what the *&%# is this??

[digidana]

it starts out as a grey fog on the sand and within a day or two it looks like this.

it showed up a couple days after i added some mini hermits, snails and extra pods that i got on-line. hmmmm

oh yeah, and how do i get rid of it?

thanks!

 

[cee]

Cyano. Improved flow usually helps, but it usually goes away on its own (given enough time). Also, make sure your parameters are in line. I don't know anything that eats the stuff, but some siphon it out.

Dave

 

[ct_vol]

Agree on the cyano... Your tank is probably still cycling a bit... Its pretty normal... Water changes help too...

If all else fails, parameters check out and you have enough flow, try reducing your light cycle... When I was battling it in my 120 after I first got it going, I left the lights off for 2 or 3 days and it went away...

Cerith's supposedly eat Cyano...

 

[hesstondc]

I used the red slime stuff you can get at local fish stores...It zaps it so you need to do a big water change...Mine hasn't come back and I had it really bad. I have used it in several different tanks. And it has never killed a coral...A fuge might help as well

 

[digidana]

thanks guys. i tried vacuuming it out, but it didn't work, it kinda clumps the sand and clogs it. i've been kinda skootching it together then just throwing away what i can get my hands on. i think i've got pretty good flow. it whips around in there. i have 2 koralia 4s, a 3 and a 2, plus what comes back up from the basement. i have a fuge going, and i'm starting to see a little down there too...

if i turn the lights off for a few days, would it hurt the corals or clam?

thanks!

 

[EvilMel]

Your light bulbs are new, not old, right?

 

[digidana]

i really don't know how old the bulbs are...i bought the light used. he made it sound like the bulbs were only a couple months old, but i can't be sure...is there any way to tell when its time to change them out?

thanks!

 

[ct_vol]

What spectrum are they??? You may want to check with the guy you bought them from to be sure...

And turning the lights off a day or two will not hurt anything in the tank...

 

[Patrick12]

I would siphon it out, even if you have to use a larger hose and take substrate with it. You can then clean the sand and replace it. You have to get it out of your tank because it will just keep growing as long as your nutrient levels that feed it are present. Phosphates serve as a great fertilizer and if you do not have a phosphate removal media chamber going....you might want to consider it. The Red Slime Remover works as well. I had to resort to using it a couple times and I never had a return of the cyanobacteria.

 

[EvilMel]

I would be willing to bet you that your bulbs are old and that if you change them out, the cyano will go away.

 

[themadreeferTN]

Poly filters work well to remove phos. and i agree with siponing it out using the hose only as to remove as little gravel and as much cyano as possible.

 

[jettster]

I had good luck with red slime remover , but it was a fowler tank so i don't know how it will work on a reef good luck cyano sux

 

[Pandarian]

The problem with red slime remover/erythromycin is that it is a wide spectrum antibiotic. It can be detrimental to a range of bacterial "flora".

Don't get me wrong, I've used erythromycin many times before. But, I would recommend against using it and doing what others suggested.