I need some help please-chemiclean questions

Sorry this will be long winded,but i'm trying to provide as much info as possible to get the best answers for my case.

Close to a year ago I used it for the first and only time ever for a cyano looking type stuff that started encrusting everything,it was hard and would "chip" off.It was not your everyday cyano,nor was it cyano colored coralline either as coralline does not grow over living tissue,this stuff plowed right over some zoas and other corals with ease.

So with doing everything the best I could (0tds ro/di wc's,filter maint,gfo,carbon,etc.) and all params were in check.I decided to try chemiclean to see if it would help and it did,the tank looked great with one exception,it depleted my tank of O2 and I lost all but 2 fish,all inverts and quite a few corals in the process.

After being so fustrated with following the instructions to the "T",that I wrote Mr.Boyd explaining my thoughts of his product.He called me back in person and we had a lengthy conversation as to why what happened happened.It seems the lack of dissolved oxygen came from using an 18" bubblewand,he said that the bubbles produced from them are too big and rise to fast to have enough contact time with the water to add enough dissolved oxygen to it and that I needed to use a wooden airstone that releases the "mist" of microbubbles,thus giving much longer contact time with the water for proper areation.Ok,I buy that.


Now the problem-

This devil cyano is back and spreading again,I already know from previously that more wc's,more flow,less feeding,gfo,UV,etc.,all the will not rid this stuff.

I believe I have a rock that is leeching something as it's a different density then the rest of my rock,much heavier,no coralline grows on it (and my tank is loaded with coralline),plus it's the first place the devil cyano showed up again,so something is different about it and it will be getting removed.

So now i'm back to considering using chemiclean again to clean this mess up and nip it in the bud,but with a different strategy this time.Although I am literally scared to death and sick just thinking about it.

I have two large air pumps with adjustable inline airvalves,two new wooden airstones.My plan is to use my bigger air pump with a tee to supply the 2 wooden stones,the other pump will still run the bubblewand (just for extra measure).All stones will be placed near the bottom with suction cups holding them.I also will take the cup off my skimmer (Remora) and leave running so that way it will still have the air injection but no skimming.I shut the skimmer off as directed last time along with my canister filter,I will still shut off the canister.

So my big question is-Do I have my bases covered for areation?

I DO NOT want my o2 depleted again and I DO NOT want to lose any more livestock.Any feedback will be appreciated.I guess I want some reassurance from some of you guys/gals that have used it with sucess.

 

I have no personal use of this, however I would use powerheads pointing towards the top of the water for lots of surface aggitation to bring in O2 as well as the wood air blocks.

 

I thought the same thing last time myself,even added 2 extra powerheads just for that reason.But after learning more about the product,chemiclean works by oxidation and in doing so it eats all the o2 it can.I was informed by Mr.Boyd that surface agitation has little to no effect for adding dissolved oxygen while this process is going on.

So i'm trying to find out if my thoughts on o2 saturation will be met by my change in the way I may try it this time.

I really don't want to use it at all,but this stuff is ruthless,conventional red slime has always been an easy fix for me,this stuff is different,I don't even know if it's a bacteria or an algae,i've tried but can't get an ID on it,all I know for sure is the chemiclean stopped it dead for a year and removed all the stains (right along with my livestock ),now i'm pretty sure I found and will remove the culprit.But it's too late and it has spread and I need to get it stopped asap with no loss of livestock.

 

Good info! Thats weird, ive always been told it adds lots of o2

 

It does,it helps tremendously with gas exchange and adding oxygen,just not so while using this product.

 

Sounds like you may have a variant of encrusting sponge. Competes for space on the reef by employing a variety of symbiotic cyanobacteriums to kill coral as it covers their rocks/skeletons. Unlike conventional sponge, it is not affected by exposure to air or UV.

My concern is, and I do hope I'm wrong, is that it may have been the depletion of O2 that killed it the first time...

 

...that's a lose-lose situation... :-/

 

Have a friend hold the fish or see if the LFS will fish sit (one of mine will. Their tanks are perfect. Ive never seen a diseased fish) and nuke it with your chemiclean...maybe? Whats everyone else think?

 

i use one called red slime remover http://www.amazon.com/Ultralife-Reef-Red-Slime-Remover/dp/B0002DKB6S it worked well. i did do a water change before it said to because i was stressing out about possible oxygen depletion. i noticed it also took care of the white slime chunks that used to blow out of my lines after i restarted my pumps.
since using it once the red slime has not returned. i also starting using a product called clear fx pro, which i feel has helped with my filtration. i also use gfo and put the sock back into my system. my sand is what had the problem and its now very clean looking. and i feed 3 times a day.

i also slightly under dosed this by a few gallons, i dosed for 30 gallons when i figure i have 40-45 gallons of actual water. since my local fish store owner warned me be careful to NOT over dose this.

 

Thank you Mr.Bill,I can tell by your response that you understand exactly where i'm coming from and I wonder the same .But my hope is that it's a bacterium based crud and it's not the lack of o2 that killed it,but the chemiclean itself.But after the last disaster,I can't help but be a little gun shy about using it.I,myself,have preached that it is just a band-aid (for common cyano) as it removes it,but doesn't fix the issue that caused it.I am not an advocate of using it period,but then i've read sooo many threads where people use it on a somewhat regular basis and have good results with no harm.Thats where I want to give it another try,just trying to overcome my fear of o2 depletion to see if it works.I think i'm covered,but need reassurance.

You're tellin me.

Thanks Devin,I have one local reefer friend here in rural Ohio,but I wouldn't put anything of mine in his tank,lol,it's pretty bad.I have eight fish icluding a leopard wrasse and three gobies,his tank is an already overstocked 20 long with no cover.My lfs is a chainstore,not hobbiest looking to help out a fellow reefer.However,you just gave me an excellent idea,I have a large cooler that I can bleach out and start making water to fill for a temp holding tank for my fish and inverts,however,most of my coral is attatched or grown onto the affected rock,so I would still have to risk them and my flora and fauna,but that would knock it down from a total loss.Thank you,see,thats what I needed a couple helpful ideas to get me in the right direction and help alieviate some of this stress,my wife is pretty upset with me for even thinking about using this again,and I can't say that I blame her.

Hey Pink .I've researched extensively both of these products and the difference is rsr is antibiotic based where chemiclean is an oxidizer,both are claimed to work,but I question about the use of antibiotics because I don't know how it selects bad bacteria from good,but with either product,however,if you experience oxygen depletion,I guess it wouldn't matter.:-/ On the other hand is I already have the chemiclean and know it really knocked it out last time,but Mr.Bill just hit me with a very solid point-Was it the chemiclean or the depletion of o2 that killed it before???I don't know,lol.Thats why I am also questioning this one rock,I have to think some spores/bacteria/whatever must have survived deep in this rock which (as dense as this rock is) would have put it in a low to no oxygen zone/anarobic zone anyways.I also feed small amounts two to three times a day and wonder if my nutients just reached a level to let this stuff take off again.
Edit-forgot to mention that I under dosed as well the first time,I treated for 40 gallons in my 55.



I do think I'm gonna go with the temporary cooler idea,because one thing I know is that i'm not gonna let this stuff overrun my tank a second time.I'd better get my ro unit going cause it's gonna be a nerve racking 3 or 4 days coming.Thanks everybody for the help.