Cyano and Skimmers

[scubalauren]

All of a sudden I have a small Cyano break out. I JUST did a RO/DI water change too. I have dosed my tank with red slime remover and turned off the protein skimmer before it gets out of hand. The directions call for a water change after 48 hours. Since I just did a water change before adding the red slime remover, can I simply turn my protein skimmer back on instead?:fish1:

 

[Mariner]

Never used red slime remover, but running your skimmer will probably not take the place of a water change. I'd follow the directions precisely.
FWIW, there are probably better/safer ways of dealing with cyano, but I hope everything goes well for you.
Mariner

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I'd do a water change like the directions ask for. It's an antibiotic drug. It is safe, but you don't want to create a super bug with it. I don't know if a protein skimmer can remove it. GAC may be better than a protein skimmer in this case if you need a day to make enough RO/DI water for a water change.

Tomoko

 

[brandon2432]

I used the Red Slime Remover before it didnt work for me but good luck if it doesnt work for ya just turn your lights off for a few days.

 

[scubalauren]

I hope it works because it was $21.99 for an ity bity little bit. Why do I pick these expensive hobbies?

 

[Tomoko Schum]

It worked for me for my 15G. That was about 6-1/2 years ago. Since then the tank has not suffered from cyano. I shared it with my friend and it worked for her, too. You can do a few days of black out to kill it, too. However, cyano is ubiquitous. Its spores can come in on anything, even airborne sometimes. It's best to take care of the underlying cause (eutrophication) to keep the cyano from flourishing.

Tomoko

 

[The0wn4g3]

The water changes are very important. They remove the antibiotic, something that I don't think the skimmer or any other filtration method can remove. The point of turning the skimmer off is usually to prevent it from overflow due to the increase fractionation levels in the water due to the addition of the antibiotic I believe.

The product does work, but like Tomoko said it's best to cure the underlying cause. Usually the series of water changes are more effective than the product itself.