Cyano issue

Yes I know it's way too much. Have actually always known. I really need to get timers. Doing that today. I didn't have problems with worrying about lighting when I was unemployed....I could turn it on when needed and off after a more reasonable period. But now that I'm working....I'm gone over 10 hours.
OK..Phosban...yeah I have phosban running now 24/7. I was running phosguard but that was getting rather expensive with changing it out every few days.
 
Cut the time between WC's in half. When you get the situation back under control you can begin to relax one of these changes at a time to find a routine that is easy for you to commit to, if you find otherwise.

How did you determine the Phosban needed replacing every few days? The only way to know would be that you noticed your P04 levels drop, then rise again. Or that you would have observed increased algae but this would incdicate you were waiting way too long to change it out.

If this is true, it shows that you are indeed importing a lot of P04, and shows that the increased WCs (volume and frequency) are needed.

If not, you could have been changining it out too soon, literally throwing money down the drain. Make sure you get your moneys worth as it is expensive.

Timers are VERY important and key in overall tank health. Depending on your livestock, the photoperiod will vary. Considering you have PC's 8-10hrs is probably around where you will need to be, but that needs to be determined as the effect of the change.......with a timer.......is observed over time. 12hrs was a good starting point, but lets make sure its what you "need".

I find this article below informative to visually see the effects water changes have with its included graphs, rather than just from a numerical explanation.

I found that even at 30% monthly I was not getting to the point I needed, so I do 30% every two weeks and found this very effective as not only is the frequency of WC's improtant, but the volume as well each time.......WC's are the reef tank equivalent to the "do over".

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php

A little find tuning is all it appears you need.
 
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Dots.....wasn't changing phosBAN every few days.....it was PhosGUARD. I'm now using phosban and will very soon be getting a reactor rather than just using a media bag. Though Rob @ UWP recommends ROWA...I think you did as well....not sure.
Ok...now you've got me confused on the water changes. I have been doing w/c every week (saturdays religiously) 10% ish. Are you saying I should do them more often? Or larger and less often? So many different people have said so many different things regarding w/c. With my pico I did 1 large w/c once a week...but again...that was needed in such a small tank.

I'm not getting rises and falls in P04 levels. Just the one jump and now down since running the phosguard and now phosban....and doing normal w/c's.

Syphoned out all cyano with yesterday's w/c.....not back yet. Keeping fingers crossed. :D

Thanks again Dots
 
IMO smaller WC's more often are far better then Bigger WG's further apart. With that said if you need to cut Nitrates from 20 down to 10 small WG's once a week will not cut it you need 1 large one then several smaller ones spaced out over a few weeks.

Your photo period shouldn't be any longer then 8 hrs IMO and should come on and go off the same time everyday. Extended photo periods can caused depressed levels of oxygen, over heating and massive Algae blooms.

I don't agree with the fact of feeding your fish less unless you are over feeding to begin with. IME most hobbiest underfeed there fish but overfeed the tank as a whole. Meaning they just dump a cube or 2 in once a day and that's it. Whith this method you are feeding the Algae more then the fish. I feed my fish 3-5 times a day and feed the corals at least everyother day with Roti feast,phytofeast and others. I make sure the fish eat everything that goes in so there is no waste.

I think the key is just Time. It sounds like you have a good plan of attack just stick with it and as the tank matures the cyano will subside. A word of advice as well DO NOT just blow it off siphon it out, blowing it off just spreads it!!

Also with flow IMO it is better to have 2 smaller powerheads then 1 big one!!

It was a pleasure meeting you today

Rob
 
Thanks Rob! It was good meeting you as well. You have a very nice shop and some really nice corals!!!! I will definately be back for some of those Zoas I was drooling over and maybe some lps as well. Thanks for the good deal on that colt!

I'm gonna save up a bit and try the Koralia you suggested as well. Thanks for letting me pick your brain today! :D
 
A word of advice as well DO NOT just blow it off siphon it out, blowing it off just spreads it!!

Just saw this...yeah.....I actually assumed this point.
I did however have a bit of a slip once with the turkey baster when trying to suction it off a rock and blew it into the water column instead. Sucked up any floating bits I could find. But there's a possibility.....that's how it ended up everywhere as well in that case. Originally, it started behind the rock (a low flow area) now that I think of it.
 
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