Tried everything. Still cyano!! [Archive] - Reef Central Online Community

RVANANO

10/02/2011, 03:58 PM

I have been fighting this problem for months. I thought several things contributed to it but seems nothing will fix it.

First of all, I replaced my MH's about 6 months ago. My skimmer pump died 3 months ago and that's when it seemed to start. It took me a while to get a new bubble blaster pump but I have had the skimmer working again for the last month and it keeps coming back. When hurricane Irene hit, I re-arranged my 1 year old rock work and probably stirred up a lot of the sand etc. And most recently, I realized my T5's hadn't been replaced in a long time so last week, I replaced two and then yesterday I replaced the other two. I also siphoned out all the stuff off the sand and today it's all back.

So to recap, all new lights, new skimmer pump and I have been using nothing but 0 TDS top off for the last 7 months as well as LFS bought salt for water changes. I do 10 gallons a week.

It's dark burgundy in color and forms thin sheets all over the sand and lower rock. Nothing is getting rid of it. Even with the lights off it comes back.

Any other ideas before I go Chem-clean? it's driving me nuts and the tank looks amazing except for this.

My levels are consistent at 450 Ca, 1250 Mag, 10 Alk, and 8.1 and 8.35 for PH. Nitrates are usually low b/t 5-10. Not sure about Phosphates though. But I am running carbon in a small reactor and I also have a 20L fuge with Cheato.

Troender

10/02/2011, 04:09 PM

Have you tried Coral Snow (http://www.sewatec.de/lng/en/korallenzucht-kz-coral-snow-250ml.html?type=N&language=en&xploidID=hbcjpb4d48avh3rh0lc2iger90)? It has worked very well for me, and I have now gotten rid of the cyano. :D

renato120

10/02/2011, 04:19 PM

My tank was pretty bad Horrible Cyanno!
What i did was..... when I had to do water changes I sucked what I could with a hose from the sand and rocks...... I washed the sand after and put it back in the tank. Belived or not didnt come back.....

ryeguyy84

10/02/2011, 05:06 PM

Any sunlight on the tank? That was my problem.

Palting

10/02/2011, 05:22 PM

IMO, you had a lot of nutrient build up when the skimmer was off for 3 months. These have settled and will take a while to remove. I would suggest patience. Vacuum and turkey baste the cyano as much as you can and remove as much as you can with the water change. It may take as long as the same amount of time your skimmer was off, 3 months.

LFS saltwater? I don't trust LFS saltwater. Maybe part of the issue.

How is your flow? If you stir the cyano that's on the substrate, does it just hang in the water in the same spot? If it does, you need to get more flow in there.

Not really knowing your tank, that's about what I can offer. HTH!

jeffesaurusrex

10/02/2011, 05:27 PM

sharkman121

10/02/2011, 05:29 PM

red slime algae remover did the trick for me. I put it in the night, by the following night all cyano was gone.

Didnt affect any of the fish.

autodave

10/02/2011, 05:44 PM

I was starting to get some cyano,I ran some carbon for awhile and it knocked it out.But it is slowly coming back.I am just going to keep my skimmer clean& in tune,keep using carbon and GFO

Psirex

10/02/2011, 08:08 PM

same here - will try chemi-clean and get new lights....

mikezalewski

10/02/2011, 08:13 PM

to keep it off the sand I used a diamond goby! Now this will make a sand storm for about a week but it does work!

psteeleb

10/02/2011, 08:14 PM

Brandon - here are a couple of my personal notes on the stuff

I use to get it everyonce and a while in my 300 and it was an indicator for me to add to my cleanup crew

In my 110 I don't get any in my display but get it in my fuge and that's fine by me as I just suck it out durring water changes. I do know that it does not do well in light spectrums over 12000k and its why it only grows in my sump where I have 5000-6500k bulbs.

I've used one of the red slime remover products in my 29g tank and never had any issues with it.

ryeguyy84

10/02/2011, 08:22 PM

ryeguyy,

When you had the sunlight on the tank, did the cyano form only in the areas where it hit or everywhere?

I'm slowly winning my battle, I seem to have gotten it off the sand but now it likes to form on the rocks in some spots. There is sun hitting the tank in some spots during sundown, but no cyano in that spot really, just green algae under the sand line on the front glass.

