Sand Bed UV Sweeper by 3dReefing has anyone tried it?

[bluestar87]

I am the owner of 3DReefing and appreciate you all's interest in the UV Sweeper. I have been testing this method for roughly 3 months now and the reports from the first sales batch have been coming in on Mack's dino group on facebook. The results are better than expected and have not heard it not working for anyone that has not put in the effort.

This started out of desperation to solve my own LCA issue. I did all the recommendations and more such as phyto, copepods, and silicate dosing for several months. Dino populations were reduced but not fully eliminated and as soon as I would think I was in the clear and reduce silicate dosing, the dinos would surge again. I have been reefing for over 12 years now with many tanks under the belt full of trial and error so I understand cutting off the source to an issue which I believed I did. Sometimes reef issues need that drastic solution.

After reading hundreds of pages here on R2R and getting a deeper sense of the issue the solution is clear. The only way to beat dinos is to shift the biome of the tank to a more favorable one and how you do that matters. With ostreopsis dinos a simple UV sterilizer filtering the water column can be enough. With benthic dinos like large cell amphidinium this is not an option as they hide deeper in the sand during the dark but a majority of them will bloom during peak lighting hours but never really release into the water. So we bring the UV to the sand in a controlled way. During the peak lighting hours is when you use the UV Sweeper to get the majority that have come up. Not necessarily killing (while many are possibly dying right afterwards ) but sterilizing them and the spread stops. Following each treatment I recommend bottled bacteria to seal the deal and make it as difficult as possible for any survivors. Even if you are not able to get all the spots it seems that most dinos will start to disappear on their own as if a signal is sent out as they know the environment has shifted to a harsh one (just a theory and observations on this one).

It takes daily treatments for outbreaks to be resolved. It can range from a week to a month to be fully clear and not able to find signs of dinos on the scope from customer reports. The impressive part is no matter how long it takes to be fully clear, you will have a white sand bed again in 4 to 7 days.

I spent a good bit of time and effort into implementing this solution. Early prototypes were sent out months ago all with positive results. Lots of bottled bacteria were tested and ultimately found microbe lift special blend to the be the best. It is a tool and a process but hopefully now we have a better way to deal with this hobby killer and hopefully put it behind us.

Sorry for the long post but I am pretty excited about this tool and could go on and on about reefing.
As of today I should have plenty in stock in about a week. Just make sure to hit the "Notify me when available" button on the product page.

Does it work for sca also?

 

[SpokaneSteve]

I recognize the stupid things I have done over the years; I.e. not watching nutrients, blasting my sand bed often with a water jet to super clean, etc. Perhaps they will not come back with proper husbandry and testing but when/if they do this is certainly a better way to deal with them then the many other things that failed more then succeeded.

Hello:

this really caught my attention as I have been "turkey basting" my sand and letting the filters remove the clouds that come up. Do you think that's a mistake? Honest question - trying to learn.

Cheers, Steve

 

[Moe K]

Does it work for sca also?

Yes. Also users with prorocentrum are reporting positive results. Plain and simple it will shift your sand biome from any nuisance photosynthetic organism with brute force while keeping a majority of non photosynthetic organisms in tact.

 

[bubbgee]

I now include reef glasses in the package that are UV400 just as a precaution. The reflection of the UV light is not intense enough to cause any concern. I have a link on the product page where it is recommended to get a foot pedal extension. You then place the UV sweeper as close as possible to the sand then turn it on. More instructions included in the packaging.

I have accidentally gone over sand dwelling corals. They started to bleach but came back. That specific coral was hit a number of times as I was kind of seeing how much it could take. It took quite a bit exposure where I am confident you will be safe if any corals get a couple of seconds of exposure. You just don't want to get them directly for more than 3 to 5 seconds repeatedly. Never the less it is highly recommended to lift any sand dwelling corals off the sand and onto racks during treatment. The hermit crabs and snails were not affected. They just might not reproduce anymore.

This just takes basic precaution as you would anything poisonous in the cabinet. Its not that bad but we all understand not to drink them. Don't stare directly at the UV light and will be fine.

That's nice! Have you used it on the rockwork as well or is it just limited to the sand? Was planning to get one for the inevitable if it ever happens again..

 

[Moe K]

That's nice! Have you used it on the rockwork as well or is it just limited to the sand? Was planning to get one for the inevitable if it ever happens again..

I have not and you have to be cautious from hitting the glass lamp on rock work. It could also open up the potential for nuisance hair algae since you will be eliminating everything good and bad on the rock surfaces. But anything is better than dinos.

 

[bubbgee]

I have not and you have to be cautious from hitting the glass lamp on rock work. It could also open up the potential for nuisance hair algae since you will be eliminating everything good and bad on the rock surfaces. But anything is better than dinos.

I'll take hair algae over dinos on rocks.........

