So has anyone had any real success with?

Discussion in 'Algae' started by Bob F, Aug 8, 2014.

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  1. Bob F

    Bob F Bristle Worm

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    Actually beating cynobacteria with the ah natural method of increasing water changes, deminished feedings, increasing flow, improving phosephate removing technique, etc without eventually using chemicals like Red Slime Remover? The reason why I ask is because I am doing all those things and just completed a 3 day blackout and the immediate day following I see it coming back on sand. I have chaeto, along with twice the amount of Chemi pure Blue in sump, I only feed rinsed 1/2 cube of food every other day (change to flake pettets now and then). In addition, have read numerous accounts that despite best efforts it does not seem to go away. Plus I have never read a success story doing it naturally (unless people do not bother following up their success on their posts). Let me preface though, I did not have a bad case and only see the color coming back on sand. nothing slimmy yet so maybe working. But I would love to get to the point where I have presitine white sand. Thank yo uall for your experiences
     
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  3. Va Reef

    Va Reef Giant Squid

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    Yup. It can be done, requires patience, but IMO it is way more effective than using red slime remover because you get to learn more about how your tank works instead of just dosing something to get rid of it for a while. Keep in mind the slime remover only removes until it grows back again. It is up to you to figure out how and why it comes back.

    I didn't even use black outs; just cut back on feedings, extra water changes, siphon the sand bend and baste/scrub the rocks, increase flow to areas where it is really bad. it probably took about a month of this to have an algae free tank.
     
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  4. Todd_Sails

    Todd_Sails Giant Squid

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    Seems to be a problem mostly with newer systems too? Good husbandry (where ever did that term come from?) and it usually goes away. MIne did - knock on wood.
    Luckily, I haven't seen any with my 125-180 transfer, maybe 'cause I already had LR and ir required over an addtional 150g of new water too- now that was a WC
     
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  5. OnlyTono

    OnlyTono Spaghetti Worm

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    I had a cyano outbreak and was able to beat it but it took lots of effort.

    I tried pretty much everything you have done: 3-Days lights out, increased flow, more water changes with lots of manual removal, less feeding and the Red Slime remover. None of these seems to work by themselves, so I then moved on to GFO (also didn't work) and then finally installed a BioPellte reactor.

    Around the 2 month mark of dealing with it, it finally subsided, only to giveaway to a Green Hair Alga outbreak. About a month in with the GHA it peaked. It then started to turned gray, fade and eventfully disappeared.

    Not really y sure any one thing did for me, but rather a combination of everything.

    Now, about 5 months after the initial outbreak began and 1.5 months after getting things back in line, my display tank is about as clean as the day I installed it and stays that way with very little effort. Sand is nice and white and rockwork is clean. With that said, my refugiums (I have two smallish ones) still have some issues. The refugium I grow Cheto in has quite a bit of thick, bright green GHA, while the other one that has a sandbed and some caulerpa algae has a significant amount of cyano. It seems to be happy to stay there, so I have left it alone... for now :)

    If you look at this graph at the end of these links you can see what my Nitrates & Phosphate where at while I was experiencing the outbreak and during the fix. The initial outbreak started around mid Feb.

    Nitrates

    http://www.aquaticlog.com/showcase/parameter?kind=Nitrate&aquariumId=2396
    Phosphates
    http://www.aquaticlog.com/showcase/parameter?kind=Phosphate&aquariumId=2396

    Hope that account helps and provides some clues as to where to go next with your efforts
     
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  6. Bob F

    Bob F Bristle Worm

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    Thank you all for sharing your experiences. Proof enough I will continue without chemical. At least it is very mild right now, I don't even see any on rocks. I just want to correct before gets out of hand. I think I will clean my pumps with my next water change. Haven't done that yet.
     
  7. Va Reef

    Va Reef Giant Squid

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    Look around for any sitting detritus and use a turkey baster to either blow it around before the water change or just suck it up and remove.
     
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  9. Servillius

    Servillius Montipora Digitata

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    I always ended up using Red Slime Remover which always worked well. I also seemed to always end up with a nasty case of dinoflagellates after treating, so in retrospect, a more natural solution may have had its advantages.
     
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  10. billybaldwin3

    billybaldwin3 Skunk Shrimp

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    I had a cyano issue.

    I doubled my flow and changed direction of it.
    Blacked it out for 3 days.
    Sucked it all off the sand.
    Reduced feeding.

    It's taken a couple months, but i really have no "real" issue with it anymore. There are a couple dime sizes spots on my rock that just is not spreading, hasn't for a couple weeks now.

    As of right now, its doing no harm, so I'm just leaving it as it is.

    I'm about to move, when i do that I'm gonna add gfo to my tank.
     
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  11. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

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    Agree with all the above. There are two points worth noting:

    1) Algaecides kill algae. Period. They do not correct the underlying issue that caused the outbreak. It's far better to fix the problem rather than fighting the symptom; the algae is, after all, keeping the water clean while you find the imbalance between nutrient import and export, which is a major benefit to your pets (and your sanity).

    2) Once you've had a Nitrate/Phosphate problem, it may take some time for all of it to leach back out of your rocks and sand. Patience and vigilance will most definitely come in handy.

    HTH :)
     
  12. DSC reef

    DSC reef Giant Squid

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    +1. Patience and dealing with the source will net you success with cyano. If it's not out of hand I wouldn't even consider adding a red slime remover.
     
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