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DNA · 12/30/2016, 09:28 AM

I've mentioned marine snow a few times now and none have picked up on how important it is.
Marine snow is essential for Ostreopsis dinoflagellates and probably other species of dinos as well.
I can say this now with certainty since I have no visible dinos in my display tank.
It's like a law of nature and it has been accepted in the natural science world.
It's just that reefers have not paid any attention to it and we have not been able to prove it as a cause for dinoflagellate blooms.

That's why I set out to do just that.
I removed around 95% of the sandbed and 40% of the live rocks to reduce surface area.
Then for weeks I blew the marine snow off the remaining rocks up to 10 times a day and siphoned the remaining sand every other day for weeks.
An XL filter sock would clog up every day and the amount that kept coming was unbelievable and it still is.
Now with nothing short of compulsive dedication and massive amounts of time spent the results are in.

Marine snow is essential to dinoflagelles. It is that simple.

No visible dinos in the display tank, but small patches in the sump since much of the marine snow does not skim well.
------

I urge you to prove me wrong, but I don't think that is going to happen so I'm suggesting a method to get you going in reproducing my results.
First I must mention that this would be considered drastic by most reefers and certain to change several things in your reef tank so use it a last resort and if you have little or nothing to lose. Fish will be fine, but corals and critters may get hit. I'm pretty sure there are side effect from this as well as from the dino toxins that are already in you tank.

Remove all corals. You can place them in your sump after your get it spotless.
Remove all sand. Yes that means all of it.

Set up a series of buckets with clean water from your tank and spin your rocks in there.
The first one is going to get dirty really fast so put it aside and let the dirt settle and reuse most of the water in another bucket.

You may now have ridden you tank of around 90% of the marine snow, but it may not be enough so you may need to do this several times.
I'd recommend at least twice a week for the rocks. Do use filter socks, loads of current and all the detritus reducing methods you can come up with. This is not an easy task so expect it to take a lot of work and weeks or months of time.

------

I call it marine snow, but since our tanks are really small compared to the ocean it's not the exact same thing.
It consists of many things, but the most noteworthy could be fecal pellets, bacteria and small lifeforms.

Even if you manage to rid your tank of dinos this way it's more than likely it will not be instantly ready for difficult corals.
We are just not there yet.

12/30/2016, 09:28 AM	#4048
DNA Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Iceland Posts: 1,516	I've mentioned marine snow a few times now and none have picked up on how important it is. Marine snow is essential for Ostreopsis dinoflagellates and probably other species of dinos as well. I can say this now with certainty since I have no visible dinos in my display tank. It's like a law of nature and it has been accepted in the natural science world. It's just that reefers have not paid any attention to it and we have not been able to prove it as a cause for dinoflagellate blooms. That's why I set out to do just that. I removed around 95% of the sandbed and 40% of the live rocks to reduce surface area. Then for weeks I blew the marine snow off the remaining rocks up to 10 times a day and siphoned the remaining sand every other day for weeks. An XL filter sock would clog up every day and the amount that kept coming was unbelievable and it still is. Now with nothing short of compulsive dedication and massive amounts of time spent the results are in. Marine snow is essential to dinoflagelles. It is that simple. No visible dinos in the display tank, but small patches in the sump since much of the marine snow does not skim well. ------ I urge you to prove me wrong, but I don't think that is going to happen so I'm suggesting a method to get you going in reproducing my results. First I must mention that this would be considered drastic by most reefers and certain to change several things in your reef tank so use it a last resort and if you have little or nothing to lose. Fish will be fine, but corals and critters may get hit. I'm pretty sure there are side effect from this as well as from the dino toxins that are already in you tank. Remove all corals. You can place them in your sump after your get it spotless. Remove all sand. Yes that means all of it. Set up a series of buckets with clean water from your tank and spin your rocks in there. The first one is going to get dirty really fast so put it aside and let the dirt settle and reuse most of the water in another bucket. You may now have ridden you tank of around 90% of the marine snow, but it may not be enough so you may need to do this several times. I'd recommend at least twice a week for the rocks. Do use filter socks, loads of current and all the detritus reducing methods you can come up with. This is not an easy task so expect it to take a lot of work and weeks or months of time. ------ I call it marine snow, but since our tanks are really small compared to the ocean it's not the exact same thing. It consists of many things, but the most noteworthy could be fecal pellets, bacteria and small lifeforms. Even if you manage to rid your tank of dinos this way it's more than likely it will not be instantly ready for difficult corals. We are just not there yet.