 

[Ziggy17]

Hey guys,

So I’ve been battling LCA for quite some time. My original tank got the scourge because being brand new to salt, I thought zero nutrients was the way to go, and I thought my brown uglies were diatoms. Unfortunately it was LCA. That tank (Red Sea) popped the bottom seal, and received a replacement. Unfortunately, the Dino’s followed me to the new tank. Likely were on the rock work..
I’ve been doing all the right things, dosing silicates, bacteria, blah blah, and after a few months, the Dino population decreased a lot. A shout out to Mack’s Dinoflagellate support group Facebook page as that page is a fantastic and important step in defeating dinos.
Anyhow, things were moving slowly, but in the right direction.
One popped into the group, and Moe started promoting his UV sweeper. Tbh, I thought it was total bS when I read about it. A few people ordered them and said it was working. Again, called BS on it. In theory it could work, but my thought was that, yes, you’re killing Dino’s, but you’re also killing the opponents that you want to outcompete the Dino’s. So it would be a vicious cycle of chasing your tail long term.
But after 6 months of Dino’s, I finally messaged Moe, and ordered one. I figured for $100 CND, it was worth a go. If it’s snake oil, then I’m only out $100 which is a drop in the bucket compared to the other stuff I buy for the tank.

Fast forward to now….

I used the sweeper every day for a week. Leaving it in place for about 10 seconds per spot. It took a few days of treatment but I started to see a recession in the brown that came back. By day 7 it was all gone.
Now, I was still sceptical that the Dino’s would reclaim the throne on the sand bed. But after 2 weeks, they have now. Yesterday, I took water/sands samples from the tank and put them under the microscope. Not a single Dino. Lots of little worms, and other living animals, but zero Dino’s.
I’m actually really please thus far, but I won’t be 100% positive they’re gone until a few months of testing samples from the sand bed under the scope.

I will also add, that I completely stopped dosing silicates when I started with the UV. I did not supplement bacteria, as I sure the rock work have plenty to spare. I do dose live phyto to keep my pod population healthy and to help battle PO4 spikes from dead dinos. Which it did. My PO4 jumped from .05 up to .23 during the Dino extinction event. But has since fallen to a practical .1 and continues to fall slowly. I’m using a fuge and skimmer to export the PO4. I also am running activated carbon to help with toxins. So far, no harm to the corals. I am now fighting GHA from the elevated nutrients, but that’s getting under control by the CUC.

I’ll report back if
A) the dinos return
B) the Dinos do not return and it’s been clear for a few months.

I think the UV sweeper appears to work, provided you have done all the steps to stabilize the nutrients and build up the biodiversity to keep the Dinos from taking a new foothold once they’ve been killed.

Worth the $80-$100 if you have LCA/SCA/Procentrum.

Edited for spelling/grammar.

 

[carol3]

Hello:

this really caught my attention as I have been "turkey basting" my sand and letting the filters remove the clouds that come up. Do you think that's a mistake? Honest question - trying to learn.

Cheers, Steve

Great question, does anyone know the answer to this?

 

[musaabi]

Great question, does anyone know the answer to this?

I think yes because you’re allowing the Dino’s to spread that otherwise would just live in the sand bed.

 

[musaabi]

Also wanted to follow up on this. I had Dino’s that I thought was cyano for a bit after my parameters tanked. I was getting announced and saw the UV sweeper searching the forms. I used it literally 1 time and used it for a bit longer than the recommended 10 seconds, I want to say closer to 20 seconds per spot. I also used it on some of the rock work that had Dino’s covered. The day after I used it, I thought I made things worse because it looked like there were way more Dino’s. Went camping for the weekend came back a few days later and they’re almost completely gone. I did also use it during peaks hours to ensure I was getting it all and had to relocate some corals from the sand bed as I did my sweep. I dosed PNS bacteria and some phyto as well. I’d recommend it for anyone having issues with Dino’s!

 

[Moe K]

Great question, does anyone know the answer to this?

This depends on the state of your sand.

If you are fighting dinos it is best to absolutely not touch the sand bed. You will just be stirring around the dinos.
If your sand bed is healthy and you have not had anymore dinos for a few weeks then IMO this is a good technique to stir the sand bed. It is gentle enough to not destroy that microbiome in the sand while lifting detritus up and out. After researching a lot about the sand bed I believe the worst thing you can do is siphon it during a water change. With basting it you keep everything in tact. SunnyX does the basting method and his tank and sand look as healthy as ever.

 

[SpokaneSteve]

This depends on the state of your sand.

If you are fighting dinos it is best to absolutely not touch the sand bed. You will just be stirring around the dinos.
If your sand bed is healthy and you have not had anymore dinos for a few weeks then IMO this is a good technique to stir the sand bed. It is gentle enough to not destroy that microbiome in the sand while lifting detritus up and out. After researching a lot about the sand bed I believe the worst thing you can do is siphon it during a water change. With basting it you keep everything in tact. SunnyX does the basting method and his tank and sand look as healthy as ever.

Hello Moe:

This could be a really good learning opportunity for me. Any chance you can point out some of the things you read? I have really vacuumed my sand bed a lot but maybe I'm just setting myself back.....??? Would love to learn how to do better...

Thanks much, Steve.