Cyano Outbreak
- Thread starter jbanks
- Start date
WallysWorld
New member
Jonathan, Can't wait to hear their response!
My experience has always been positive. Infact I use SB as standard maintenence dosing monthly. Also I always turn my protien skimmer off for about 4 to 5 hours after dosing.
I think the problem some have is that they have other things going on in their tanks, bad rock with phos embedded, high detritus, feed fish too much, low O2, hands in the tank everyday, too much light... the list goes on and on. It took nature millions of years to get it right so...
JustM2cents
My experience has always been positive. Infact I use SB as standard maintenence dosing monthly. Also I always turn my protien skimmer off for about 4 to 5 hours after dosing.
I think the problem some have is that they have other things going on in their tanks, bad rock with phos embedded, high detritus, feed fish too much, low O2, hands in the tank everyday, too much light... the list goes on and on. It took nature millions of years to get it right so...
JustM2cents
pecan2phat
Active member
A temporary fix would be Chemi-Clean or Red Slime Remover or erythromycin or any antibiotic based remedy, sometimes wiping out more then just the cyanobacteria.
+1 on WallysWorld's response.. There are many factors that could be causing your issue. It would be a shame to remove your sand, which aesthetically looks more pleasing to most, just to find out that it wasn't the detritus in the sand that was causing the problem..
I think that cyano goes through a cycle like with most things in our tanks.. SB helps to keep those cycles to a minimum and potentially stop re-occurrences if you stick with the maintenance schedule.
The bacterial population in our tanks are very important to processing waste.. As pecan2phat stated, quick fixes like Red slime remover or antibiotics will work, but they can destroy your tank's bacterial popoulation (good and bad)... Who knows what type of cycles will/can follow that.. SB just seems like a safer bet overall.
I mix 1 part vodka to 4 parts vinegar using a 750ml container. On my 180 (220-230 total water volume) my maintenance dose of vodka/vinegar is 48ml/day with a heavy bio-load with good results.. Vinegar is a lot less potent than Vodka as a carbon source. That's why so much more is used.. There is no real rule of thumb with vinegar that I know of. To give you an idea, I was dosing 4ml of vodka a day when I switched to Vodka/Vinegar. I've been using it for months now and my dosage hasn't fluctuated more than 10ml a day.
OK, going through my second bout with cyano...got rid of it last time in mid March.
It came back and I have been doing 200 ml a week for about 4-5 weeks but not working like it did last time. any suggestions?
Did you keep up with the maintenance doses? It wasn't until I allowed my SB supply to deplete that cyano started creeping back up again after several weeks. I went right back to 10% weekly water changes, blowing off the cyano. Together with Sb dosing, it's on the run again..
Ugh! This cyano is a beast that grows 3 new heads when you cut one off... Seriously, I think the harder I work to beat it, the stronger it returns. Every time I siphon it out off of the rocks and/or sand, it seems to be back worse than it was that evening the next morning - in the same places! Unbelievable! I'm getting concerned about it coating some of the corals.
I added my third dose of special blend last night (so had some in there for two weeks now). Hopefully that starts kicking in soon. How long did it take for you guys to start seeing it reducing with Special Blend? Take care,
--Kyle
Every time I siphon it out off of the rocks and/or sand, it seems to be back worse than it was that evening the next morning - in the same places! Unbelievable! I'm getting concerned about it coating some of the corals. I added my third dose of special blend last night (so had some in there for two weeks now). Hopefully that starts kicking in soon. How long did it take for you guys to start seeing it reducing with Special Blend? Take care,
--Kyle
pecan2phat
Active member
6 weeks minimum but probably closer to 8 to 10 weeks.
So did you guys siphon out the cyano a couple times a week or so during that time? It's starting to coat all my rocks now so I've been using an airline siphon for the rocks, and a gravel vac occasionally for the sand. Any chance it could just grow itself out if I left it alone - or will it continue to grow / take over? This stuff is amazing - you can almost watch it grow it's so fast...
Have any of you lost any corals due to cyano? I'm worried about mine... Take care,
--Kyle
Have any of you lost any corals due to cyano? I'm worried about mine... Take care,
--Kyle
plyle02
Active member
Just subscribed, running NP Biopellets, so not sure if this will impact negatively as they are said to create bacteria naturally on the polymers. I have tried everything, short of adding red slime remover, WHICH I WILL NOT DO, as I feel it destroys the total tank balance. I have it pretty bad with cyano and diatoms right now, the tank is clear during lights out, but as soon as they come on, the tank gets cloudy and the cyano gets ugly, very ugly. Also, I run a fuge on opposite light cycle. First dose today, will keep everyone updated, excited to get this stuff out!!!
Thanks,
Thanks,
Siphoning the stuff out is a good practice.. Some of us experienced the stuff lifting off the subtrate and rocks by itself.. Keep siphoning and keep up your regualr water changes while dosing SB and things will return to normal.. Make sure you are consistent the maintenance dosing as well. In my experience, I have never lost a coral to cyano..
It should have no negative effect on your biopellets. Biodiversity is a good thing, especially when its the good strains of bacteria that your adding.. Most of us here agree with you on the Anti-Biotic treatments thus, the reson we've decided to take a more natural apporach with SB coupled with good husbandry.. Stick to the dosing regiment, stir that stuff up and remove it mechanically as much as you can and keep up your water changes.. Best of luck to you..
Interesting occurence that I 'm sure others have seen or experienced, but may not have considered for bein a stimulus for Cyano. Recently, I did a routine redbug treatment in my tank. After about a week, the dreaded red capet is trying to come back in full force. Then I remembered... I also treated for RBs about a week before starting this thread. I know for a fact I had more die-off of Pods and shrimp this time around because this time claimed my cleaner shrimp, and my last remaining hermit, which all lived through the first treatment. I was unsuccessful at getting them out of the tank before treatment. Well, at least I know what to do this time and decided to start with the intial dose of SB and follow through. Just wanted to share my observence with everyone and maybe stimulate some conversation.
Finally some results for me too. It took longer though - after the 5th dose I noticed it receding and not coming back. Now I have 6 doses in and it's mostly gone. 
BTW, perhaps different from most people's experience - I noticed the cyano would grow most overnight - then recede during the day (like the light was actually causing it to die back rather than contributing to its growth... Take care,
--Kyle
BTW, perhaps different from most people's experience - I noticed the cyano would grow most overnight - then recede during the day (like the light was actually causing it to die back rather than contributing to its growth... Take care,
--Kyle
