ChemiClean?? Do or Do Not

[JeffyT]

Hi Reefers,

I am still skeptical about dosing anything chemical into my tank.

This is my 2nd attempt on a new tank and this one has gone a whole year with only Dr. Tims and very recently some phyto/zoo plankton.

However, since feeding my tank I am getting a little bit of cyano.

I've read about people using chemiclean and it working wonders but I havent seen anyone against it. So my question is... should I?

I do 2.5g water changes every week in a 20g system. And I currently only feed once a week.

I'm tired of going 1-2 days without light to reduce the cyano growth. I want the lights to be on!

 

[RobZilla04]

I used it when I had an outbreak of cyano very early on. Understanding the hesitation one would have with a mature fully stocked tank, I would still recommend it. Just be sure to follow the instructions exactly and use an air stone or two. I've seen no trace of cyano since and it's been 8 months.

Best of luck.

 

[MartyD]

I've used it a number of times without any problems. Just follow the directions and you should be fine.


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[JeffyT]

Thanks guys!

 

[Jscwerve]

I used it as a last resort. I mean VERY last resort. Full cyano infestation and starting to kill corals kind of outbreak. Every surface, entire sandbed, everything covered the next day after cleaning it off.

I believe at that point it was the dominant bacteria in the system, so it wasn't going to get any better.

I fought it for months. Water changes, blackouts, lowered light cycle, less feedings, heavy skimming, blowing off rocks and siphoning out daily, etc. I could not get the situation under control.

Chemiclean was the last resort.

I dosed per directions. I also put an airstone in my sump close to my return pump to keep the O2 levels in the tank up while not skimming.

I changed my filter socks 2x per day during the 48 hour treatment and they looked like a tickle me Elmo when I replaced them. They caught a LOT of what got loose into the water column. They also STUNK like rotting dead animal.

The tank looked BEAUTIFUL after 48 hours.

At almost exactly the 48 hour mark I started with a 20% water change (30% is recommended, but I wasn't able to) and started running carbon. I also did another 20% the next day and replaced the carbon. Waited two more days and another small change.

I did end up having one casualty. My beautiful blue-spot long spined urchin.

Keep in mind that Chemiclean is an antibiotic. It will kill all the cyano, but it will also kill your good denitrifying bacteria as well. This caused a small cycle in my tank and a rapid increase in nitrate levels. The urchin died I believe because of a nitrate spike that I could not get ahead of. I never had an ammonia spike, but nitrates went through the roof (and quickly) with all of the cyano being broken down.

Everything else lived and is seemingly happy. It didn't kill any corals, any of my shrimp, or my fish, snails, crabs, etc. My other urchin also did just fine.

If I had to do it again I would, but also only as a VERY last resort. I haven't had any resurgence of cyano yet, but it has only been a month since the treatment was over so time will tell. Fingers crossed.

 

[bertoni]

ChemiClean probably is erythromycin, an antibiotic. It might help, but often the results are very temporary. I'd siphon out as much of the slime as possible before dosing, and have plenty of carbon on hand to mop up any toxins from the cyanobacteria. People have crashed tanks with this and similar treatments.

 

[Spiffy]

Chemiclean is only a temporary solution. Cyano is normally a sign of really high nitrates. Make sure you get to the root of the problem. I found that my refugium was a nitrate factory due to the lack of flow in the sump, and over time, the cyano spread from the sump to the DT. And make sure you follow the directions TO THE LETTER. No deviations. At all.