ReefdUp

Ugh, that's unfortunate. If things seem to improve with lights-out, then... unfortunately, that's worse news. It's probably Ostreopsis, which migrate into the water column during lights-out and coagulate (for lack of a better term) on surfaces when the lights come on. Lights-out doesn't kill them or stunt their growth. It can buy your corals time, though, and it can get them moving into a UV sterilizer.

Yes, that's what I decided to use this year after removing my sand bed and crashing my nutrients. I was able to manage all previous outbreaks by managing nutrients, temperature, and pH carefully. Unfortunately a UV sterilizer will only work on dinoflagellates that are open-water swimmers (thankfully the most toxic types normally), but it won't do much for ones that are found in the sandbed or on rocks.

Good news is that your nutrients haven't hit rock bottom, so you have a fighting chance against dinos. Don't let them drop.

This is a really quick version of the coffee filter Dinoflagellate test... Pull a sample of the offending grossness, and put it into a container of water with a tight lid. Shake the container of grossness really well, until it is soup-like. Setup another container with a funnel and coffee filter, so that you can filter the contents of the first container into the second. Strain the liquefied grossness through the coffee filter. The second container should fill with clear-ish liquid. Place the second container in high light for about an hour. (Throw out the first container's contents, if any remain). If the second container develops a blob-snot-like mass, then, I'm sorry, you probably have dinos. They clump together in high light. If it doesn't, then you may still have dinos, but not the super miserable ones (there are lots of types). Hope that helps.

Let's get to the root of the issue... What are your nitrate and phosphate levels? High phosphate is a good indicator that it's in the cyano family, while high nitrate is a good indicator that it's in the algae family. If both are low, there's a good chance it's dinoflagellates. Next, if you don't have access to a microscope (but if you do, see what it is!), do the coffee filter test to see if it's dinoflagellates. If you don't know how to do this test, I can walk you through it. Note... if it's dinos, then water changes are one of the worst things you can do. Knowing what problem you're fighting will help you know how to fight it. Yes, many of the above solutions can help various things in different ways, but they are not broadly effective.

If you had an account change request at the meeting but have not yet seen any changes to your account, please let me know. Otherwise, I believe all actions are complete.

Ryan Batcheller and I had a fun conversation on Serious Reefs discussing how I save corals as a hobby. Check it out if you'd like hear more! (Note: It's behind a paywall, so if that's not your thing, well, I'll be at the next meeting so we can chat in person!)

There are some big things underway here... and to kick it off, it's about time that we had a real way to assess coral diseases! Looking forward to your thoughts! Coral Disease Assessment: Key Lesion Insights for Hobbyists Stay tuned for the next big announcement.

Ack! I'm so sorry - I completely missed your post! I haven't had a chance to watch the video yet, but there are absolutely a lot of things that help in hospital tanks. My hospital tank is currently sitting at 74*F (not recommended), running carbon, but I use higher aeration (interested to know the logic behind lower aeration). Hopefully I can watch it this weekend. Thanks for sharing!

This is so fantastic!! Oh, I'm so excited for the students! Thank you for all of your efforts! (And, if any K-12 students are interested, we still offer free memberships for them!)

What a fantastic build!! And what an amazing opportunity for those kids. Thank you for all of your dedication - and then sharing it with us! Please keep it coming!

Welcome back!

Thank you for posting this. I am currently dealing with three SCLTD-associated bacteria in my tank now (with all accompanying symptoms), so I guess it's fair to say I have this in my tanks. I'm documenting it all, but it's really awful.

It's funny... I've been using my regular RODI setup for six years here in Fairfax County without a thought. [When we moved into the area, I read that they were using chlorine only - which was true at the time. Chloramine usage is seasonal in FFX.] I've been having some problems lately, so I've been troubleshooting everything (I mean - the tank setup is six years old - lots of failure points). That included my RODI setup. Good timing on the post, although I'm a bit late to the game. I don't have an easy way to add a second carbon block, so I'm switching to a 0.5u carbon filter specifically for chlorine and chloramines. Due to the size, I plan to switch it out frequently so it doesn't get clogged. Also, check that your DI resin is absolutely full, tamped down completely. Otherwise, channels could form, and ammonia is often the remaining byproduct.

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