can corals be saved-tank reset after Dino's

[Savant]

I have come to the conclusion that for me it will not be worth fighting Dino's any longer. I am going to set up my old 73 bowfront for the fish until I can restart my current 105DT

I have a mixed tank with fish, lps and a couple of sps. The corals consist of acans, hammers, frogspawn, duncans, a couple of chalices, a toadstool, some red and purple monti caps and assorted paly's and zoa's.

Can any of the corals be saved without cross contaminating a virgin tank? If its not possible do I have to just toss them in the trash? I wouldnt want to give my problem to somebody else

I can transfer the fish with no prob right?

do I need to nuke the rock or is it somehow salvageable(fresh water dip/soak)?

What really hurts is the tank has begun to really show great growth but so are the dino's :sad2:

[swk]

Oh man. That's terrible. Did you try peroxide?

[BrklynArch]

this is a quick "to do when dino's appear list" based on my hours of research on this site....this is what I did.....
check out my thread here -

build thread here (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=22251818#post22251818)

1- a series (2 treatments 1 week apart) of 3 day blackouts

2- not doing water changes for a month or so (weekly water changes were fueling the algae growth)

3- changing my photo period ( cut down by an hour or so and reduced the intensity of my leds a bit)

4- manual removal of the offending crud (used a siphon connected to a filter sock back into the sump)

5- increased water flow (added a couple of power heads in the back corners of the tank)

6- hydrogen peroxide treatment ( 10ml once a day in the morning for about a week or so)
I didn't want to resort to any chemical remedies (ultra aglea x etc...) and the peroxide is the most extreme of what i did, but its actually very effective against nuisance algae.

also not sure if it had any effect but i also changed my salt mix from reef crystals to instant ocean.

I felt like the reef crystals had too many nutrients in the mix and was getting tired of cleaning out brown residue the mixing container accumulated if it was mixed for any longer than 24 hrs

[Reef Frog]

How long has the tank been set up, and how long has the infestation lasted? A complete breakdown may be extreme & unnecessary. There are other methods available to get a handle on it. But I'm not sure what you're dealing with so take that with a grain of salt.

Definitely do not ditch the corals. Dinos exist in any coral reef aquarium - you just have too many of them. A good quick cleaning and putting them in a frag tank temporarily while you work on the DT is an idea.

Besides the suggestions above, removing the dinios on a regular basis is a form of nutrient export. GFO is another tactic, removing PO4 & silicates that make up their cellular structure. Wet skimming & mechanical filtration can also help. IMO I would hang in there - good luck.

[Savant]

REEF FROG : tanks been up for about 14 months
ARCH: Yea I have already implemented all of your suggestions but I only did 1 blackout It has been about 3 weeks since the first so I will blackout then 7 days later blackout agian. I have been aprox 30 days since last wc. I dosed peroxide at 20ml/gal for 2 weeks, I cant honestly say whether it helped or not but 2 days after coming out of blackout my cleaner shrimp died after an unsuccessful molt (his antennae were malformed, short and brittle)

Im interested in the double blackout though because I do see a reduction in growth since I started alternating which side of the photo period i shorten (lights off early then lights on late the next day) however im having to run only about 5 hours a day to manage any sort of control.

Here is the tank blacked out...BTW that blue painters tape will NOT stick to cardboard...lol I had to go back over with packing tape
292071

[bertoni]

Transferring a coral might transfer dinoflagellates, but I think a good coral dip should reduce the likelihood of a problem occurring.

[phillrodrigo]

I would dip corals in peroxide before transfer. Peroxide worked well on my tank. Did you do a 3 day black out while dosing peroxide or did you do them separately. Doing them together is the key 1 ml per 10 gallons if I remember right. I was at the same point and then found the peroxide and it's been gone for maybe 6 months.