Hello, I have a dinoflagellate outbreak, I am using this thread for advise, and to document the changes I make, and what those changes did, and if they make a difference in the outbreak, or have any negative effects on my system in general.
A little about my system:
My system was set up in August, 2007. It consists of a 125g AGA main display, located in my livingroom, a 100G rubbermaid sump, located in my basement, a 55g fuge, lit by a NO 48" shop light fixture, and three 40g frag tanks all located in the basement as well. My skimmer sits in my sump, and is a DIY model, powered by a sedra 9000. My main return pump is an Iwaki 100, running about a 14 foot head. I run carbon, phosban, a DIY calcium reactor, and a 40w Aqua UV unit all located in the fuge. I have a Reeflo Sequence Dart located under the stand of my main display tank, running my closed loop. My closed loop has 6 outlets, using 1/2" loc-line. There are no other pumps in the main display for flow, aside from the sump return, which is split, and has a drop in each rear corner of the tank. Lighting is provided by three 175W 14k SE hamiltons, and supplimented with two 54W HO T5 03 Actinics. All NSW and topoff water is by means of a 6 stage RO/DI. RO/DI filters are at about the 8 month mark.
What started my problem?
I wish I had the perfect answer for this. But I don't. I suspect however, that the problem started from a recent re-vamp of my internal overflow. My overflow, was DIY, like most of the equipment in my system. When I first built it, it was WAY too large, and looked out of place, and out of porportion. Here is a photo of the old beast:
Now you see what I am talking about. Something had to be done. I had to remove about 1/2 the water in the main display, and remove approximatley 100Lbs of LR to cut out the old overflow. I placed the LR in coolers, but did not add water. I then replaced the overflow with a new one I made, (with smaller dimensions) and siliconed it in. I had to wait about 7 hours for the silicone to semi-cure before I could refill the tank, and add the rock back. So now by this point, my rock had been sitting in the air for about 7 hours give or take a little. I added the rock back, (catching a pesky gorilla crab in the process) and re-aquascaped with my new found real-estate in the tank. Here is a photo of the new overflow:
I believe that the die-off of the rock, coupled with the stirring up of "dead zones" in the tank, contributed, and probably sparked my current issue. It has been about 5 or 6 weeks since I changed out the overflow.
Water Chemistry
My PH in this system has always run slightly low. My sump is located near the furnace in the basement, and could be a contributing factor for the low PH. My PH in this system has always run in the 8.0/8.1 range, depending on the time of day it was checked.
My calcium runs about 400-420
Alk usually about 3.6
Nitrates - 5 to 10 PPM
Nitrites - 0
Ammonia - 0
Magnesium - 1600
Phosphates - undetectable, but the Dyno's may be using it all up.
TDS of makeup water - 0
Temp - 80F
So that is the basic average of what my water chemistry runs. I am at work, so I don't have the exact #'s, but these are close enough to show the AVERAGE tank chemistry.
Recent Equipment Additions
DIY Calcium reactor. My calcium has been on a slow decline over the last couple of months, and Kalkwasser and water changes would barley keep up. At one point about 3 weeks ago, my calcium hit an all time low of 360. So I decided to add a calcium reactor. My friend John Kelly was kind enough to give me a great deal on a DIY reactor that he built, and he came over and we set it up. The starting point on the reactor, was 40 bubbles of gas a minute, and a trickle into my fuge of 40ML per minute. PH coming out of the reactor is about 6.5, with a calcium reading of 420. The calcium reactor has been running about two weeks. This is the only recent addition of equipment to the system other than the new overflow box.
When the problem appeared, and how it appeared:
My problem started about a month ago, which corresponds with the timeline on the overflow replacement. It started out as a Cyano (Red slime) outbreak. I bought a bottle of Chemi-Clean Red Slime Remover, and dosed as per the directions. I have used this product in the past on another system with no ill effects. I left my skimmer off for two days, as per the directions on the chemi-clean. It was very successful at removing the red-slime, but in the days following, I started to get what looked like brown diatoms in the sandbed. (Mostly where the Cyano was previously). Over the next few days, my rocks, and everything towards the center of my tank started to take on a brown "hue". Then from this point, the brown started to take on a short turf like appearance similiar to the beginning stages of a hair algae outbreak. It then transformed from this, to a brown slime, covering nearly anything in its path. Around the same time, it also started producing bubbles, which I can imagine is carbon dioxide.
Changes I have made to reduce the problem
So far, I have stepped up my regular weekly 25g water change to a 55g water change. I have lowered the temperature of the system to 78F. I replaced the carbon in my carbon reactor (two little fishies Phosban reactor) and replaced the phosban material in my phosban reactor (also a two little fishies phosban reactor). In the past, I have been feeding my fish a home-made mush, containing all sorts of sea-food, and use a nori clip for the non-meat eaters. I have this week replaced my fish mush food with Formula 1 flake food, but continue the use of the nori clip. I have also regulated the water level in the main sump to make my skimmer more efficient. I was having to play with it daily depending on the water level. Now the skimmer gets a constant water level, and its a set-it and forget it!
Other changes I would like to make
I have been researching Dino's, and have read that an elevated PH will sometimes reduce, or eliminate the Dyno. I have seen anything from 8.5 to 8.7. This is something I would like to try IF I can find a means to do so without changing my other water chemistry. I am also considering reducing my photoperiod on the main dpsplay to 4 hours a day, if research prooves it will not harm my corals. I am also considering changing my RO filters, and DI resin. It reads 0 TDS, but may be leaching silicates or something else helping to fuel my problem.
Any other suggestions? I will document the results of my changes in this thread as well as posting pictures on a day to day basis of the problematic areas in the main display. So far, it has only been earlier today, I started making the changes to my temperature. Like I said before, I am stuck at work for the night, but will start posting photos in the morning. Something else to note. The Dino's get worse as the day progresses, and in the morning, are "almost" not visable. Thanks for reading, and if you have any method not mentioned, or further suggestions, or are fighting this problem yourself, don't hesitate to jump in. Thanks
Jason