Help! Is This Dinoflagellates???

Is this what I'm afraid it is? Dinoflagellates? This started showing up about 3 weeks ago which was about 1 month after a tank transfer. I originally thought it was diatoms due to a mini cycle from the move, but I am now seriously concerned that it is dinoflagellates. I have done 10% wc 6-8 times all my levels appear to be ok but I do know that phosphates and nitrates may not be detectable because the rate that the Dino consumes it. During every wc I carefully siphon the top layer of sand and try to suck it all up the best I can but it is truly unbelievable how fast this stuff comes back... like 8-12 hours and the entire sand bed looks like this again. It's not really growing on the rocks or corals at this point. I have only used RO water for top offs and water changes and I use red sea coral pro salt. I don't however have a DI stage yet in my ro system I don't know if this could be leading to it or not though. If anyone can please help identify this and offer any advice on what to do it would be greatly appreciated. I hope this doesn't sound offensive in anyway but I am hoping that someone has personally dealt with this issue. I only say this because I have done lots of reading about the issue with alot of conflicting info out there. I have also chased previous problems with lots of time and money based on opinion not actual experience. Thanks in advance for any insight you guys and gals can offer.

Wow that was quick thanks. I can only ever see a bubble or two here and there but it may be because I haven't allowed to sit very long without siphoning and water change. It is slimey not necessarily stringy. Stringy to me is like individual strands which it is not. but it is long and snotty. Wow if that makes any sense... Sorry looks like your auto correct changed a couple words on ya. What did you mean to say when you wrote "so you need to run a lot of (apartment). And also how hard was the blackout and the rest of the tank? I have a mixed setup of mostly lps, anemone, a few fish, and a couple sps.

Auto correct got me too... how hard was the blackout ON THE rest of your tank?

Mark thank you for the advice. From everything I have read and all the pictures I have seen it does not look like typical cyanobacteria. Either way, I think your advice would be helpful for either situation. I don't have a sump, I would love one but the tank is a RSM130. Otherwise I would have definitely put some macro in a long time ago. Maybe there is an option of putting Chaeto in a filter bag or something so that I can put it in my main display and then remove it later on? I don't want to end up using a weed whacker when caulerpa or Chaeto get out of control in the display. Or does anyone have experience using the stock overflow chamber to house macro in the back of an rsm130d? I have quite a bit of room back there now with stock skimmer being replaced with the intank basket and tunze.

Catch of the day thanks for your input too! Don't know how missed your reply till now. Sorry. I think I will try the blackout I don't think it could hurt either way. did the dino ever come back after you did the blackout? Mark. I have always been fairly conservative in my feedings I think. I am very careful with amounts. I never feed a whole frozen cube of live just a small chunk that I strain most of the fine particles and liquid out of. (typically LRS) I don't always feed frozen I typically feed spectrum pellets once a day and only about 3-5 pellets per fish 2 clowns firefish and diamond goby. I don't feed my fish on the 1 day a week I feed my coral as whatever the corals don't catch the fish eat. I have 7 or 8 hermit, and several snails which seem to completely avoid the stuff. It also seem that I have lost several snails recently.. Catch of the day. About what percentage of water change did you do? Did you do it all at once or 2-3 in a short amount of time?

Hello Mark, thanks for your input/advice. So dO you think I should or shouldn't go with a blackout. Do you think that the feeding schedule I follow is too much? I did already reduce feeding to every other day shortly after this started showing up. I also reduced my photo period a few hours at the same time. That makes sense about the water changes supplying food to this (algae) but how do I keep it from smothering everything and choking off my coral if I don't siphon it out? Vicious cycle for sure. What would you suggest I do next? Thanks!

All good stuff.  Yes on dino, but no reason to worry.  It will just pass.  Good water flow and filtration always helps but I wouldn't worry about it.  

No it never came back and to be honest the water after was so clean after

P.s. Sorry about the blue pic it just happened to be all that was still saved on my phone that was an fts.

Reefdup mentions using a microscope. Is there anywhere or anyone that has a microscope and can confirm Dinoflagellates?

Edited by PharmaSki - January 25 2016 at 1:42pm