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taricha · 01/23/2016, 11:34 PM

A couple of observations and a proposed plan of attack...
Took microscope samples from a few different spots in the tank and sand bed.
Brown dusty area in back of tank: amphidinium dinos outnumbering any other visible moving organism 10 or 100 to 1 also small amounts of red cyano.

Next red cyano patch in front left corner:
Some different dinos (almost spherical, noticeable grooves in armor, spins with "one foot nailed to floor") outnumbering a very few amphidinium, lots of other organisms too equally represented with dinos.

Edit: you can actually see the flagellum. It's a thin hair from the top of the dino extending to the left.

Detritus pile near cyano patch discussed above:
Tons of life of all sizes, dinos barely present at all.

Filamentous algae from fuge: no dinos lots of other things, mostly large.

Finally, sample from bottom of skimmer cup: no dinos, lots of other things, mostly small.

*correlation does not equal causation* however, I think I'm going to try to get rid of dinos by a version of dirty method

Operation: Grow Algae.
I feel like either by direct competition or associated organisms, having algae leaves no room for dinos, so I'm going to do what it takes to grow algae.
1. triple feeding levels
2. Cut vodka/vinegar dose to 1/4 of normal
3. Reintroduce sunlight to the tank (this will either make algae grow, or dinos explode), and increase normal tank lights, reduce lighting in fuge
4. Siphon cyano, but leave detritus piles

If that doesn't work within a week to put algae back on upswing, I'll take more aggressive algae growing measures.

01/23/2016, 11:34 PM	#2780
taricha Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NE Miss Posts: 608	A couple of observations and a proposed plan of attack... Took microscope samples from a few different spots in the tank and sand bed. Brown dusty area in back of tank: amphidinium dinos outnumbering any other visible moving organism 10 or 100 to 1 also small amounts of red cyano. Next red cyano patch in front left corner: Some different dinos (almost spherical, noticeable grooves in armor, spins with "one foot nailed to floor") outnumbering a very few amphidinium, lots of other organisms too equally represented with dinos. Edit: you can actually see the flagellum. It's a thin hair from the top of the dino extending to the left. Detritus pile near cyano patch discussed above: Tons of life of all sizes, dinos barely present at all. Filamentous algae from fuge: no dinos lots of other things, mostly large. Finally, sample from bottom of skimmer cup: no dinos, lots of other things, mostly small. correlation does not equal causation however, I think I'm going to try to get rid of dinos by a version of dirty method Operation: Grow Algae. I feel like either by direct competition or associated organisms, having algae leaves no room for dinos, so I'm going to do what it takes to grow algae. 1. triple feeding levels 2. Cut vodka/vinegar dose to 1/4 of normal 3. Reintroduce sunlight to the tank (this will either make algae grow, or dinos explode), and increase normal tank lights, reduce lighting in fuge 4. Siphon cyano, but leave detritus piles If that doesn't work within a week to put algae back on upswing, I'll take more aggressive algae growing measures. Last edited by taricha; 01/23/2016 at 11:47 PM.