mix of Instant Ocean and use that. Your alk and calcium was high before, dripping kalk only adds to it. Oceanic salt is also very high in both. There is no solid proof raising pH actually works, only anecdotal evidence, so I would stop the kalk for now too. Your water chemistry might be getting all out of whack.

Drain the water for the change and use that water to scrub every rock in your tank. Take out every rock and scrub the crap out of it with a stiff bristle brush. If it's growing on the sand bed, take that out too and wash, not rinse, it in freshwater.

Don't add (dose) anything to your tank. I wouldn't even use the carbon now, just keep up with changing the GFO every week. How much are you using now and do you run it in a reactor?

Also, try to scrape up enough cash for a good protein skimmer. You can get an Octo NW200 like I have for under $200.

Keep the faith Yote. With a little work and patience, it will come around.

 

[yote]

I'm running a 150 gram container of Phos-Ban in a reactor been changing it every 3rd day.Got 3 more 150 gram conatiners of the brightwell GFO at the store,gotta pick that up tomorrow evening after work.
Working on a new skimmer too.Well,new to me anyhow.Its an E.T.S.S. Supposed to be rated for a 300 gallon tank with a mag 9 pump on it.See how that deal pans out before I drop too much more cash right now.