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Unread 04/16/2009, 05:16 AM   #4
redfishsc
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Wake Forest, NC
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Re: The Guide to get rid of dinoflagellates

Quote:
Originally posted by plancton


So another RC member suggested a weird aproach: Increasing the nitrates!, and he told me to read this article which has a very scientific aproach:

To make it short, the article explains that dinoflagellates posses bacteria inside of them, wheather beneficial or parasitic bacteria I don´t know and I don´t care, but the important thing is that that bacteria can help eliminate them.

According to the article, when nitrate is present in low concentrations, the bacteria inside the dinos start to multiply to a point where it makes the dinoflagellate explode and so it kills it.



That certainly is unusual. If that's the case, as it seems to be for your situation, that is very good news.

I have a lower-level dino outbreak in my 20g frag tank right now, but it's only a month old so this is normal. However, the nitrates in the tank went as high as 20ppm, at which point I added a refugium and now they are down to around 3-4.



When the nitrates were the highest, so was the dino population. I suspect that if bacterial action can kill off dinos, that not all dinos will be affected by it.



That being said, I also think there is something to be said for your steadfast endurance. I would wager that your persistence and patience killed the dinos as much as anything!



What was your nitrate source?


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