Cyno Eaters?

[The_Strobe]

I have been fighting a cyno problem for months, not too bad but unsightly. I have used Red Slime and it works for a short while but the stuff comes back. What critters out there eat cyno, if any, so I can give them a try rather than medicating. Tankparams are all where they should be. Phosphate, Nitrate... "0"

 

[ReefBuilderNJ]

are your bulbs old? what brand of tests are you using? ive had this problem before and from what i understand, nothing eats cyno except for a uv sterilizer.

 

[dc]

My foxface does. More water changes maybe?

 

[Holmie_D_Klown]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8293932#post8293932 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefBuilderNJ
are your bulbs old? what brand of tests are you using? ive had this problem before and from what i understand, nothing eats cyno except for a uv sterilizer.

Changing my MHs after 10 months got rid of my cyano. I didn't think that was the problem at first because I thought they supposed to be changed every 12 months, so I figured they were still good.

 

[The_Strobe]

what brand were your lights? I am in the same position in time on mine.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

well..not that i really recommend it because they wont do well...but margarita snails.

I too had cyano and my lfs had these snails that were listed as "black turbos"....they claimed that they would eat cyano. They were cheap so i figured (what the heck..i'll lose 2 bucks if they dont work) so i got a few and to my surprise they did eat it a bit. So i got more...like 15 total, and together they ate lots of the cyano, along with much of the other algae...great little snails, HOWEVER......

They're not a tropical species...they're temperate, meaning a colder water species. They often do not do well in aquariums because of the temp issue, tho they are in warmer waters for about 3 months of the year...and thats about how long it took for mine to croke I then found out that there's no such thing as "black turbos" and that they were actually margarita snails. grrrr! lfs rip off again!

so, if by any chance this might be a cooler water tank, then i'd say get those. I'm thinking the water would have to be very low 70's or mid 60's for them to survive. If you can possibly pull that, then i'd say do that. But to me, its kinda senseless to change your tank to a cooler water tank just to get these snails, you know? And if you've already got stuff, then thats not an option anyways.

 

[fancyfish]

more flow in the tank. ro water only. what are your phosphates? the lights are a good suggestion. skimmer size? is it large enough for your tank? try and find the problem and solve it. redslime and something to eat the cyano is only a temporary cure

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

1. Good flow. Nothing should settle on the sandbed.
2. Run phosphate removal media such as phosban. I run the media eventhough I have tested my water with a salifert kit and it read 0. The Algae can be using the phosphate as fast as it's being intorduced to your system, and even small amounts of PO4 (too small to register on a kit) can fuel algae and harm corals.
3. Use RODI water. Check the TDS, your filters may need replacing.
4. Rinse all frozen food cubes before feeding.
5. Keep the sand stirred with a cucumber, conch and/or gobies.

To my knowledge, nothing eats Cyano.

 

[The_Strobe]

yeah, i am doing all of the above. (i think) i was hoping for a natural way to get rid of this problem. Next I am going to attack the Green Star Polys and mushrooms. Hard to complain... eveything is growing great!

 

[WayneL333]

Cerith Snails eat Cyno as well as diatoms if you have that problem too.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

The Algae can be using the phosphate as fast as it's being intorduced to your system

yeah thats a good point too. Have you tested a few hours after the lights go out? Test for the nitrates and phosphates a few hours after lights go out and you may actualy get a reading, because some algae releases some nutrients during the night...this is why it may appear to die off at night..i know my cyano does.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

This is also why cyano will usually grow on the sand. Stuff settles on the sand, and the cyno grows right on top of it using the nutrients up. The nutrients never even make it into the water column to be tested. However, in this way cyano makes a good nutrient export (just very ugly).