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View Full Version : fed up with cyano so....


Stanley-Reefer
02/21/2009, 11:53 AM
I was fighting the war before I went on vacation and after coming back, all the corals and fish were perfect, but the rest of the tank and sand were RED in my 175 that is now roughly 4.5 months old.

I started Marc Weiss' algae magic and it worked in my 90 but it takes a while to work.

I did the blue vet red slime remover Friday morning after siphoning out all I could---I've been doing this only to return home from work the next day to the same red tank!

Happy to say 24 hours into it and IT'S WORKING. The tangs are eating off the rocks now! There is now only patches of red here and there instead of a mat all over--it's even gone on the overflows.

I have over 40 colonies of sps, and 15 mixed of lps, leathers, softies and a lot of fish. My parameters are always in line and I have ample LR and an oversized Euroreef skimmer.

The only stressing part is having to have the skimmer offline a few days (box says 5 days then 25%) water change.

Where does this stuff come from? I feed the same amount every day, I add supplements at the same times every day, and I change alot of water--20 gal every 4 days.

James983
02/21/2009, 12:35 PM
Usually comes from excess nutrients and low flow.

reefergeorge
02/21/2009, 02:08 PM
Thats what they say, but I have cyano on my koralia 4 grill. plenty of flow going right over it.
I have been battling it for a while, but refuse to use unnessasary chemicals in my reef. I'm about to try the 3day light off method, and see what that does.

CoralBeautyII
02/21/2009, 03:13 PM
I just blow it off with a turkey baster about once or twice a week, blowing the rocks too and all crud comes out.
run a hob filter with those pads in it to catch the flying debri.
in time it wont come back and if it does, blow it away again :)
ive done every other method in my 4-5 years experience, chemi clean, lights out etc, this is the easiest way to get rid of it, and it only cost what a turky baster will cost..cheap

luther1200
02/21/2009, 03:19 PM
I have heard that dripping kalk helps to clear it up. I used to get it here and there but haven't gotten any since I started using kalk. I hope I didn't just jinx myself,lol.

Peter Eichler
02/21/2009, 03:22 PM
What supplements are you using and what type of flow? Also, what is your fishload like? I notice you sig says "lots of fish".

Stanley-Reefer
02/21/2009, 05:13 PM
Flow is 4 Koralia 4s and a mag 18 return--that's about 5000-5500 gal/hr turn over; skimmer is a ER RS 250; 280#LR, 200#sand; no refugium.

I have 4 tangs (purple, yellow, blonde naso, and powder blue), 1 spotted rabbit, 3 pyramid angels, sleeper goby, 3 bangaii cardinals, 1 fridmani, 1 falco, 2 black percs, one solarensis wrasse

4 serpent stars, 1 scarlet lady, 1 fire shrimp, 1 coral banded shrimp, 30-40 mixed hermits 20-30 snails mixed.

I feel my flow is good as I have captive frags and wild colonies that have grown considerably.

I did get carried away with coral feeding using reef nutrition products alternated with coral frenzy nightly instead of every 4-5 nights, but never had the red stuff then. I often wonder if teh fuzzy phytes, which are live red algae, is the culprit.

I have moved FAST --but I always have with my tanks. This blue vet is working nicely I have to say--BUT IT'S KILLING ME NOT TO TURN THE SKIMMER ON!!!

The only corals that don't look happy after putting it in the water are my phil's granulosa that was growing like a weed and my valida, but I think I bumped it pulling powerheads to clean them.

This system has a net of 170 gallons

My 90 that has a net of 60 gallons went through this stage too but it was easier to turkey baste and skim it out with a net--algae magic did the rest and it didn't grow back. There are 5 tangs, 2 false percs, 1 gramma, 1 six line, pink spotted goby, 2 pj cardinals, 2 green chromis, 2 scarlet ladies, 4 serpent stars, 1 red fromia, 20-30 mixed hermits, and 15 mixed snails with over 55 mixed coral colonies-mostly sps. There is not any algal problems in it.

I use only kent supplements--tech a/b; tech m; iodine, strontium/moly, essential elements and coral vite. There are newer and more expensive supplements that I could try, but I tend to stick with what has worked for me in the past.

I use red sea tests, but I'm real good at doing it precisely as they say and have net 0 nitrates/nitrates using the cross reference chart in their test kit, no ammonia, ph 8.2-8.4, alk was 2.8--but its mq/l so that's about right. The readings are the same for both tanks.

Biggest test for me is growth and health, If I intentionally or unintentionally frag something, it grows.

Peter Eichler
02/21/2009, 05:22 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14450135#post14450135 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Stanley-Reefer


iodine, strontium/moly, essential elements and coral vite.

I'd knock off the unnecessary supplements that I quoted above... Your fishloads are also on the high side and I'd guess as a result you're feeding quite a bit which could be a contributing factor as well.

Stanley-Reefer
02/21/2009, 06:18 PM
Well, too late for today. I put 17.5cc of coral vite and essential elements in weekly (Friday evenings), 5cc of stronti/moly q day, and 33 gtts of iodine q day. My blue corals are BLUE.

I have been feeding the fish more and letting them in turn feed the corals more lately.

They get a fingernail size of rod's and PE mysis in the am, a few flakes of prime reef, spirulina, formula two, and kelp dry food and and some algae sheets. In the evening it was a replay of the morning minus the sheets. Now that I see they are fat and happy after vacation on half that, that's the plan. Flakes/frozen in the am, sheet in the night==that's what I do in the 90.

I don't feel it's a reef unless there are plenty of fish. I've always had it that way and my husbandry supports it, but this latest cyano has been a real pain.

The lunars just came on, hope I wake to even less tomorrow! I wish I had pics of Thursday before I siphoned and today. It's remarkable.

Anybody know what antibiotic blue vet uses? It doesn't say, but I think others use erythromycin.

Peter Eichler
02/21/2009, 06:38 PM
Erythromycin is the typical one that has been used for many years so that would make sense.

Cut out the additives for a couple months and see if the cyano comes back. If blue vet is just an antibiotic be prepared for it to just come back and possibly a small cycle.

Stanley-Reefer
02/21/2009, 07:32 PM
You know that's going to kill me right? I've done the same thing day in day out for over a year in my 90 and the same in the 175 since Oct.

Expected the cycle and it's most likely underway with the two corals without full PE, but their feeders are out now so that's a good sign.

Why would these additives do this in one tank and not the other? They are dosed and stocked identically in relation to size and per kent's instructions.

One last thing is that I get all my ro/di water and premixed salt from LFS and have done so all the way back in the beginning. They always used Kent, but do to economic circumstances they are using seachem now because of the bulk deal they got. I've been seeing more sedimentation in the bottom of my containers now--it comes out pink etc in the water. I'm being told it's "trace elements and minerals from where they scrape the sides of the holding vat, but I've tried to stop about a quart from the bottom and not use it lately. I think I'll ask them to let me see the TDS reading on it--BUT AGAIN NO CHANE IN ANYTHING IN MY 90 WITH THE DIFF SALT.

Stanley-Reefer
02/22/2009, 01:11 PM
I withheld the strontium and iodine this morning even though it was odd.

I don't know if this will be a temp fix or not, but this blue vet is the bomb.

I have only one 2"x2" area left on the sand in the back.

I want to change out the 25% and skim today, but I'm doing my best to wait until Monday/Tuesday so I can restart the skimmer.