I had cyano everywhere, it turned out that the sun was hitting the left side of the tank and there was more on that side. I think it started in the sun and moved over. I moved my blinds over and poof it was gone.

ludiNano

10/02/2011, 08:52 PM

Hi Brandon

:wave:

I thought I've read that cyano feeds on phos. so I would recomend testing your phos levels with a good test kit. Although just like algea the cyano from my understanding can take up the phos quickly and you may still read zero on the test.

If the phos test read 0 if I were you would concider employing a phos media like GFO for a while. Like Palting said there was probably a build up of nutrients while your skimmer was down.

Like Palting , I don't trust LFS salt water either. I would rather mix it up my self and know how long its been sitting there and what TDS is going in it.

Or you can go DIAF, your choice.

mikezalewski

10/02/2011, 08:58 PM

I have always wondered if there was any issue with getting premixed salt water and have thought what is the problem the water is good. You make a good point with saying that hou long has the water been sitting around! thanks for the idea

RVANANO

10/03/2011, 06:39 AM

Hi Brandon

:wave:

Or you can go DIAF, your choice.

:wave: hehe

No sunlight. I keep my blinds closed. My flow seems to be pretty good. I have twin returns drilled in the tank pushing from a 1950 GPH pump. Those alone put a good amount of flow in the tank. I also have an MP40 and a small Tunze. My tank is really open and no rocks are against the glass at all. I have two islands. The cyano forms everywhere even where there is hella flow.

Hopefully as stated it was just nutrient build up. And I absolutely trust my LFS's water with 100% confidence. We have 3 in our area and I only buy water from one.

I may give it some more time before I go chemical warfare. I was thinking that since I have already removed so much of my sandbed, that I might just siphon out the rest and add a new bag of sand.

Aquaengineer

10/03/2011, 06:53 AM

Don't ever trust the LFS water. Esp in a bad economy when the Preventive Maintenance budget goes out the door. The main issue with cyano is excess nutrient. Something is contributing. Trying utilizing a mix of Granular Ferric Oxide and do a massive water change attempting to remove as much of Cyano as possible. I know this is a PINTA but Phos has a way of attaching itself to substrate and slowly bleed off. You may have 0 reading in your water column but if you tested your substrates you will find traces of it. It is going to take a while to get back to normal. Do 30% water changes with water that you make.

RVANANO

10/03/2011, 06:59 AM

I can't make my own water. For whatever reason, my well water burns through RODI membranes/DI resin so fast that it's not even worth having one. The LFS I go to is run by a terrific guy and has a terrific staff. Lots of local members go there and also test the water. If there were any issues, it would be all over the local forum. I trust the LFS water far more than I would trust my own..

89Foxbody

10/03/2011, 07:12 AM

Nasarrius snails might help. They don't actually eat the cyano but they do stir the sand and eat the detritus that could be contributing.

RVANANO

10/03/2011, 07:15 AM

Yeah unfortunately my YWMG hasn't been doing much stirring lately. Wonder if a sand sifting star will help as well. But then I still get it on the rocks...

Sugar Magnolia

10/03/2011, 07:22 AM

Testing for phosphates can give you a false negative because the cyano is eating up the phosphates. You have to be pretty aggressive with manual syphoning on a daily basis and running some GFO to help remove the phosphates. Once you get ahead of it, it should slowly start to receed.

Skip the sand sifting star. They eventually starve to death after depleting your sand bed of microfauna.

sullyfish

10/03/2011, 10:10 AM

sand sifter stars work well for me. Your 120 should be big enough to support one. I have had 2 in my 180 for 8 months now. I like them better than goby's since the dont throw the sand up in the water column.

Make sure your fuge is full of macro algae. I had a similar problem w/ cyano and after a lights out I added more cheato & colerpa in my fuge in an effort to export the nutrients, otherwise the cyano will just come back.

RVANANO

10/03/2011, 11:54 AM

Good stuff here. Thanks everyone!

Psirex

10/03/2011, 12:43 PM

my issue is there is no sign of cyano on my DSB but it shows on only certain parts of my lr (where the lights hit it)... Will test my phos levels tonight (need the kit) and report baack all params later...

