Dino utilise carbon dioxide as a food source, so if possible we need to limit the available carbon dioxide in your tank. This is the reason you will often read that reefers claim raising the PH level to 8.3 or above will help in the fight against Dino. pH is directly affected by the available oxygen in your tank.
Opening a window raises the pH. However, to have any affect against dinoflagellates you need to do a little more than opening a window. For those of us living in colder climates, the thought of opening a window isn’t a great one. Increasing oxygen alone will not get rid of dinoflagellates in a saltwater aquarium, but it does help in fighting back, by improving the overall wellbeing of your tank.
Below are a few methods we can use to raise the oxygen level in our tanks, with hydrogen peroxide being the preferred method.
Start dosing hydrogen peroxide in a saltwater aquarium:
Start dosing 3% hydrogen peroxide at a rate of 1ml per 3 gallons daily. Do this as the lights go out as this is the time that free swimming dinoflagellates enter the water column.
Peroxide temporarily raises the oxygen and has the potential to disrupt the life cycle of dino. Some reefers are uneasy about using peroxide, and I’ll admit I was one of those until I started using it too. Hydrogen peroxide oxidates the moment it hits water and raises the level of oxygen in your tank for about 4 hours.
Micro-bubbling a saltwater tank:
There are forums that suggest ‘micro bubbling’ by placing an air pump outside your property and running an airline to a limestone diffuser in your sump.
This certainly does increase oxygen but depending on where your tank is located in your house it might not be possible. It is also worth knowing that this method has the potential to cause salt creep over a longer period of time.
Increase oxygen through your skimmer:
Connect your skimmer up to tubing that you run to the outside of your house. Again, this would certainly work but you may have the same limitations as above. You may not be able to run a tube to outside.
Install a PIV unit in your property:
Installing a PIV unit in your property will displace the carbon dioxide accumulated indoors with more oxygen from fresh air outside.
Most modern properties are so well sealed that they can become oxygen deficient especially over the colder months. This means that your tank could be oxygen deficient too. The primary reason PIV units are installed is to prevent condensation and stale air in corners.
Add a Sochting Oxydator to your system:
A Sochting Oxydator is an inexpensive addition to a system and for me I believe it was worth the expense as a tool to help elevate the pH.
You can read more about it here.