cyano bacteria out break

[loren_gregory]

I'm having a problem getting rid of cyanobacteria in my 55-gallon tank. I've had it before and use Boyds Chemiclean and killed it but this time it's not working.
It's a 55-gallon tank with a Fluval 406, a Hydor protein skimmer, Fluval led light and a lot of live rock. I removed the carbon from the filter for the Chemiclean.

Salinity 1.026
Nitrates 0
Phosphates 0
Ph 8.2
Calcium 440

 

[Diana A]

How old is the system? Did you remove the sponges from inside the 406? Every time one uses a product like chemiclean, it kills the bad and the good stuff.

 

[loren_gregory]

It's 1.5 years old and the instructions didn't mention the sponges. Should I turn off the filter for a day because it's mostly sponges? I have a lot of live rock with a protein skimmer and a pump for circulation.

 

[mcgyvr]

Siphon out as much as you can with a large water change..
Then turn off the lights for 3 days..
Then siphon out whats left with another large water change..

Repeat as needed..

 

[Diana A]

What McGyvr said. I have a Fluval 406 on my 40g and Fluval FX6 on the 90g. I got rid of the sponges. The only things inside the filters are BRS Rox 0.8 and Seachem Laboratories Matrix. I would remove the sponges unless you are rinsing them out in saltwater each week.

 

[OldReefGuy]

Increase in water movement within the tank will help. You have any powerheads in there?

 

[RobZilla04]

Skimmer needs to be off otherwise youre removing the chemiclean.

Follow the instructions exactly.

 

[JUNBUG361]

What they all said

 

[Xandernfs]

I was battling this for a few weeks on my new tank. The steps I took: ditched filter socks and went with filter floss. The floss is changed out daily. Old floss is rinsed with hot tap water and soaked in RODI. I've been going 'lights out' for a few days and I've been keeping them off when i'm not home since I don't have corals yet. I also took a turkey baster and removed as much as I could.

The order: manual removal, water change, lights out. Floss changed daily.

I don't see any signs of it anymore, but I'm still keeping lights off for another week.

 

[RobZilla04]

I was battling this for a few weeks on my new tank. The steps I took: ditched filter socks and went with filter floss. The floss is changed out daily. Old floss is rinsed with hot tap water and soaked in RODI. I've been going 'lights out' for a few days and I've been keeping them off when i'm not home since I don't have corals yet. I also took a turkey baster and removed as much as I could.

The order: manual removal, water change, lights out. Floss changed daily.

I don't see any signs of it anymore, but I'm still keeping lights off for another week.

I suggest not using tap water for anything touches the tank water. Maybe I'm extreme in doing so, but I fought the GHA fight and definitely don't wanna take any chances. That $#!* is a pain!

 

[Xandernfs]

I suggest not using tap water for anything touches the tank water. Maybe I'm extreme in doing so, but I fought the GHA fight and definitely don't wanna take any chances. That $#!* is a pain!

I understand that about the whole tap water thing. I worked in a store that used tap and soaked in RO and it worked. I guess you could say old habits die hard.

 

[Diana A]

I was battling this for a few weeks on my new tank. The steps I took: ditched filter socks and went with filter floss. The floss is changed out daily. Old floss is rinsed with hot tap water and soaked in RODI. I've been going 'lights out' for a few days and I've been keeping them off when i'm not home since I don't have corals yet. I also took a turkey baster and removed as much as I could.

The order: manual removal, water change, lights out. Floss changed daily.

I don't see any signs of it anymore, but I'm still keeping lights off for another week.

Why would you use tap water? Rinse it with the water from your water change.

 

[KarenLR75]

Been dealing with this as well (cyano). What is somewhat confusing to us is that almost 15-20 years ago when we had a salt water tank, we had an underground filter and never had cyano, never had the constant tiny growth of algae that forms on the front of the tank that must be wiped off (Tang doesn't get it all) almost every 2 or 3 days.

We had LESS flow in our tank from eons ago...we had less water quality (didn't use RODI water, didn't have/run all the tests we run today). We have lights that are 100's of times better (ok, 100's may be a bit of hyperbole). I'm not the 'equipment person', that is my husband's expertise....I just am a bit bewildered...all of this setup for mixed reef (only corals we have are 1 Elegance coral (Australian) and 2 frags of Montipora...& 1 other small coral)...or maybe it is the same setup that would be recommended for a fish only tank - we have a refugium, a protein skimmer, filter sock, gyre, fancy lights, etc.

Maybe my memories of that many years ago are dimmed but all I recall are 'lights'/'hood', underground filter...and the main part of the stand actually was used for STORAGE (which I miss!).

From what I've read - 3 causes/main contributors to cyano...is this right?
1) Poor Water Quality
2) Lack of Flow
3) Overfeeding

Overfeeding we could be guilty of and have tried scaling back...but overfed with old tank too.

