Yet Another Cyano Thread

Discussion in 'Algae' started by RPM1, Jun 16, 2010.

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  1. RPM1

    RPM1 Fire Worm

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    So, I have been battling cyano for the last couple of months. It all began when my BTA formally introduced himself to one of my Koralia's one night. Needless to say I woke up to more soup that an aquarium. This caused a nutrient spike and got me to where I am today.

    After the "Incident" I did two, 15% a week water changes to get the nitrates back in the ballpark. All with RO/DI water. I added a skimmer (That I needed anyway) and have been skimming wet since it was broken in. I get about a cup of tea to coffee colored skim out every day. I ditched my wet / dry in favor of a seven gallon fuge with 3" sand, LR, & cheato. I change out my filter sock every day for a clean one. I ditched my old power compacts for a new four bulb T-5 fixture. The lights have been cut back to a 10 hr cycle. and the fuge light is on a 14 hr reverse cycle. I have been manually removing the cyano every other day with a turkey baster. I cut my feedings for the coral (Sunpolyps, trumpets) and the fish in half, every other and once a day respectively, and never more then they can eat in a couple of minutes. I have two small (300 GPH) return pumps and two Koralia nano's for flow. The cyano is primarily on the sand but some on the rock work.

    My water pram's are (double checked at a LFS today) ph 8.4, Ammonia 0.0, nitrite 0.0, nitrate 0.0, phosphate 0.0, calcium 460, dkh 12, mag 1300.

    I do not want to medicate the tank, but if things don't get better soon I just may. Even though at this juncture I for the life of me can't think of an underlying problem that I haven't addressed. I "Think" I am doing everything to make it go away short of a blackout but it still returns. I know I am probably a little overstocked on fish but they are all small (two clowns 1.5" ea, yellow watchman maybe 2.5", McCoskers wrasse 3" and a red firefish 3") all my coral are still small bought as frags. And just the usual suspects for CUC. I did fill out the Reef Cleaners form and I am waiting for them to get back with me to see if I have enough.

    Quite frankly, I am at my wits end and I am taking suggestions.
     
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  3. GuitarMan89

    GuitarMan89 Giant Squid

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    It sounds to me that you are doing everything right. How long are your daylights on for? If it doesn't get better, try that red slimer remove stuff, just make sure to follow directions exactly.
     
  4. JayTropical

    JayTropical Purple Spiny Lobster

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    well i had a cyano problem before, went through all the steps as you and was having no luck... even tried the Red Slime remover and it did nothing, after pulling my hair out for weeks i finally traced it to my substrate in my fuge because the cyano would always be more concentrated there... the substrate was crushed coral since i was told miracle mud does better in correlation, Wrong! crush coral was a nitrate factory that was feeding the cyano. drained my fuge, removed every bit of it, and laid new miracle mud and then aragonite sand. dida few more big water changes, the cyano died off and i never saw it again.

    so i would search for anything that could trap detritus which is feeding your cyano... you wont necessarily have high nitrates/phosphates since the cyano is gobbling it up.
     
  5. RPM1

    RPM1 Fire Worm

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    10K's on for eight hours, actinics on for the ten. I might try to pull that back to seven and nine in the next week to see what that does.

    I am just in fear of crashing the tank with meds.
     
  6. RPM1

    RPM1 Fire Worm

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    I started the tank with sand that was brought up from the gulf (Pre oil spill) by a friend of mine, supplemented by the bagged live aragonite sand. I also put the bagged live aragonite sand in the fuge when I started it.

    When I remove the slime manually, I try to blow off the detritus off the rocks. I was thinking about this that is why I inquired with Reef Cleaners to see if I need help in that department. Also I am considering another powerhead to help with flow so this doesn't happen.

    So if I am removing the slime manually wouldn't the nutrients be taken out with it? If so, the cheato is also using the stuff as well as some being skimmed out. I would think at some point it would start to subside. Just a thought.
     
  7. NinjaBum

    NinjaBum Spaghetti Worm

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    Remove any sponges or bioballs in filters, I was having a hard time lowering Nitrates and they were always at 40. I removed all the spnges and it dropped down to around 20-25. I removed all of the bioballs and it dropped even further. If youre having a hard time with it and have no other option try red slime remover and follow it to the letter. You'll see tons of people who have red slime but 0 or close to 0 on their nutrient tests. This is because the cyano is actively using it up to fuel itself. If you eradicate it you may just see a slight rise to the actual nitrate levels your tank is producing on a daily basis. After the cyano is gone make sure the water stays zero or close to zero in the nitrate and phsophate areas and it shouldnt ever come back = )

    The main problem with the cyano fighting agents is how it depletes the oxygen levels which lower ph. You should definately cut back on your lighting by a few hours. You may even find your coral will do better if you cut back a few hours because I know there have been studies that show longer lighting periods can hinder corals growth depending on how strong it is because the coral spends a lot of its energy repairing damaged tissue. Obviously every tank is different and it depends on your lighting but I'd give it a try. I did it and my tank got way better as far as nuisance algae growth and cyano problems. I cant do that these days as if I scale back my lighting too much all my macro algae gets mad and the caulerpa goes insta-sexual.
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2010
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  9. RPM1

    RPM1 Fire Worm

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    No bio-balls or sponges, I change out and wash my filter sock every day. I am going to split my return pumps and arrange my power heads differently and see if that helps.

    What are you running for a lighting schedule?
     
  10. RPM1

    RPM1 Fire Worm

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    I moved my Koralia's today and split off my returns. I don't think flow will be an issue any longer. When I fired everythin back up I had a sand tornado. Not sure how my xenia and featherdusters are going to like things now but we'll see.
     
  11. nige

    nige Plankton

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    Red Slime Algae.

    Appreciate you don't want to add any medication ,mate, but I had mega problems with Cyno....then I tried this "MYCOSIDOL COLOMBO CERPOFOR" with no adverse effects at all. I figured what have I got to lose, the cyno is killing my corals anyway....In 48 hours the Red Slyme was gone, and it hasn't come back...two months after using it.

    I can't praise it high enough. I bought mine off Ebay, but the manufacturers link is this ... Aquadistri.com.

    Well worth the £10 it cost me.