Cyano Scrubber Experiment

[tmz]

Well, maybe he just left it as as message some where in space time and no one can find it.

 

[Tigé21v]

...I dont want to do it to filter the tank, I want it to feed the azoox corals...

Seems like the netting would be a very good medium to use to culture and harvest the cyano for your purposes.

 

[Ron Reefman]

dg3147, I think the idea has merit as a way to clean up cyano while at the same time attacking the other causes. I'm thinking a handful of screens in plastic frames stacked together in a fuge or DSB in such a way that the water flows thru them and which would be easy to pull out and clean. I'd try it but I haven't had any cyano for awhile now. The next friend that has an outbreak and I'll suggest it to them.

Some of the other 'science' has been helpful and some of it hasn't. I've leaned some things I didn't know and seen some people I had respect for act... well, lets say less than easy to get along with. Some of the other comments that feed the fire aren't helpful either. Just keep it civil.

 

[coralreefdoc]

Well, maybe he just left it as as message some where in space time and no one can find it.

Perhaps its in my toilet, Tom ...

 

[tmz]

Perhaps its in my toilet, Tom ...

Well , if that's the case; just don't flush it. :spin3:

 

[tmz]

dg3147, I think the idea has merit as a way to clean up cyano while at the same time attacking the other causes. I'm thinking a handful of screens in plastic frames stacked together in a fuge or DSB in such a way that the water flows thru them and which would be easy to pull out and clean. I'd try it but I haven't had any cyano for awhile now. The next friend that has an outbreak and I'll suggest it to them.

Some of the other 'science' has been helpful and some of it hasn't. I've leaned some things I didn't know and seen some people I had respect for act... well, lets say less than easy to get along with. Some of the other comments that feed the fire aren't helpful either. Just keep it civil.

Nicely stated,I think as a clean up measure it may help but I'm not sure it wouldn't make it worse by giving it a stronger foothold. in the system. Might be worth a try. I personally wouldn't try to keep it going long term though.

 

[dg3147]

What you need to do is pull the screen and rinse every few hours for the first 2 days. Then u r done and discontinue use. No reason not to try it.

 

[tmz]

Sounds easier than siphoning. I'd play but don't have at tank with cyano.
I may get some in an newly set up seahorse fry set up. I keep it pretty clean but there's alot of food going in there , dense feeding with baby brine shrimp and they get messy quickly. If I do it .I'll let you know.

Thanks for the post.

 

[jimmy_beaner]

For being in the advanced topics area, there is a lot of misinformation in this thread... in particular what "nitrogen fixation" means.

 

[tmz]

What do you think nitrogen fixation means?
In simple terms , in the context of this thread , I think it means the covalent bond holding N2 together being broken by an enzyme, nitrogenase, with some of the resulting free N binding to H and capturing bio available energy in the bond.

 

[dg3147]

Still waiting for someone to duplicate my original concept. With so many people struggling with cyano, you would think someone would take a stab at this possible fix.

 

[tmz]

I put a screen in my seahorse set up lighted sump area ; it grew cyano.
Unfortunately cayno grew in other palces too. Siphoned it all out added gac and a little gfo. It's getting much better.

 

[DgenR8]

Several posts have been removed from this thread, let's go forward from here.

 

[elder luis]

how´s the experiment?

 

[AcroporAddict]

What I would like to hear, as I have never read any definitive statements on it from anyone, is whether red cyano is something that is always in our system waiting for conditions conducive to its growth? My experience using ChemiClean tells me otherwise.

I have never had issues using ChemiClean to rid a reef system of cyano. And my experience with it is as follows. Used as directed, it rids a tank of cyano, and the tank remains cyano free until it is reintroduced with a new coral or fish in the inevitable small volume of foreign water that accompanies placing a new fish or coral in the tank. I have never had a reappearance of cyano in a reef system that has not had new fish or corals placed into it post ChemiClean treatment.

So my anecdotal experience over several years tells me that cyano is not something that is always in the system that flares up when nutrient levels increase. You either have it or you don't. Nutrient levels can determine the amount and spread of the cyano if you have it, but high nutrient levels will not cause it if it is not in the tank in the first place.

I try to keep nutrient levels manageable in my 100 mixed and my 465 gallon SPS reef tanks, but a case of red cyano every couple years is simply easier to deal with by treating with ChemiClean rather than constantly dealing with it with mesh or different nutrient management techniques. Treat with ChemiClean, and your tank is cyano free until you reintroduce it to the tank with a new animal. That has been my experience.

 

[tmz]

Some tanks have crashed using chemiclean. It kills some of what's there but most experience a resurgence if underlying nutreint conditions aren't changed. Cyanobacteria is everywhere there is mositure and CO2 and light for most species , even in polar bear coats and lichen patches in otherwise dry areas . It is largely responsible for life on the planet as it fixes nitrogen,ie makes it bioabalaible and oxegenated the oceans. Provide food for it and it will come.

 

[AcroporAddict]

Some tanks have crashed using chemiclean. It kills some of what's there but most experience a resurgence if underlying nutreint conditions aren't changed. Cyanobacteria is everywhere there is mositure and CO2 and light for most species , even in polar bear coats and lichen patches in otherwise dry areas . It is largely responsible for life on the planet as it fixes nitrogen,ie makes it bioabalaible and oxegenated the oceans. Provide food for it and it will come.

I have never changed my feeding habits in my tanks, post chemiclean treatment. As long as no new introductions are made, I don't get a recurrence.

Also, just stating that some tanks have crashed using chemiclean does not take user error into consideration and implies that it is a product issue, and not a use issue, which is probably the reason for most problems, at least IME. How a product is supposed to be used and how it is actually used can vary greatly from buyer to buyer. From what I have seen, most issues with tanks and chemiclean arise from users not manually removing as much cyano as possible before they add the chemiclean to the tank water, with the resulting ammonia spike from the in-tank die-off of the unremoved cyano being the cause of the tank crash. The product facilitates the crash because it was administered incorrectly.

My experience may be unique, but common sense tells me if cyano is ever-present in reef tanks, and I treat with chemiclean and don't change anything else regarding my nutrient inputs and maintenance habits, it will come back, and that is just not the case with my use of it over several years.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

AcroporAddict- do you run Chemiclean continuously to keep cyano from re-appearing or do you remove it from the system once cyano disappears?

I've used other chemical treatments for Cyanobacteria in 'fish only' and FOWLR systems and the red slime comes back over time with no new additions IF conditions are right (usually caused by overfeeding and lack of proper skimming).

 

[tmz]

Well, it's convenient but risky, I stopped using it many years ago. Don't need it anyway.

Die off and ammonia is one concern ,cyano giving off toxins is another. I have no idea what's in it and usually don't dump stuff in my tanks unless I know what it is .It may or may be selectively targeted to kill just cyano but I don't really know that.

As for new introductions,food is newly introduced. It likely has plenty of spores in the air too but I'll let you research that.

Here are just a few of the bad experiences posted by others:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2091083
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2102642&highlight=boyd+chemiclean

There are many others .

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

As for new introductions,food is newly introduced. It likely has plenty of spores in the air too but I'll let you research that.

exactly and I was also wondering if AcroporAddict's aquarium was covered with glass tops....