Blah....maybe i've just lost my mind? LOL....

 

[Soluent1]

When one turns off the lights and, I presume, puts newspaper up to block out the ambient light, does one feed the fish normally?

 

[Uncle99]

I believe Karen LR75 is absolutely correct.
All three she listed especially number 1 will result in not just cyno, but the other forms as well. If you are using RODI water with a zero TDS and your parameters are both on mark for NSW and are consistent, and you have flow and don't over feed or use unwashed frozen food, or turn the lights on way to bright and for too long....you will never have a cyno or algae problem again....

 

[KarenLR75]

If you are using RODI water with a zero TDS and your parameters are both on mark for NSW and are consistent, and you have flow and don't over feed or use unwashed frozen food, or turn the lights on way to bright and for too long....you will never have a cyno or algae problem again....

Ah...you mentioned something I never thought about...we are using RODI water with 0 TDS, parms are on the mark for NSW and now we've increased the flow just recently by a large magnitude. Just scaled back on overfeeding..especially pellets. My husband said he read somewhere the overfeeding of pellets caused more issues that overfeeding of other types of food (I get that overfeeding is bad no matter what it is)?

I don't think our lights are dialed in yet for what we REALLY need as we just have a few random corals (Elegance and Montipora) and haven't really started the true 'mixed reef' side of the tank. We focused on the livestock acquisitions first. I think our lights may be too bright..and we could be leaving them on way too long. They come up at noon and go off at 10 PM so that is 10 hrs. Is that too much?

PS: We also have a light that comes on in the sump for the cheato/pods..not sure how long it stays on for..it comes on basically when the tank lights are going off.

Wow....still so much to learn..lol. Glad y'all are here.

 

[Brieninsac]

When I look at times when I've had cyno it was because my Nitrates were at 0. This is usually because I'd been trying to battle GHA which brought my Nitrates down to 0. So far the best solution I've found is get the algae under control and then do weekly water changes.

 

[Uncle99]

Light intensity and length of photoperiod is a hard one to apply one rule too as each tank and lighting is different. That being said.....it's Ok to start at a low intensity for a short period say 8 hours and then biweekly, ramp up the intensity a tad...say 5%,...then...see what happens....in my tank...after two months, 4 increases, I only got to 40% intensity.
Beyond this point, I again seen algae start again on my glass, every 2 days had to clean.
So back to 40%, increased photoperiod from 8 to 10, and that's where we stand today. Clean glass only 1 per week, no cyano, couple small green patches for my lawnmower.
You need to find the "balance" of light, health of corals and whereas algae does not thrive.
Maybe that helps somewhat

 

[KarenLR75]

Beyond this point, I again seen algae start again on my glass, every 2 days had to clean.
So back to 40%, increased photoperiod from 8 to 10, and that's where we stand today. Clean glass only 1 per week, no cyano, couple small green patches for my lawnmower.
You need to find the "balance" of light, health of corals and whereas algae does not thrive.
Maybe that helps somewhat

YES! This exactly is what is happening with the glass on the aquarium. hhmm...wish I could find the magic key combination to do an 'up arrow'...lol

Thank you Uncle99 for mentioning the lighting and then detailing out how you found what worked for you. We definitely need to find the balance and I'd prefer to at least establish the balance while we just have a few corals in our tank, understanding that with new coral addtions...the balance MAY have to be changed to accommodate different corals in the future.

That being said, we've always thought of corals with generally an eye as to how they looked, how dangerous they were to their neighbors, their sensitivity, etc. and all the other 'info' on them, but I don't think we've considered the picture as a WHOLE.

I'm too used to leading projects..it's what I do for a living and I need to know my customer's needs up front, what their requirements are up front...not down the road (LOL. ALL projects come up with surprises such as 'oh, I forgot to mention that')..but overall, the critical things should be identified up front so the project has the biggest chance to be successful without too many 'lessons learned' (these are not bad things..just nice to avoid if possible).

I don't think we've ever 'mapped' our tank and what corals we're considering to see if the different lighting needs of different corals can be harmoniously achieved with whatever we dial the lights to. I know we can make some choice about where to situate corals and maybe have a little more shade for one vs. another but in the rectangle we're dealing with....BUT let's say we put in a cool looking coral that grows deeper in the ocean (i.e. likely with less light) then I don't think it will fare well in a well-lit tank..

Sorry, lost track of the epiphany Uncle99 gave me...by having other 'ephiphanies'..lol.:bounce3:

Thanks again!

 

[Uncle99]

Soft corals are the easiest to keep and are less dependent on water quality and light.
There are many beautiful and some do a softies only tank.
LPS are a great cohabitant for softies and again, less water quality and lighting.

SPS are harder as they require brightest lights, perfect water, dosing of calcium and Alk, big flow, these I would do only in a SPS only tank.

Bulk reef supply has a you-tube video on all three types which I found very help in my choices....have fun