RODI, Tannins and Dinoflagellates blooms in summer
 

Some comments in other threads have prompted me to look into a problem I have seen with tanks during summer months: Dino (golden scum) blooms. I have also noticed increased golden/brown filtrate on my first stage sediment filter on my RODI system around the same time, which was too coincidental for me to ignore. Upon nosing around the web, they may in fact be linked... I found a comment that tannins contain vitamin B12, claimed to be a nutrient important to some dinos. I have also found some references to high tannin content in river effluent associated with large dino blooms in the ocean.

My question is: does anyone know more about this or have any way to combat these dino blooms. I have installed an RODI system and have since mostly remedied the issue, but I see other tanks invariably get hammered every summer.

Very interesting. This is the first time I hear of such a thing, but very interesting indeed.

My 2-cents on summer blooms is lack of maintenance. Summer comes around and most of us spend much less time around our tanks. I, being one of them.

Ray

Hi Ray,
That is a real possibility, along with increased light from longer day lengths or increased temperature, but my hunch is there is more to do with it than that. I, along with a few others I know, have tried to deal with Dino blooms with water changes only to exacerbate the problem. I also have the impression (from visiting various tanks) that there seems to be some synchronicity to the problem between tanks.
Dan