Where's my denitrifying bacteria

[purge43]

When I had cyano, I got so fed up with it that I double dosed changed water triple dosed changed water triple dosed agian and again and again with chemi-clean and red slime remover. I didnt care about losing livestock I just wanted the darn cyano gone and then I would start stocking all over. Well i was sucessful, but I think I may have killed all the anerobic denitrifying bacteria in the process, and it will come back untill I get my nutrients in check. I have tryed bio pellets, a coil denitrator and now a sulfur reactor and I cant seem to get any denitrifying bacteria to take a hold. Is this posible? and my next question is where can I get anerobic denitrifying bacteria? One of my lfs's suggested some live rock rubble and some MB7, I have my doubts but I bought some anyway, its been over a week and still no change from nitrites to nitrates in my sulfur reactor.

 

[Chris27]

I'm not sure how long you have been at this, but attempting to employ all those tactics in a short time will get you nowhere fast....and possibly make things worse if not done properly.

Perhaps it's time to sit back and take a good solid look at your tank and the inhabitants. What is the stocking list, and approximately how much do you feed each day? Don't forget to mention if you do feed corals as well, as phyto can foul a tank pretty quickly.

In my experience a well maintained system doesn't need fancy and expensive nitrate reducing equipment, similar results can be achieved by keeping up with the husbandry, carefully dosing a carbon source (pellets/vodka/etc), or running a nice refugium. Water changes are a quick fix, but unless you identify the underlying condition, they are merely a band aid.

 

[atreis]

Patience ... In a healthy tank, cyano isn't (generally) a problem. You just need to let the system settle in. It can take upwards of a year for a new tank to fully stabilize, and that's if you don't mess with things too much.

Where's your denitrifying bacteria? Inside live rock, and if you have a deeper sand bed, somewhere in the neighborhood of 1-3" below the surface, depending on grain size. If you employ other devices it can be in those too, but the live rock and sand are all that's really needed. Bacterial populations have to adjust to the available nutrients (read: breed) and this can take time. Have patience. Don't mess with things too much.

YEARS ago, I received advice related to this hobby, and it applies now just as much as then: In a reef tank, anything that happens fast is probably bad.

 

[Ntvper]

simplest fix is every weekend one day a week or what not is to perform a 10% water change and when gathering the 10% water out take the cyano with it. Time heals all wounds so to speak. Also hate to say it but sounds like ya crashed your own system, by doing all that. But I cant say for sure since you didnt add any specs other then whats in your signature. Ill tell you the secret that I did.....I just performed once a week water changes and sucked out all the algae/cyano that i could to fill up my 10% bad water out. I only ran a carbon reactor off my sump/refugium at that time and changed it once a month. I 'dealt' with the algae this way for many months. System settled. I dont run nothing fancy to this day except a carbon reactor and bio pellets along with my sump/refugium. I have loads of fish n coral now after two or three years this time around. Still not all that I want but I go slow not to heavily impact my system.

And here is my 90 gallon system looks like.

and my 'fancy' equipment

 

[Ntvper]

and what i dealt with, just a few pictures of that

 

[fire_06786]

I think I would of gotten out....lol

 

[Mike_Noren]

That's hair algae, not cyano.

EDIT: oh wait, there's some cyano on the sand. Didn't see it first.

 

[Ntvper]

LOL, me give up? NEVER!!!!

 

[diesel444]

When my 75 gal looked like that I took the rocks out and brushed them off with a brush once a month till it was gone along with water changes and less feeding.

 

[Ntvper]

ya i tried that it didnt work for me and to top it off i killed couple of serpent stars. so i just got a reactor with bio pellets and it did amazing things. Unfortunately one thing i wont do is feed less. i love my fish and all the other critters.

 

[divewsharks]

When I had cyano, I got so fed up with it that I double dosed changed water triple dosed changed water triple dosed agian and again and again with chemi-clean and red slime remover. I didnt care about losing livestock I just wanted the darn cyano gone and then I would start stocking all over. Well i was sucessful, but I think I may have killed all the anerobic denitrifying bacteria in the process, and it will come back untill I get my nutrients in check. I have tryed bio pellets, a coil denitrator and now a sulfur reactor and I cant seem to get any denitrifying bacteria to take a hold. Is this posible? and my next question is where can I get anerobic denitrifying bacteria? One of my lfs's suggested some live rock rubble and some MB7, I have my doubts but I bought some anyway, its been over a week and still no change from nitrites to nitrates in my sulfur reactor.

what is left in your tank now?
Did you ever try GFO?