Randy's vinegar dosing limit. I found it!

[rsucre]

Cyano is bacteria so you're likely feeding it by overdosing carbon. Also, do you have chloramine in your tap water? I struggled against cyano for the longest time and tried everything then found out my local water source uses cloramine. Once I added an additional stage to my RODI filter to filter that out, the cyano went away. I always know I need new filters when I start seeing cyano/algae/excessive bacterial film.

Interesting... even if my RODI reads zero dissolved solids? What kind of filter did you add?

 

[bertoni]

If the RO/DI reads zero, and it's sufficiently precise and accurate, the water should be close enough. There are exceptions: silica can pass through RO/DI to varying degrees and I'm sure there are others, but I wouldn't suspect the RO/DI much as of yet. Chloramine can be an issue in some cases, but most setups actually can handle it well enough:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-11/rhf/feature/index.htm

You could check the ammonia level in some of the RO/DI if you are very worried. In addition, getting a second opinion on the TDS meter might be useful, if that's not too hard.

 

[ramseynb]

Interesting... even if my RODI reads zero dissolved solids? What kind of filter did you add?

Sorry for the late reply. Yes, I would get a 0 TDS reading but was still dumping ammonia in my tank by not using special carbon to filter chloramine out.

http://www.buckeyehydro.com/chloraguard-chloramine-carbon-block/

Buckeye Hydro also has DIY refillable cartridges and the right type of carbon to use if you'd rather do that.

 

[rsucre]

Sorry for the late reply. Yes, I would get a 0 TDS reading but was still dumping ammonia in my tank by not using special carbon to filter chloramine out.

http://www.buckeyehydro.com/chloraguard-chloramine-carbon-block/

Buckeye Hydro also has DIY refillable cartridges and the right type of carbon to use if you'd rather do that.

Hi. You place this Buckeye filter first or last? Where does it go?

My current setup has a sediment, carbon, RO, DI filters in that order. Maybe the buckeye replaces the regular carbon filter?

 

[bertoni]

It should go after any filter that has a larger pore size, as a first guess. What is the rating for the current carbon block?

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

It should go after any filter that has a larger pore size, as a first guess.

This approach... where each successive filter has a smaller pore size is good, but it applies only to SEDIMENT FILTERS.

Assuming the sediment filter pore sizes are correct, install your carbon blocks with the HIGHEST CAPACITY block first in order of water flow.

Russ

 

[rsucre]

It should go after any filter that has a larger pore size, as a first guess. What is the rating for the current carbon block?

Hi. My filtering system is like this:

1. 1 micron sediment filter
2. 0.5 micron carbon block filter
3. Filmtec TW30-1812-50 TFC Membrane
4. Spectrapure Maxcap 1-stage resin

I get 5ppm TDS after the RO membrane and 2ppm at the end.

Questions:
1. Should I just replace the existing 0.5 micron carbon block filter with the buckeye carbon filter?
2. If not, then where should I put the new buckeye filter?

 

[rsucre]

Update.

NO3 = 0 (Red Sea)
PO4 = 0 (Hanna)
KH = 8.1 dKH

Cyano still there.
Little algae on back glass.

Still dosing 2 drops of CyanoClean per day as per instructions. Not doing anything noticeable yet.

 

[bertoni]

Are the animals doing well? How thick is the cyanobacteria?

 

[rsucre]

Are the animals doing well? How thick is the cyanobacteria?

The animals are doing well. Fish, corals, hermits, all happy.

The cyano is just a brown mat over the sand bed and some film on the glass. The brown mat seems to diminish greatly at night, then comes back at daytime.


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[bertoni]

That sounds more like dinoflagellates than cyanobacteria, or at least a mix. Dinoflagellates often show that behavior.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

Hi. My filtering system is like this:

1. 1 micron sediment filter
2. 0.5 micron carbon block filter
3. Filmtec TW30-1812-50 TFC Membrane
4. Spectrapure Maxcap 1-stage resin

I get 5ppm TDS after the RO membrane and 2ppm at the end.

Questions:
1. Should I just replace the existing 0.5 micron carbon block filter with the buckeye carbon filter?
2. If not, then where should I put the new buckeye filter?

Are you treating water with chloramines in it?

 

[rsucre]

Are you treating water with chloramines in it?

I don't know for sure, but we are assuming that it has chloramines. I'm having a cyano issue even with very low TDS, zero PO4 and zero NO3. Someone suggested that chloramines could be the culprit.


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[Buckeye Hydro]

I don't know for sure, but we are assuming that it has chloramines. I'm having a cyano issue even with very low TDS, zero PO4 and zero NO3. Someone suggested that chloramines could be the culprit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Are you on a residential well or do you use "city water?"

Assuming you use city water, what is the name of your water utility? I'll look up your water report and see what they use as a disinfectant.

Russ

 

[rsucre]

Are you on a residential well or do you use "city water?"



Assuming you use city water, what is the name of your water utility? I'll look up your water report and see what they use as a disinfectant.



Russ

I'm in Panama and my water comes from the Miraflores plant, run by the Panama Canal Authority. "œPlanta de Miraflores, Autoridad del Canal de Panamá".


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[Buckeye Hydro]

Didn't realize you were outside the USA - you'll need to call them yourself and find out what they use as a disinfectant.

Russ

 

[rsucre]

That's good progress. Finding a bacterial strain that can always outcompete cyanobacteria in a tank is going to be difficult. Please keep us updated on your results!

I never thought about dinos. Reading a little bit about them, I understand they are more slimy than cyano or diatoms. In my case, the brown stuff on the sandbed is not slimy at all, but really just like brown fine sand. Never has slime or bubbles.

Now, you left me thinking... Maybe it is a mild case of dinos or diatoms and if so, the CyanoClean product would not work.

Now, how can I positively ID the "brown stuff"?

 

[rsucre]

Didn't realize you were outside the USA - you'll need to call them yourself and find out what they use as a disinfectant.

Russ

Russ, it will be a challenge getting information or even reliable information here. The Panama Canal Authority does not publish the phone number for the Miraflores plant. In my experience here with the local public institutions is that the employee will respond whatever he "thinks". If you go the following day and ask someone else, you can get a completely different answer.

Assuming that the water has chloramines, which filter should I use?

When someone here mentioned chloramines, it sound familiar to me. I think that 10 years ago when I kept freshwater aquariums, somebody pointed out that we had to treat our tap water with Seachem Prime due to chloramines.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

I'd go with:
1 micron sediment filter
Chloraguard Carbon Block
Chlorine Grabber Carbon Block or another Chloraguard Block
RO
DI

 

[rsucre]

Russ, if possible, I would like to avoid adding another stage to my setup. Is there a filter I can just replace my existing sediment and carbon block?


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