Next step in cyano battle

[gdavis17]

I'm almost out of ideas in my battle with cyano. My tank is a 37 cube with a sump which has been running for over 2 years. All params are in check except for phosphate, which is a little high, thus creating the cyano outbreak. I've tried just about everything and can't get rid of the stuff. Below are things I currently do:

5 gal water changes every 2 weeks
I have an efficient skimmer in sump
I have almost two much flow for my softies and no dead spots
I only have 2 small clowns
I feed small amounts once every 2 days
I have a fuge with ample amounts of chaeto
I have a 150w HQI system with bulbs that are only 1 mo old

I have seen no improvement since my fuge has been in place (about 8 months). I'm thinking about replacing my fuge with a phosphate reactor. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions? Thanks alot.

 

[austin93]

Do you have a sand bed? I had to remove mine because it was full of detritus. That was the thing that made the most difference. You didn't mention a skimmer, big skimmers help a lot also. Phosphate remover would be a good thing to add and its cheap relatively. Good luck, it can be a pain but it can be beaten back.

 

[gdavis17]

Thanks for the suggestions austin93. I have a CSS65 and it pulls lots of dark skimmate. I know people say they are junk, but I have had great success with this one and I really don't have $300 to spend on a better one. I really don't think my skimmer is the problem. In regards to my sandbed, I have a 3" deep sandbed. I would rather not go barebottom.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

try this:

try this:

*remove 2.5" of sandbed
*place micron filter bag on drains and stir up the remainder of the SSB
*run SG @ 1.026 (don't use a swingarm to measure SG!)
*harvest some macroalgae so more has room to grow
*add a PO4 reactor and DON'T remove the fuge
*use kalkwasser for topoff

 

[jenglish]

Well, the PO4 is most likely the issue. Once it is PO4 the skimmer doesn't remove it. So the options to remove it are fuge, GFO or waterchange. If it is in the sand then the sand bed may need replaced. How often do you harvest chaeto? Have you thought about GFO? How about a 3 day blackout and then a huge waterchange? B/O + W/C will free up the nutrients bound up in cyano and then remove them in the WC.

Just some thoughts, sounds like you have taken flow as far as it will go and lighting is in order, so sounds like nutrient is the only place left to look.

 

[Rich D]

do you have a clean up crew? people say that they dont do much but I have found that my emerald crabs eat a ton. Im currently getting rid of a cyano problem also

 

[faze07hd]

i have been battling a cyano problem in my 90 for months now too... i just ordered this stuff called phosphate control by blue life... i heard nothing but good things about it!

i too have tried everything and still cant get rid of it.

check that stuff out.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

great protein skimming can have drastic results on cyanobacteria growth. We've done this many times on many aquariums- get a honkin' skimmer on the aquarium and red slime will "disappear".

 

[Laddy]

I would reduce your photo period, regardless of how long it currently is, as well as increasing your water changes from twice a month, to weekly. And if you have an filter socks, I'd replace thme every three or four days.

 

[gdavis17]

Wow, thanks for all of the great suggestions. If I remove 2.5" of my sandbed and stir up the rest, should I leave it as a SSB? or should I add more? Won't this release harmful nutrients into my water? Has anyone done this before?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

yes- many have done this before. The choice to go barebottom, SSB or DSB is a personal one.

 

[gdavis17]

Would you say my best plan of attack would be to remove a majority of my sandbed, stir up my existing sand, and do a 50% water change.

 

[faze07hd]

50% i think is way too much of a shock for your fish and corals if you have any. I would do 20% today and maybe 2 days later to another.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14800028#post14800028 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gdavis17
Would you say my best plan of attack would be to remove a majority of my sandbed, stir up my existing sand, and do a 50% water change.

you need to remove the gunk when you stir up the sandbed. There are many ways to accomplish this. Most of the methods are made easier when combined with a water change.

 

[username in use]

ive done 50% water changes before when my tank was getting cyano and my nutrients had spiked. MY corals and fish were all very happy the next day. The key to doing a change that large is to wait untill the middle of the night, when all the corals are closed up and the fish are asleep. That way the corals arent filled with one water and then surrounded with another. I really dont see a problem doing this as long as they are all closed up. But as always, I do allow that I could be wrong.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I'd suggest not losing any sleep over a water change- doing one at night isn't any better than doing one during the day. In fact, it might be more stressful to fishes to do a waterchange at night.

 

[rkelman]

I got rid of mine by dosing sugar as well as regular water changes. FWIW.

 

[Zentoolie]

I battled cyano for about 4 months. This is what I did to finally rid it.

1) Syphoned out as much as possible (every few days until it receded).

2) Used GFO (specifically I used Rowaphos as it was the only thing that seemed to bring the phosphates down to un-noticeable with a Salifert test kit)

3) Dosed vodka (and continue to) to bring the nitrates down to zero from about 10

4) Cut the lights for 3 Days. Putting a towel around the tank for complete darkness (fish nor corals were not stressed)

5) When the lights were brought back on I did it in increments 3 hours a day for a week, then 4 hours a day for a week until 7 hours a day.

I have a SSB and I did nothing to the sand other than lightly disturbing and blowing the surface of it and the rocks which I still do every three or four days. This is just what worked for me.

Zen

 

[austin93]

I think taking out 2.5" of sand will probably make the problem worse. Take out the whole thing and then replace with whatever depth you think works for you. The deeper you go into the sand, the most "crap" you will release. If you haven't done anything to the sandbed and haven't consistently replaced a clean up crew that kept it clean, the sand bed is probably a major source of problems. If you don't have a big (oversized) skimmer, vodka will just be fuel for the cyano. You also don't have to spend 300 for a good skimmer. I got an octopus NW200 which is awesome for 180 new! Good luck, there is a solution, just not an easy one.

 

[rkelman]

I personally wouldn't remove sand bed either. Vodka won't fuel cyano though. It works the same as sugar. I'm not sure what the advantage is to vodka. Its more expensive then sugar and has the same result. Suck out what you can double up on your water changes for a while and feed lightly.