feeding less to control cyano ?

[billford]

hello everyone,i have a 125 g mixed reef tank with dsb. on one side of the tank ,about 20% of dsb has a red tint to it, with a patch of cyano "goo" the size of a dollar bill.its been that size for months.i dont mind the look of it,but i want to know if i should just feed less for a few weeks till it goes away?should i then assume that the smaller amount of food is the correct amount to feed the tank and all its inhabitants? water params are very low. thanks bill

[Mike O'Brien]

IMO cyano on the sand is an indicator of a lot of detritus built up in it. This is where an increase in flow might help by allowing more of the detritus to be kept in suspension and skimmed out of the tank rather than settling on the sand bed.

If you think you are overfeeding then less food would be OK. I don't like to starve my fish to solve an algae problem. Type of food might be an issue.

[spleify]

Feeding less is a good start.

Increasing flow in the tank, and increasing the amount and frequency of water changes will also aid in getting rid of the cyanobacteria. Cyano is a good indicator that your are feeding too much and you have a build up of PO4.

Try sucking out the cyano during a water change also.

HTH

Good luck

[billford]

thanks for the help.i adjusted the flow a little.its hard because of blowing sand.i think im going to try and feed about 25% less for a few weeks or longer and see what happens.im using rods food and i think it a little"richer" than i think.

[spleify]

What is your water change routine?

[billford]

i do a10% wc every 2 weeks.i have a total of 300g so its about 30g.