Need some opinions please
- Thread starter RBU1
- Start date
sanababit
Active member
RBU1, killing the lights for 3 days will kill cyano, on the fourth just run the actinics and on the fifth your regular light cycle, lights out will not kill or harm corals, why you asked, because i have done it before, during the 3 days i skim very wet and make a water change because when cyano dies it releases a lot of nutrients back into the water.....i have done it 3 times in about 2 years in the hobby, last time i had cyano was about 8-9 months ago and tried another aproach, i got some redslime remover and it went away in 24 hrs never to come back, if you try it just follow instructions and you will do fine....so options are
1.- 3 days without light, skim wet, change some water
2.- use chemiclean, 24 hrs cyano gone, follow instrutions
3.- lower phosphate, nitrate, so cyano dies
4.- manual removal
what ever you do good luck
sana
1.- 3 days without light, skim wet, change some water
2.- use chemiclean, 24 hrs cyano gone, follow instrutions
3.- lower phosphate, nitrate, so cyano dies
4.- manual removal
what ever you do good luck
sana
Why are you so resistant to doing a larger water change, or accepting peoples input, if you are an expert in your 4 years of reefkeeping perhaps you wouldn't have to ask other people how to solve your problem. The 3 days w/o light will only delay the inevitable return, corals have algal symbionts that will be disrupted(not seriously harmed) by an extended night photo period, and yes a larger water change will help. Try doing a sizable WC at one time instead of under 10% a week(under 10% will not impact your water quality). Two darts on a 300 gallon system does not sound like enough flow, and eels are messy eaters.
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RBU1
Moving on Up
Well I do not do large water changes because it changes the water chemistry to fast I prefer weekly smaller changes. I never claimed to be an expert so please no acusations.
My original thread, had you read it, does not ask for opinions on how to solve it. It asks for people who have run there tanks without light for 3 days.
Also if you researched flow rates in reef tanks you would see most people seem to think a 10x rate is OK some corals require more like a 20x. I am at 10,800 on a 300 gallon tank so you do the math.
So please open your mouth and insert your foot.
Wasn't the thread title "need some opinions please"? All you have done is discredit everyone who is trying to help you, and yeah, you have come off like you think you are an expert. Hmmmm, the point of a large water change is to change the chemistry quickly....isn't that what you want to do because obviously your waters chemistry isn't up to snuff. This is a waste of everyones time, perhaps you should take the foot out of your mouth and title this thread "don't bother, I already know everything"!
RBU1
Moving on Up
You are a funny person.........I don't need help. I wanted opinions on leaving the lights off......End of story.
The only time you should change chemistry quickly with a large water change is if something is horribly wrong....Not because of some algae. I can see you help people alot on here with those whopping 21 posts you have.
luther1200
Premium Member
I used to get cyano, then somebody told me dosing with kalk will help significantely. Ever since I started dosing kalk I haven't had any cyano. I realize you have a softy tank but they will benefit from kalk also. I just drip it with the kent gravity doser.
What part of your tank is it on?
What part of your tank is it on?
xpirtdesign
New member
enough already. i understand you are frustrated...i always get frustrated with my tanks. no problem with being a little annoyed when things dont go your way and you cant get people to answer your question.
I can tell you this, i have never tried a black out with a reef tank. it works miracles with high tech freshwater planted tanks though.
I can also tell you that a few days ago, i decided to bite the bullet and try Blue Vet Redslime Remover (20 bucks at risk, + all livestock)....this stuff is amazing. My cyano is almost completely gone, all my fish and coral are happy, my snails and crabs are happy....ect ect. I didnt want to try it at first but i finally did and it worked. I had alot of cyano too...
I can tell you this, i have never tried a black out with a reef tank. it works miracles with high tech freshwater planted tanks though.
I can also tell you that a few days ago, i decided to bite the bullet and try Blue Vet Redslime Remover (20 bucks at risk, + all livestock)....this stuff is amazing. My cyano is almost completely gone, all my fish and coral are happy, my snails and crabs are happy....ect ect. I didnt want to try it at first but i finally did and it worked. I had alot of cyano too...
Paul_PSU
In Memoriam
I used Chemiclean when I had a cynao outbreak a year ago. I tried the 3 day blackout first and it helped but the cyano came back just as strong a couple days later. That blackout did not affect my coral or fish negatively. I have not had a cyano outbreak since using the Chemiclean. I will get a little quarter size patch here and there but nothing major.
RBU1
Moving on Up
Thanks, Xpirt, Luther and PSU go Penn State.....
I might just give those suggestions a try. Today is my last day of darkness and I can still see some crap on the sand. Not sure if the last day will do anything to it but I will find out tomorrow. I did increase the skimate production and will be doing a water change tonight or tomorrow. After all I am not sure if this is cyano or some other algae type. It is a brownish red color and gets kind of stringy.
I picked up a new product by Warner Marine for Phosphhates and will get some of that in the reactor as soon as I can.
Even though I just changed out my RO membrane about 6 months ago, and we have a whole house water filter, I might replace that as well. I am still getting a 0 tds reading but I figured it might be worth a shot to change it anyway.
I might just give those suggestions a try. Today is my last day of darkness and I can still see some crap on the sand. Not sure if the last day will do anything to it but I will find out tomorrow. I did increase the skimate production and will be doing a water change tonight or tomorrow. After all I am not sure if this is cyano or some other algae type. It is a brownish red color and gets kind of stringy.
I picked up a new product by Warner Marine for Phosphhates and will get some of that in the reactor as soon as I can.
Even though I just changed out my RO membrane about 6 months ago, and we have a whole house water filter, I might replace that as well. I am still getting a 0 tds reading but I figured it might be worth a shot to change it anyway.
xpirtdesign
New member
good luck, hope everything works out for you
Peter Eichler
New member
Changing out your RO membrane in 6 mos. and you have 0 TDS? Why on earth would you do that, RO membranes are often good for 3 years plus. It's just a waste of money.
Your new product from Warner marine is just GFO, I think you said you've already tried that...
You're wrong about water changes IMO. I regularly do 25% and bigger water changes on my tanks and there is almost no stress reaction. The key is to let the salt mix for a couple days and allow the PH to stabilize and get the temp and salinity fairly close. When I do changes I don't even lose polyp extension on my SPS. Large water changes can be a great way of diluting water that might be causing problems. One 25% change will always be more effective than 5x5% water changes and if done right will cause no real stress.
I have a suspicion that you might be dealing with dinoflaggellates, but that's just a guess. A good picture would help determine what you're dealing with and what course of action you should be taking. No matter what you're dealing with, lights out for however many days is not a longtern sollution for it.
Lastly, your attitude won't help you any in this hobby. We all have a lot to learn, and from the looks of some of the things you've posted, you're certainly no exception. People were just trying to help and you got an attitude. Not cool, especially if you ever want help from anyone on this site again.
RBU1
Moving on Up
I only seem to have an attitude because I hate when you ask a specific question and you get an answer that deals nothing with the question asked........
My intent of this thread was to get some opinions about running with no lights for 3 days and the effects on the coral.
I don't need opinions on anything else at this moment. I appreciate all the input but that is not what I was asking for.
Not sure what you are implying with this statement "We all have a lot to learn, and from the looks of some of the things you've posted, you're certainly no exception."
I never claimed to be an expert on anything. I just do not prefer to do large water changes for an algae issue. If the tank was contaminated with something or something had gone terribly wrong then I agree with larger water changes. I think you are out of line making a statement about not getting help from people on this site. You are speaking for a LARGE population and just because you think I am out of line I am sure several others do not.