I see that someone mentioned the light spectrum - will replace those today as well....

ritter6788

10/03/2011, 04:10 PM

I've battled cyano for a long time in my tanks. I had an Aqua C Remora Pro skimmer HOB that cleaned up the cyano in my 75 but when I added the fuge and moved the skimmer down there it didn't work as well so the cyano came back. I bought an Octopus 200 and it didn't help but after tuning it in perfectly the cyano went away almost immediately. After a month or 2 the cyano came back and I found out it was from my TDS getting to high, (15), doesn't sound like much but my tap water is loaded with phosphates so I have to change filters and DI resin often on my RO/DI unit. Another thing that helped my tank a lot was vacuuming the sand bed when I do water changes. There was some nasty gunk in there. I was always told not to disturb the sand but I can't imagine wanting to leave that stinking stuff in the tank. I vacuum the sand every time I do water changes now.

I have tried Chemi Clean in my 40 gallon that has no skimmer and it worked well. I only used half the recommended dosage and within 3 days all the cyano was gone. No loss of corals or fish. So far no cyano has returned.

RVANANO

10/04/2011, 07:25 AM

Yeah I think I will try Chemi clean since nothing else seemed to work. Now my sand bed is so thin that the bottom glass is visible all over the bed.

lilalove

10/04/2011, 08:35 AM

Yeah I think I will try Chemi clean since nothing else seemed to work. Now my sand bed is so thin that the bottom glass is visible all over the bed.

If that's the case then I'd definitely skip the sand sifting star. Like someone else said, try nassarius snails. Do you do any carbon dosing? I started getting some cyano and diatoms on my sand. I began adding vitamin C day and night (only about half a teaspoon for my 180) and it cleared up both in a day or two, and neither have come back. You need a good skimmer though. That thing is pulling out crp like I never thought possible with only 6 small fish, since I began the Vitamin C. If you read any threads on this, you'll see that my dosage is on the very low side. In some instances, it has contributed to the cyano. Good luck, fellow Lounger.

Water Tecn

10/04/2011, 08:45 AM

I highly doubt its the sunlight as we have two local members in our club who run 2 14inch solatubes in each of their tanks, blasting their tanks full of sunlight all day long, you say you've tried everything? Did you try an ats? they work wonders and I think that they are one of the most underated pieces of equipment out there that no one takes advantage of!

89Foxbody

10/04/2011, 03:44 PM

+1 for carbon dosing as well. I just started Red Sea NO3 PO4 X and the little bit of cyano I had in my sand was gone in a week.

Psirex

10/04/2011, 08:08 PM

Does DSB leech phos, I know rocks do - which may also be the case. What are my options if either of these are true????

dnsfpl

10/04/2011, 08:35 PM

used to have slight cyano problem

siphon out all visible cyano
change carbon, change light tubes
reduce vodka dosage by half, reduce feeding

problem solved in a week

RVANANO

10/05/2011, 06:48 AM

Well my lights are all new and I kept siphoning cyano and also changed carbon and it still kept coming back. So yesterday at 4pm, I added the chemi-clean. A lot of people said to add half the suggested dosage. I have a 120 DT, 20 fuge and about 30 gallons in my sump so I added enough for 110 gallons. Keeping my fingers crossed. Lights are off for 48 hours and I unplugged the skimmer and removed carbon reactor.

Sugar Magnolia

10/05/2011, 06:56 AM

Run some GFO Brandon. I don't have a reactor, I just toss a bag into my HOB filter. Or you can get Chemi-Pure Elite. Not as good as pure GFO, but it does have some phosphate remover in it.

Do you have any macro growing in the fuge?

RVANANO

10/05/2011, 07:04 AM

Yeah I have a nice sized ball of Cheetos in there :) Thanks for the suggestions Adrienne!

reefgeezer

10/05/2011, 09:00 AM

Cheni Clean will solve the problem in the short term, but the Cyano will come back unless you resolve the root cause. I don't think nitrates or phosphates are the root cause. IMO, dissolved organics are the cause. Reducing that level will reduce the Cyano. Wet skimming with a quality skimmer, aggressive water changes and GAC use, sucking the stuff out, and detritus control will make it go away eventually.

RVANANO

10/05/2011, 09:19 AM

I agree. I just feel the chemi-clean will probably help me get ahead of it. I will do the 20% change and then wait a few days and do another 10-15% change while removing all the existing sand. Then I will use a new 40lb bag of special grade sand.

LOTUS50GOD

10/05/2011, 09:21 AM

My tank had a bad case of cyano and chemi-clean is the only thing that works.
Just follow the instructions, do the water change, run some carbon before turning on your skimmer. If you run the carbon your skimmer wont go crazy.

