Dino-X Review
 

After reading some success stories with this product, and having a bit of an algae issue, I decided to gamble the $50 and try it.

After 3 weeks of dosing as per instructions, nothing. No change whatsoever in my garden.

I do not recommend this product for algae control. Especially for $50 :)

The end.

You just dose this stuff everyday or what?

Ouch. Sorry to hear that. I hate crap that dosnt work. Makes this hobby frustrating.

Every other day, reduced photoperiod, no other filtration but skimmer.

Hi,

What type of algae did you use our product on? Can you post a few pictures?

How long has this tank been running for? What are your water parameters?

Dino X works against most types of algae, but there are some that need more than one treatment period.

Vinny, I probably have 5 different types of algae, bryopsis, bubble, hair, turf. Other assorted types, I'm collecting it :)
Tank is almost 2 years old, almost no sand left, PO4 <0.04, NO3 higher, maybe 20ppm, I can't get it down.
All media removed, photo period reduced on both main lights and actinics, food input almost zero for 3 weeks. Skimmer remained online, filter sock for mechanical removal. Dosed 21ml every other evening for 3 weeks. No impact at all on any type of algae. Didn't even slow it down.

Some of the more alga less tanks I have seem us the use an large tank sump full of chaeto and other macro algae.... Think this is probably the best solution if you have the space.

I don't really have the space. I'm going to remove the rest of the sand that I can reach, drain tank, H2O2 the crap out of the algae, and try to manage from there. NO3 seems to be the big trigger here, I have never got it down in this tank.

So what's the word Vinny? I would like to know as well cause when the product first launched under a different name, it suppose to work on bryopsis too but since the new label, that has been taken off. So do you think it will work on bryopsis if the dosage is doubled and for a longer period of time? Just curious. Thanks for your time.

Vinny was here. Then Vinny wasn't....

I'm guessing Vinny doesn't work Sunday's.

I suppose that's possible lol

Dino X isn't designed to work on other algeas :(
It is specificially designed to target the dinoflagilate animal in a manner (when the directions are followed exactly) which will not cause harm to any other animals in the tank.

I know that there are some reports of it being used for green hair algea, briopsis, etc, however, that is not it's intended/designed use :(

Don't forget that you will get a false reading on phosphates when there is a significant amount of algea present as it is consuming it, so your reading is only what is "left over" and not being consumed by the algea.

Also, don't forget that Dino X was always intended as a "last resort" treatment. Have you tried increasing the number of water changes, running high quality phosban and carbon media. Do you use RO or tap water?

Sorry for the all the questions, just hoping we can solve this problem.

From the advertising - "Dino X works against dinoflagellates, bryopsis, and many other types of plague algae with no ill effects to corals."

Says to me it's is sold as meant to affect other algae :)

PO4 has always been low, NO3, always high. Yes RO, 50% water changes every 2 weeks. I think that's more than enough. Always run media for PO4 AND use fozdown, carbon full time, tried pellets, currently running zeo again. Nothing dents this algae, my rabbitfish won't even touch it. Some herbivore he turned out to be -lol

Hi,

I'll try to answer the all questions in one post. :)

Dino X and what it treats
Our product is labeled as Dino X, but should not be considered as a solution for only Dinoflagellates. It is also a treatment for various types of algae such as hair algae, bubble algae, bryopsis, etc. As I mentioned in my first post, some algae requires more than one treatment period.

Dino X will treat most types of dinoflagellates. There are however, some types that release toxins when it begins of die off. With so many types out there, it is difficult to ID exact which one is toxic and non-toxic. For this reason, it is best to siphon out as much as possible before beginning treatment.

Product effectiveness
Some algae can be more stubborn than others and therefore the effectiveness of the product will depend on the current condition of the tank. This includes, water quality, feeding habits, current amount of algae present, quality of cleanup crew, condition of the live rock and sand, etc. Following our user guide is also very important.

For severe cases of algae outbreaks, we recommend users manually remove as much algae as possible before beginning treatment.

Risk of overdosing
It is not good to go above the recommended dose because then you risk harm to your livestock.


Aquattro,

When there is a good amount of algae present in the tank, much of the PO4 gets consumed by it. This causes false readings in test kits. It is possible that the algae is being continuously fueled by the PO4 and NO3 stored in the live rock and sand. Can you post a photo of what your rocks look like?

Yes, I'll get some photos tomorrow. PO4 was very low before the algae problem, so not likely the issue of it adsorbing/hiding it. Sand is mostly gone, rock is under 2 years old, all fresh Walt Smith rock when new.

I did have lots of food and fish deaths late last year, which I'm sure permeated the rock with nutrients, but with the amount of water I change, it should be manageable.

Brad, I'm betting $50 in clean up crew will work better than $50 in Miracle Bottle. :)

I started maintaining a reef tank that had 750 ppm NO3 and 2.5 ppm PO4 and was LOADED with hair algae, cyano, and dinos. After eliminating the dinos (they actually went away as soon as I sucked them out and did a good cleaning), I added a monstrous clean up crew, and was able to keep the algae at bay while the nutrients dropped over a year. By looking at the algae-free tank, you would never have guessed it was housing massive amounts of nutrients. CUC FTW!

When live rock absorbs nutrients, there's no telling how long it may take for it to expel most of it. In some tanks, this happens quicker than others.

Even with water changes, you're only removing a percentage of what the rock released into the water column.

Yes, I know, and that's the issue. I have no idea what is in there, and simply want to quickly kill the algae to buy myself some time to remedy the issue.

And what would you suggest? I currently have multiple urchins, dozens of snails and just added about 15 hermits. All of which look like moving tufts of algae :) Thinking sea hare, but hard to get here.