Tried everything. Still cyano!!

sand sifter stars work well for me. Your 120 should be big enough to support one. I have had 2 in my 180 for 8 months now. I like them better than goby's since the dont throw the sand up in the water column.

Make sure your fuge is full of macro algae. I had a similar problem w/ cyano and after a lights out I added more cheato & colerpa in my fuge in an effort to export the nutrients, otherwise the cyano will just come back.
 
my issue is there is no sign of cyano on my DSB but it shows on only certain parts of my lr (where the lights hit it)... Will test my phos levels tonight (need the kit) and report baack all params later...

I see that someone mentioned the light spectrum - will replace those today as well....
 
I've battled cyano for a long time in my tanks. I had an Aqua C Remora Pro skimmer HOB that cleaned up the cyano in my 75 but when I added the fuge and moved the skimmer down there it didn't work as well so the cyano came back. I bought an Octopus 200 and it didn't help but after tuning it in perfectly the cyano went away almost immediately. After a month or 2 the cyano came back and I found out it was from my TDS getting to high, (15), doesn't sound like much but my tap water is loaded with phosphates so I have to change filters and DI resin often on my RO/DI unit. Another thing that helped my tank a lot was vacuuming the sand bed when I do water changes. There was some nasty gunk in there. I was always told not to disturb the sand but I can't imagine wanting to leave that stinking stuff in the tank. I vacuum the sand every time I do water changes now.

I have tried Chemi Clean in my 40 gallon that has no skimmer and it worked well. I only used half the recommended dosage and within 3 days all the cyano was gone. No loss of corals or fish. So far no cyano has returned.
 
Yeah I think I will try Chemi clean since nothing else seemed to work. Now my sand bed is so thin that the bottom glass is visible all over the bed.
 
RVANANO said:
Yeah I think I will try Chemi clean since nothing else seemed to work. Now my sand bed is so thin that the bottom glass is visible all over the bed.
Click to expand...

If that's the case then I'd definitely skip the sand sifting star. Like someone else said, try nassarius snails. Do you do any carbon dosing? I started getting some cyano and diatoms on my sand. I began adding vitamin C day and night (only about half a teaspoon for my 180) and it cleared up both in a day or two, and neither have come back. You need a good skimmer though. That thing is pulling out crp like I never thought possible with only 6 small fish, since I began the Vitamin C. If you read any threads on this, you'll see that my dosage is on the very low side. In some instances, it has contributed to the cyano. Good luck, fellow Lounger.
 
I highly doubt its the sunlight as we have two local members in our club who run 2 14inch solatubes in each of their tanks, blasting their tanks full of sunlight all day long, you say you've tried everything? Did you try an ats? they work wonders and I think that they are one of the most underated pieces of equipment out there that no one takes advantage of!
 
+1 for carbon dosing as well. I just started Red Sea NO3 PO4 X and the little bit of cyano I had in my sand was gone in a week.
 
Does DSB leech phos, I know rocks do - which may also be the case. What are my options if either of these are true????
 
used to have slight cyano problem

siphon out all visible cyano
change carbon, change light tubes
reduce vodka dosage by half, reduce feeding

problem solved in a week
 
Well my lights are all new and I kept siphoning cyano and also changed carbon and it still kept coming back. So yesterday at 4pm, I added the chemi-clean. A lot of people said to add half the suggested dosage. I have a 120 DT, 20 fuge and about 30 gallons in my sump so I added enough for 110 gallons. Keeping my fingers crossed. Lights are off for 48 hours and I unplugged the skimmer and removed carbon reactor.
 
Run some GFO Brandon. I don't have a reactor, I just toss a bag into my HOB filter. Or you can get Chemi-Pure Elite. Not as good as pure GFO, but it does have some phosphate remover in it.

Do you have any macro growing in the fuge?
 
Cheni Clean will solve the problem in the short term, but the Cyano will come back unless you resolve the root cause. I don't think nitrates or phosphates are the root cause. IMO, dissolved organics are the cause. Reducing that level will reduce the Cyano. Wet skimming with a quality skimmer, aggressive water changes and GAC use, sucking the stuff out, and detritus control will make it go away eventually.
 
I agree. I just feel the chemi-clean will probably help me get ahead of it. I will do the 20% change and then wait a few days and do another 10-15% change while removing all the existing sand. Then I will use a new 40lb bag of special grade sand.
 
My tank had a bad case of cyano and chemi-clean is the only thing that works.
Just follow the instructions, do the water change, run some carbon before turning on your skimmer. If you run the carbon your skimmer wont go crazy.
 
What happens when the chemi-clean starts to work. I left my lights off for the first 24 hours and then when I cut them on, the water is cloudy a bit and the cyano that is still there is real stringy looking. But there is still a fair amount in there. Is that normal? And how long does it usually take?

Also noticed the water in my sump is quite bubbly. Also figured that was normal.
 
Your water should turn a light 'tea' color and maybe even get a little cloudy.
Did you discontinue your carbon, uv, GFO, Ozone, Bio-pellets, and turn off your skimmer.
 
Yup. Everything is off but pump, heaters and powerheads. I am more curious if the stringiness of the Cyano is a sign that it's dying off.
 
RVANANO said:
What happens when the chemi-clean starts to work. I left my lights off for the first 24 hours and then when I cut them on, the water is cloudy a bit and the cyano that is still there is real stringy looking. But there is still a fair amount in there. Is that normal? And how long does it usually take?

Also noticed the water in my sump is quite bubbly. Also figured that was normal.
Click to expand...

Mine took about 3 days for the cyano to clear up. I thought it didn't work but on the 3rd day it was gone. There was a little bit of greyish colored residue on the rocks and sand I assumed that was the dead cyano. My water didn't turn cloudy or colored at all.
 
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