Cyano Outbreak

[gary faulkner]

My new Tunzes are turning it over in a few places and those places remain clean. The other places are still bronze colored but haven't gotten worse. It almost disappears overnight but colors back up after lights are on for a couple hours. I can live with it until the SB kills it off all together. If it doesn't then I might just turn over the places the Tunzes haven't gotten to. I believe it was the vodka that was making the problem since it hasn't gotten worse with vinegar only. I start back with vodka plus vinegar after I reach maintenance dose with the SB. Or that was my plan anyway.

 

[dyer_maker]

DFS shipping was fast. First dose went in today and yes it's pretty rough stuff. I opened it outside and the smell wasn't so bad when it went in the tank. Problem is even the small dose makes the tank water smell pretty foul. Regardles if it resolves the problem it's worth it in the end plus replaced the mesh on my skimmer and it's working great. I think that was part of my problem in the first place.

 

[JB NY]

Other than smelling bad, it causes no harm. My wife calls to it a bottled farts.

 

[tazmanian_cowboy]

Taz, I'm starting to believe you have an alien strain of Cyano.. LOL. Good luck with SB if you try it.

Yes this is so bizarre that I do believe I have a Mutant strain! LOL

Taz

Dosed 4th week, cyano still strong in spots. Sand is cleaner, and cyano is not clinging to liverock like before , but admittedly I haven't been able to siphon like I wanted to do. Little behind on water change. What should I do? Keep dosing? Wait and start over again? I knew I should have dosed more as recommended on the bottle due to salt water!

 

[dyer_maker]

Interestingly enough the bottles I received have a peel off sticker on them stating "Reef Safe". They must be in the know.

 

[gary faulkner]

interestingly enough the bottles i received have a peel off sticker on them stating "reef safe". They must be in the know.

x2

 

[dyer_maker]

The smell just lingers....

 

[jbanks]

Dosed 4th week, cyano still strong in spots. Sand is cleaner, and cyano is not clinging to liverock like before , but admittedly I haven't been able to siphon like I wanted to do. Little behind on water change. What should I do? Keep dosing? Wait and start over again? I knew I should have dosed more as recommended on the bottle due to salt water!

Taz, I would probably dose the 5th dose at full strength and start the Maintenance dose at the suggested time. However, I would get in there and siphon out what you can first .. Warren suggested that to me in the beginning and I think it made a big difference.. Every weekend, I was sucking that stuff out until it no longer grew back.. Now.. Things look great..

 

[rsuplido]

Just found this thread. I'm glad to see more SB users. I'm a vodka doser and was dosing MB7, later on shifting to SB after losing confidence with Brightwell products. I was considering Microbe-Lift's Nite Out II product but after asking about the product, they told me to use SB instead as a replacement for MB7. Anyway, I wanted to share what the folks from Microbe-Lift told me about SB:

Reggie,

I can't provide you with a list of the different bacteria used in the product, but I can tell you that
there are more than a dozen strains of live bacteria (not spores) that make up Special Blend. In addition to being
chosen for their unprecedented ability to break down waste, biologically reduce nitrate, and improve overall water
quality, they have been selected for their ability to survive in a wide range of environmental conditions. They
survive and thrive in a wide range of temperature, pH, and salinity. They take longer to establish and work in
saltwater, but they do all work in saltwater. The fact that they work slower in saltwater is why we recommend using
a higher dose in that environment.

Many companies in the aquarium hobby as well as industrial application have tried to duplicate our process and failed. That is what makes Special Blend so unique. You will get all of the benefit from Special Blend in saltwater that you would in freshwater.

Scott Berke
Sales Manager
Ecological Laboratories, Inc.
941.979.6302
-email address removed-
www.microbelift.com

I think the main reason SB is working to get rid of cyano is that the SB bacteria strains are out competing cyano for nitrates and maybe phosphates.

I've been dosing SB for about 6 months now via a BRS doser, shaking the bottle once a week. It has worked well. For those interested, here's my latest Nitrate graph. Note that I have had success with limiting nitrates to zero for quite some time now:

 

[jbanks]

Great information Reggie. Thanks for sharing your correspondance and data!

 

[mcarroll]

I just added a much stronger lighting system to my 180g tank, would this cause a cyano out break?

