Cyano battle

Discussion in 'Algae' started by Rhoads238, Oct 2, 2013.

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  1. Rhoads238

    Rhoads238 Spaghetti Worm

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2013
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    Location:
    Hoboken, NJ
    Hey all,

    For the past month I have had an outbreak of cyanobacteria. The outbreak started after i stopped doing water changes for a month to combat dino. Around the same time i had an issue with my skimmer where the bubble plate became clogged with algae. Stupid me thought it was normal to only sometimes produce skimmate, and so it went unnoticed. It took until it became completely clogged and not functioning to notice it unfortunately.

    I'm fed up with it so its time to get it under control. Three weeks ago I added a phosphate reactor to run GFO. I started seeing a difference and thought it would be ok to start feeding my corals again and it got worse. So I am now putting my action plan into effect. Yesterday i went through and turkey basted my sump and tank very throughly, including the overflow. I also cleaned out my two mp10 because i noticed that there was a good amount of food trapped inside.

    After reading this thread No Lights for 3 Days Every Couple of Months Works Wonders! - Reef Central Online Community and reading the positive results many have had. I am also going to be doing the three days of darkness. To accompany this i will be skimming heavily during this time. I am also changing my two bags of chemi pure elite. I am also going to replace my GFO and up the dose an additional 25%. Since I started with 50% of the recommended amount this shouldn't be a problem. To finish it all off at the end of this I will be doing a 25% water change.

    Here is the before picture. Shot from the top down with the sides of the tank already boarded up.

    [​IMG]

    In three to four days when the lights are back on ill post the after shot
     
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  3. paul.brandon83

    paul.brandon83 Plankton

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2013
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    21
    I tried a 3day blackout when I had an outbeak. I thought I had the beginnings of bryops as well. No damage to coral and fish and has been clear since then.
     
  4. kwmjones

    kwmjones Flamingo Tongue

    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2010
    Messages:
    117
    Have you thought of giving an ATS a try? I was skeptical at first, but have had mine running for a few months now and everything is looking great. Cost about $25 to set up (i just added a slotted pipe into my drain line, couple of zip ties and some #7 mesh from michaels or online and shop lights) - if its that bad, might be worth a shot. Also, would reduce your need for gfo, chemi pure, etc.
     
  5. Rhoads238

    Rhoads238 Spaghetti Worm

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Hoboken, NJ
    Well I am happy to announce that I no longer have cyano visible in my tank! Today lights are back on and just about everyone is starting to open back up. I couldn't be happier with the results. I did the blackout for the full three days and it worked beautifully. During this time my skimmer went nuts producing at least a gallon or two of skimmate. As the cyano died off I also saw a rise in nitrate. Before the blackout my nitrate was around 1 to 2 ppm by the end of day 2 it rose to 5 ppm. Then I began to prepare a 22 gallon water change (the size of my rubbermaid container) and I accidentally put way too much salt in it so I removed some water and diluted it to the proper salinity. I did the 22 gallon change, about 30%, and later on in the day an additional 12 gallon water change. Afterward I tested my nitrate and it was still at 5ppm. Imaginably it was around 8-10 ppm before starting the water changes. During the 3 days my ph stayed stable around 8.1 for most of the time. I also tested for phosphates which remained undetectable during the whole process. I believe that the cyano ended up in the skimmer and any phosphate that leaked into the water ended up in my GFO.

    And of course a photo to show the improvement.

    [​IMG]

    If all goes well over the next few days I would highly recommend this method for removing cyanobacteria.
     
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  6. oldfishkeeper

    oldfishkeeper Giant Squid

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    ahhhh.....looks completely awesome Rhoads! I love your rock and scape btw.
     
  7. Rhoads238

    Rhoads238 Spaghetti Worm

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Hoboken, NJ
    Thanks! I'm really excited to be rid of the cyanobacteria. I'm impressed that the solution to the problem was so simple. I just tested for nitrate and its down to 2.5 ppm. All my corals are looking great so far. I also notice that doing this made the water super clear. It looks like you could reach right through the glass.

    I may include this as part of my regular maintenance routine. Some of the reading I was doing suggests turning the lights off is like the reef having a cloudy day. That said its probably more natural to not turn the lights on occasionally.

    The chart shows how many days in what month it rained in Fiji. I chose there because it was the first that came to mind.

    Fiji Weather - Fiji Climate Information
     
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  9. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

    Joined:
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    4,874
    Location:
    USA
    Looks great, Jason. Thank you for sharing your experience. :)

    You are correct- all tropical regions suffer tropical storm seasons. I've yet to hear of anyone losing coral from applying this method.