good 'ole cyano

[kolosy]

i'm at a bit of a loss. i've had this tank for about 2 years now, and have never been able to minimize the unwanted algae or the cyano. i don't overfeed (as far as i can tell) - feeding 2x / week, with 3 fish in the tank. my params are always great (1.027sg, 79F, 400ppm Ca, 9dKh, 1300ppm Mg, 8-8.2 pH, 0 nh4, 0 no2, 0 no3), i run a fuge on a reverse lighting schedule, and yet i have diatoms in the main tank, and a fairly large patch of cyano that i can't get rid of.

i've tried a 3-day lights out. that kills it off, but it comes back after a few days.

ideas? i'm at a bit of a loss. the other thing is that i've never had good chaeto growth. all other algae grows great (funny, huh?) but chaeto doesn't.

thoughts? ideas? should i start dosing vodka?

[FranktheTankTx]

Searching for the problem over the internet can be very difficult & at times, almost impossible. There are so many factors that could cause tank issues - some you might think to post, some you might fail to post. Some you might think aren't worth posting & some you might be embarrassed to post. The overall problem MOST struggle with in situations like this is - something they think isn't a big deal is a big deal.

I had Cyano one time in my life - it was early in my reef keeping years when I knew very little about lighting, flow, params, etc. In the past several years, I have never had to fight diatoms, cyano, or HA. Why, because I provide high flow, the correct lights & cycle, good RO/DI water & salt. In addition, I perform good husbandry on my tanks & do not overfeed.

I don't know what to tell you. These issues are difficult to solve over the internet.

[bertoni]

How much macroalgae (if any) is being harvested out of the refugium, and how often?

[kolosy]

How much macroalgae (if any) is being harvested out of the refugium, and how often?

Not much at all, because I don't see it growing to the point where i'd consider it necessary. Should I br doing it regardless of new growth?

[bertoni]

If the Chaetomorpha isn't growing, then there's no need to harvest, most likely. It's not doing any good, though. I might consider trying some iron dosing, or changing the lighting. What kind of lighting does the refugium have?

[Jstdv8]

you could make an alage scrubber cheap and easy and see if that helps.
I'm building one right now that will use the overflow water from my DT. Basically you build an area of algae outside of the display that pulls out the nitrates and phosphates similar to a ball of cheato, but with more surface area. You harvest the algae once a week and away you go.
Good luck

[Sk8r]

I'd suggest a potent skimmer. What are you using? If it dies back, but the stuff's not getting removed adequately, you're not gaining enough ground. The skimmer should be rated for 2x your system volume.

[Tomaric]

Why not try some turbo snails?

[kolosy]

If the Chaetomorpha isn't growing, then there's no need to harvest, most likely. It's not doing any good, though. I might consider trying some iron dosing, or changing the lighting. What kind of lighting does the refugium have?

i'm using the bulb from melev's reef: http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html

[kolosy]

I'd suggest a potent skimmer. What are you using? If it dies back, but the stuff's not getting removed adequately, you're not gaining enough ground. The skimmer should be rated for 2x your system volume.

i have an msx 160, for rougly 70g of total volume... should be plenty, but maybe i need to dial it in a bit better...

[kolosy]

Why not try some turbo snails?

turbos eat cyano?

either way - i've got a bunch

[Sk8r]

Try tending that skimmer meticulously during your lights-out periods. That should help. Cyano, unfortunately, eats carbon and light if nothing else is available, but if you're running 'rich' water, it can get just too happy. ALso what kind of lighting? MH can start changing spectrum at around 6 months, and off-spectrum light INCLUDING SUNLIGHT FROM SIDE WINDOWS can really make cyano quite happy.

[kolosy]

hm. lighting is 2x 14k phoenix bulbs, 2 geismann actinics, 2 koralen-zucht fiji purple

[brubinfeld]

i would try mercryn

[kolosy]

what's that