griss’ Battle with Cyano - all the Things I’ve Tried
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vlangel
Premium Member
Every tank is different griss but I was more comfortable with my tank at 35 ppm than I am with it at 10 ppm, which is what my tank is at now.
wvned
Well-known member
Why?
Mine stays at 2-3.
The only thing I ever figured out about cyano is changing NO2 up or down causes it. Mine hasnt come back after the last Chemiclean treatment after I got my sulfur reactors dialed in and kept NO2 constant.
NO2 or NO3?
My understanding is that many cyanobacteria can fix nitrogen and some even carbon. This gives them the advantage over competing microorganisms when nitrogen levels are low in the aquarium and there is available phosphate (out of balance if you subscribe to the redfield ratio being important). Raising nitrates is meant to aid the competitors.
NO3, that was a typo.
wvned
Well-known member
After reading 1000s of posts over the years and articles about cyano and asking my brother in law that is working in the gulf for the Army Corps of Engineers I am fairly certain no one knows what starts or stops it for sure.
Cyano is always in our tanks. Something makes it start acting differently at times when it forms mats and clumps together. I did read that high nitrates inhibits this but my own testing in my tank showed it wasn't enough to stop an outbreak. I have multiple tanks on one sump. I have had cyano really bad in one of them but none of the others many times. I have never had it in all of them at once.
Cyano is always in our tanks. Something makes it start acting differently at times when it forms mats and clumps together. I did read that high nitrates inhibits this but my own testing in my tank showed it wasn't enough to stop an outbreak. I have multiple tanks on one sump. I have had cyano really bad in one of them but none of the others many times. I have never had it in all of them at once.
Yep, that's why I added a fuge and started dosing nitrate.
wvned
Well-known member
I was cyano free for an extended period and then my sulfur reactors plugged and I had to restart them. My nitrates went up and cyano started. I used Chemiclean. Then the reactors took off and nitrates went down. It came back. I used Chemiclean again.
So far it has stayed away for several months.
So far it has stayed away for several months.
vlangel
Premium Member
kharmaguru's post is the reason I like my nitrates to be higher than 10 ppm. I do subscribe to the redfield ratio but with so many macroalgae species in my tank, I like the nitrate/phosphate ratio to be more like 50:1 since macroalgae utilizes nutrients. I thought griss had macroalgae as well.
Anyone have experience with Ceriths and dwarf Ceriths eating Cyano? reef Cleaners website says they will. I know this is a bandaid approach, but I’m thinking maybe increasing/diversifying my cleaning crew might help as part of the solution. Currently down to just one or two hermits and 5 turbo snails.
I always keep ceriths and while they do eat snotty stuff like chrysophytes I can't say for sure they eat cyano. Maybe if there's not much else? The only thing I've seen actively eat cyano is my money cowrie but he only eats it around his hidey-hole. I'm pretty sure the stuff is not that tasty. I know my tuxedo urchins avoid any algae that has cyano growing on it.
Yeah, my Tuxedo avoids it too. I remember years ago the rage was to get fighting conches to eat cyano.
I was getting some cyano and ordered a few of those from Reef Cleaners. Cyano went away. Coincidence? I also have two fighting conchs from when I started the tank. You might want to give it a try.
Thanks John.
I'm seeing Mexican Turbos being mentioned a lot for cyano.
Hmm, have several of those and never seen them near it.
lol.
I just received two of these little guys. I was on the waiting list. Ordered Tuesday and they are out of stock again.
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Molly Miller Blenny - Aiptasia eater
Gramma loreto Feeding on C1, PE Pellet, Hikari Mysis shrimp
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