Raising Temperature to Battle Dinoflagellates

[MeezusReef]

I have been battling Dino's for over two months in my 100g reef tank that I've had set up for over 5 years now. The tank has never experienced Dino's before (not a noticeable amount). I believe the cause of the algae was that I only had about 5 fish in my 100g for a long period of time and the nutrients bottomed out (0 No3/0PO4).

I've done numerous treatments to get rid of the algae, but it's came back each time. I raised the nutrients, did 10 doses of Dino-X, and did a 3 day blackout. After the 3 day blackout, things started to look great. Nutrients were high (too high), but the tank had no signs of dino....until it returned about a week later.

I tried a method I learned about from Reefbuilders and Reef2Reef about increasing your tank temperature to get rid of Dino's. My tank temperature is usually 78-79 degree's and I increased the temperature up to 82 as recommended. After four days, I can already see a difference. The amount of dino's is much less than before I raised the temperature.

Has anyone tried this method, and if so, did the dino's come back after lowering the temperature back down to normal range? It is too early for me to say if this has worked, but I can see improvements.

I will also mention that during the past two months, I've minimized my photo period to 6 hours a day and took down my Carbon/GFO reactor.

 

[Cheddah93]

Just something to consider if you don’t already use it.

I tried the temperature and nutrients with slight gains, but it wasn’t until adding on a uv sterilizer that I noticed the biggest gain of them all.

Not only did it take care of the Dino’s, but it improved water clarity and reduced any algae growth.

 

[Cheddah93]

Just another tid bit too, noticed you said you took carbon out aswell as gfo. It is recommended to run carbon through the course of battling Dino’s as they release toxins as they die off. Not entirely sure, but just sharing information I learned through my battles.

 

[MeezusReef]

Thank you for sharing your experience! It's great to hear insight and personal experiences from fellow reefers. I've been in the hobby over 15 years and this battle has surely been the most disheartening, as I have not dealt with a serious dino outbreak before. I have seen a significant reduction since raising the tank temperatures, but I worry this is only a temporary fix.

UV is a great recommendation. I have used UV sterilizers in the past and that might be why I haven't really encountered dino's before. I have been trying to solve this problem without the investment of a $200-$300 proper UV sterilizer, as I have been debating on upgrading my system in the near future. I might have to cave and just do it.

I have not used carbon, as I have been using Dino-X and the instructions say to not use Ozone or carbon during treatment. Once treatment is complete, they suggest running carbon.

 

[nilaydeshmukh]

Dino-X should work - it worked for me. You will start noticing the difference after 4 -5 treatments. Dinos never came back for me - fingers crossed. Please keep eye on Alkalinity and Calcium intake during the treatment as it drops significantly. My guess is, those people who report the losses while using Dino - X probably continued to dose the same amount of Alkalinity as before causing spike. In my experience, Alkalinity and Calcium consumption drops significantly during the treatment as Dino's die and corals stop consuming Ca and Alkalinity when water is not providing the best environment for them to grow.

Good luck!

 

[MeezusReef]

I appreciate the input. I have been dosing Dino-X along with raising the temperatures. I believe I am on dose 5 now and it has certainly slowed down. I have had a number of SPS die off over the past two weeks while dosing Dino-X. However, the corals have been stressed from all the changing variables in my tank (treatment, cut back light, alk swings, tank temperature, etc.), all while being covered in dino a few times a day.

I just installed a Trident yesterday, so I am curious to see the affects of dosing Dino-X with Alk/Cal consumption. I also finally bit the bullet and got myself a new UV sterilizer. The Corallife Turbotwist 6X. It was the cheaper option and I am using it strictly for dino.

Although it has been a frustrating two months, I see it as an opportunity to revamp the tank.

Thank you for your reply!

 

[thrillreefer]

Curious about your outcome here. Did raising the temp + Dino X work out for the long term?

 

[nickeg79]

You might want to add live bacteria too. I’m battling now and I just did a 3 day blackout dinox and live bacteria daily. So far things look pretty good. I haven’t tested nutrients but I got a little bit of algea growth on the glass so they are high enough. I’m planning on putting the skimmer back in over the weekend. My war coral lost some color but my zoas are starting to open up.

 

[MeezusReef]

I am just turning the corner in my dino issue (over 6 months). It was so bad at one point that it was clogging my overflow daily. Raising the temperatures did cause a noticeable decrease in the amount of dino in the tank, but for my system, it did not totally eradicate the dinos. I can confidently say that Dino X did not have much, if any, effect on my Dino (Ostreo). I did multiple treatments over the last 6 months.

It has been two weeks and I have no signs on dino's in the system. After all of the treatments and methods, what worked for me was a UV sterilizer, increase in nutrients, and Dr. Tim's dino treatment method. This method is a 3 day blackout, treatment of Re-fresh and then treating with Waste-Away.

I can say that the increase in temperature did have a positive effect on the battle, but just not completely with my system long term. I also did not want to keep the temperature at that degree. I am ready for a much needed water change and for some coral. It's been a long battle. I hope this information is useful.

 

[uhupong]

DinoX and rebiotic bacteria worked great for me. I just beat them recently.