Seen this quite a few times - though cyno is not always what "breaks out". Probably a "perfect storm" scenario where you had maybe a tiny outcrop or two of cyano (hard not to have a little....it's pervasive) and your nutrients (or detritus in sand and rocks) and light levels were at a cusp....not enough to bloom, but close.....given the extra light energy. Boom.

As has been said before, a syphon hose (remove it) and reduced lighting (less hours per day, or a few blackout days - starve what's left of it) are your best tools for getting rid of it. I've heard of some critters like intertidal snails (Cerith, Nerite) eating it, but none do by preference. I've tried all the commonly available snails (including the above) and while all are hard workers otherwise, they have never touched the cyano in my tank.

If you have to try a product (last resort, please!) it sounds like this special blend stuff people are experimenting with in this thread may be a good way to go. The other alternative is an antibiotic (cyano is a bacteria), which while reef safe and effective, should really be a last resort.

-Matt

 

[dyer_maker]

I've been dosing SB for about 6 months now via a BRS doser, shaking the bottle once a week. It has worked well. For those interested, here's my latest Nitrate graph. Note that I have had success with limiting nitrates to zero for quite some time now:

Wow, hard to disprove those results. I find myself waking up every morning wondering if it's Wednesday yet so I can throw another dose in. Patience is the key and unfortunately that's something I have difficulty with. Probably shouldn't own a reef aquarium as a result.

 

[jbanks]

Wow, hard to disprove those results. I find myself waking up every morning wondering if it's Wednesday yet so I can throw another dose in. Patience is the key and unfortunately that's something I have difficulty with. Probably shouldn't own a reef aquarium as a result.

LOL... You'll get there with patience...Trust me..

 

[langtudatinh01]

my cyano is getting worst (still only on the sand bed). i just add some new corals (all LPS), would it be ok to dose SB? should i give the new corals sometime to adjust to the tank? oh, are anyone familiar with fungia? i have question about that. the fungia i received is still upset. it has not open since yesterday (more than 24 hrs). Is it typical? thanks. sorry for the sideline question.

 

[jbanks]

You can add SB without affecting your coral... As the company claims and others have posted, it's safe for your reef. There's no need to wait.. As for you fungia, I don't have any experience with them. I would check the LPS forum for help.. Good Luck..

 

[ctmgardea]

did 3rd dose, added 2 MP20's to go along with the 2 MP40's already on the tank...
still have a decent amount of cyano around the tank....with lighting on,
at night almost all is gone (almost...)

 

[jayblock]

Re: Cyano Outbreak

I too am battling red slime. I put my first dose of SB in about 5 days ago, and not a bit of change. The question is why dont i just use the red slime remover ive used in. The past? Within a day or 2 the red slime just melts away. Im being patient but my corals arent.

 

[jbanks]

With red slime remover, you are using chemicals to solve your problem artificially.. In the process, because RSR is an antibiotic, it is targeting all bacteria in your system... the good and the bad; killing the bacteria that aids in the natural filtration process that your rock and substrate provide... Using a bacterial product that will out compete the Cyano is what some of us have achieved and what others are in the process of doing without the chemicals.. Like with everything else... SB may not be for everyone.. It takes time along with good husbandry in order to get it to achieve good results. It is not magic in a bottle. I have yet to find a great over night solution in reefkeeping that you shouldn't be cautious about.. I hope this helps. Good luck with you battle!

 

[mcarroll]

[....]at night almost all is gone (almost...)

Limit your photoperiod for a few days/weeks. I think 4-5 hours per day is do-able without bothering any corals. Even a no-light day (or two) thrown in won't hurt. But it will starve out the cyano to an extent.

This is one of the several tools I used in my (successful) battle against the stuff...with daily use of the siphon hose being my foremost tool. (Yes, daily!!)

Good luck!

-Matt

 

[ctmgardea]

Hey Everyone,
are you turning off your UV's for every dose? just had my UV bulb blow out due to unplugging and plugging the thing back in so many times, bulb was only 5 months old.
so is everyone plugging and unplugging every time about ready to do my 4th dose tomorrow, and don't want to blow another bulb. but do miss the UV for it's benefit's.