Cyano Problem

[chark]

I am having a cyano problem. I have added a wavebox, cut down feeding, water changes, and blowing the cyano off the rocks and the gravel. It is getting a little better. I only have 35 snails and 10 crabs. Water chemistry is good.
0 Nitrate
0 Phosphates
Alk 7
pH 8.0
Ca 450

185gal, 125 lb rock, 40 gal sump/refugium, 3 Koralia 4, wavebox, ehiem 1262 return, MSX200, filter sock changed 2 or 3 x week, ATO, Run rophos and carbon.

Would adding more snails or crabs help? Additional flow suggestions? Any other suggestions?

Cecil

[Jonthefishguy]

* Use a siphon to clean a portion of your substrate regularly. This will remove organic debris and uneaten food. Also, be sure not to overfeed your fish. Only feed as much food as they can consume in a few minutes.

* Be sure your aquarium has good water movement. A powerhead or wavemaker will help increase water movement.

* Perform regular water changes and routinely replace mechanical filter media.

* Maintain proper marine pH between 8.1 and 8.4 with buffers or with kalkwasser. A high pH helps discourage aggressive growth of Red Slime Algae.

* Supplement existing filtration with phosphate-removing chemical filter media.

* Use a reverse osmosis system for quality source water. This will help prevent buildup of excess minerals in aquarium water from the get-go.

[hobogato]

couldnt have said it better myself jon....

the alk is also a tad low, and the advice of adding buffer/kw will bring that up along with the pH as jon mentioned.

also, dont be so sure that your phosphates are zero, depending on the test kit you are using, you could get that result and still have phosphates of a different chemical form present. usually if there is excessive algae or cyano growth then phosphates are present. you may want to run some phosban or other phosphate remover for a short time.

[chark]

Thank you for the suggestions. I added the Wavebox after the cyano started to add to my 3 Korollia 4's.

Would you suggest more flow?

I only have 35 snails and 10 crabs.

Would more help?

What are you suggesting to add to get KH and pH up?

Cecil

[Jonthefishguy]

You will need to raise your KH using a buffer like SUPERBUFFER DKH or of similiar product. Start using KALWASSER using the drip method to raise your pH and help keep your DKH and pH stable. Remember to follow instructions as Kalkwasser can have a serious impact on your aquarium if introduced to fast. Google instructions on how to make up a Kalkwasser water.

[VoodooMach]

I'm sure that extra flow and higher alkalinity will take care of it in a heartbeat. I like my KH to be 12, but other people may like their lower in the range.

[d3rryc]

I had a persistent, low-grade cyano problem for a couple of months. I cut back on feedings, checked all the water params, all the usual stuff and just couldn't figure out where the problem was. I tried siphoning, I tried blowing it off with a baster, everything mentioned in the posts above.

A couple of weeks ago, I ran across a seemingly unrelated article on RC where someone said she had excellent results with both her water quality and her coral response by cutting off the lights for two or three days every month. I just recently got into SPS, so I thought I'd give it a try and see how my tank would respond. I turned the lights completely off after their usual nighttime shutdown cycle on Fri evening. Sat and Sun were dark - only ambient room lighting. Mon I turned the actinics back on, and Tues the tank went back to its normal full lighting schedule.

True to the report, my corals DID seem to respond positively to the lighting downtime. However, I was THRILLED to see that all of my cyano was gone, too - every last bit of it. That was two weeks ago today, and I've not seen any cyano since.

If you're sure that you've covered the rest of the issues brought forward by Ace et al. and are still having cyano trouble, give this lighting downturn a try.

[bimmerzs]

Hi,
As far as the flow, make sure you have uniform flow throughout the tank and across the sandbed. It is possible to have a bunch of flow in your tank and still not have it uniform. Try different placement/positioning of your powerheads so that the streams collide, this will give you some nice random flow. You can direct flow across the sandbed also so that it doesn't blow sandbed, the key is not to have pocket's of detritus or food build-up in a area. Cyano is mainly a nutrient build-up issue so all the above advice should help you overcome the problem. The 3 day light's out method does work but for long term success, it's better if you remove the root cause first.

Cheers,

[chark]

Thanks guys for the advice. I will try these ideas.

Cecil

[des]

do you have a sump? try using macro algae it works wonders

[chark]

Yes I have macro algae in the sump but it is not growing well. I looks ok but just not growing much.

[Dominican]

Be sure to have a good light in your sump for the macro. PC works, other types work well too.

Also, I hate to be the guy to recommend a product - the other folks are right in addressing the root cause. This product is JUST in case you've waited long enough to risk the cyano overgrowing any of your corals. For an emergency in the past I've used "Red Slime Control" by Blue Line to complete success with no impact to my fish, corals, inverts. I have softies and fish and am now preparing to get into sps, so I don't know how it'd affect hard corals. Aquadome sells it.

[chark]

I am not in a desperate state yet. I keep cleaning to make sure it doesn't. I have patches on some rocks and the gravel. I have been removing it and blowing the rocks and sand. I have increased the flow and decreased feeding. I am now trying turning the lights off for 2 to 3 days. I have also purchased a more adequate clean up crew since I only have about 40 for 185 gal.
I know that the cleanup crew will not fix the problem but should help with more of the detritus. If this does not work I will consider your option.

Thanks again for the suggestion.

Cecil

[rz1a]

be careful if you dose that stuff, it will release everything its been consuming back into your tank. ive done this and have had a a couple of weeks where i had nothing but weird slime. after a while it went away

also, i wouldnt use it if you have SPS.

the way i remember getting rid of it in my 28 was by adding an oversized skimmer

[rz1a]

btw, looks youve done all the right things as well. like jon said, make sure you use good quality water, Ro/Di

[hobogato]

fwiw, elevated phosphates can be a growth inhibitor for macroalgae.

[Jonthefishguy]

Nothing is released back into the tank using redslime remover. It is back because it wasnt entirely gone and the issue wasnt corrected. Cyanobacteria are often treated with antibiotics, addressing the symptom rather then the cause. Antibiotics are not very selective in what bacteria get killed. Cyano is gram negative (thin cell wall) in much the same way as the beneficial bacteria are. So when treating with this type of chemical you are also killing off the beneficial as well. It does this by removing oxygen from the water and CO2 builds up thus causing the bacteria to die, or so it seems. This is why the manufacture warns to not overdose as issues of low pH and low oxygen levels have been known to happen. Getting to the root of the problem is the ONLY true way to solve this problem. Cyano can also build a resistance against the chemical treatment so if the problem isnt solved and is just "patched", eventually it will become a bigger issue.

[rz1a]

BTW, the cyano isnt back. it died. it just created a nasty slime for a long time, and it wasnt cyano. i dont have any of the red slime at all on my sandbed or glass like i did before