RVANANO

10/05/2011, 04:20 PM

LOTUS50GOD

10/05/2011, 04:22 PM

Your water should turn a light 'tea' color and maybe even get a little cloudy.
Did you discontinue your carbon, uv, GFO, Ozone, Bio-pellets, and turn off your skimmer.

RVANANO

10/05/2011, 04:26 PM

Yup. Everything is off but pump, heaters and powerheads. I am more curious if the stringiness of the Cyano is a sign that it's dying off.

ritter6788

10/05/2011, 04:55 PM

What happens when the chemi-clean starts to work. I left my lights off for the first 24 hours and then when I cut them on, the water is cloudy a bit and the cyano that is still there is real stringy looking. But there is still a fair amount in there. Is that normal? And how long does it usually take?

Also noticed the water in my sump is quite bubbly. Also figured that was normal.

Mine took about 3 days for the cyano to clear up. I thought it didn't work but on the 3rd day it was gone. There was a little bit of greyish colored residue on the rocks and sand I assumed that was the dead cyano. My water didn't turn cloudy or colored at all.

heliart

10/05/2011, 04:59 PM

Dr Tims and Zeo Coral snow both work very well IMO

RVANANO

10/05/2011, 05:08 PM

Mine took about 3 days for the cyano to clear up. I thought it didn't work but on the 3rd day it was gone. There was a little bit of greyish colored residue on the rocks and sand I assumed that was the dead cyano. My water didn't turn cloudy or colored at all.

That's the way the Bryopsis died out too so hopefully this works.

RVANANO

10/06/2011, 07:47 AM

Winning!!! Turned on the lights this morn and it's almost all gone. Will do a 20% change when I get home and then run new carbon. Hoping it stays gone b/c I cannot stand to look at the tank with all that crap!

Psirex

10/06/2011, 08:09 AM

Psirex

10/06/2011, 06:50 PM

Still no noticeable change in DT but turned protein skimmer, carbon and UV back on. The skimmer is acting a little funny/sensitive.... :hmm3:

battousai622

10/06/2011, 08:04 PM

RVANANO

10/07/2011, 06:46 AM

Psirex

10/07/2011, 10:02 AM

It's all gone!! But yeah, my skimmer is bonkers and even when dialed all the way back, it fills the cup in about 10 minutes. How long does it take before the skimmer is ok? No point of even running it as it just overflows back into the tank.

I also took this time to add a new 15 lb bag of special grade sand. The tank looks amazing now!

Hope I am this lucky - took a look this morning before heading to work and still could not tell a major difference :angryfire:. As instructed I turned everything back on after 24hrs... Still lights out until I get home which will make it 48 hrs... :crazy1:

RVANANO

10/07/2011, 10:58 AM

The LFS said the skimmer may act like that for a whole week! I hope not as I do not like having the skimmer offline :(

Psirex

10/07/2011, 12:10 PM

The LFS said the skimmer may act like that for a whole week! I hope not as I do not like having the skimmer offline :(

I attached a hose/tube to the drain plug and ran it into a 5GL bucket....

RVANANO

10/07/2011, 12:27 PM

I might do that this weekend when I am at home. I got another 10 gallons for an additional water change so I may use that method for the change. Thanks!

Rfish

10/07/2011, 02:30 PM

I know you were probably using Caribsea 40 bl special grade aragonite substrate!
They might be the root cause of your cyanobacteria !!!
Simple test for you, bring a magnetic bar and carefully run through your sand bed, you should be surprise how many magnetic particles/iron particles/volcanic particles you will catch, those might be the main cause of your cyanoses. Fe will definitely contribute for your nutrition level.

Please give that a try and let us know,

Palting

10/07/2011, 05:27 PM

Glad it's working for you, Brandon. I have patches of cyano here and there, never really a problem, but I'm getting tired of looking at them. Your success may lead me to use chemi-clean, too!

Psirex

10/07/2011, 06:38 PM

Turned the lights back on today after having them off for 48hrs and don't see a much of a change :furious:... I think I may need to treat again in a few days..... GRRRRRR :headwalls:

bartmalave

10/07/2011, 06:38 PM

i tried chemi in one of my tanks it cleaned everything including all my purple coroline left my tank spotless

bartmalave

10/07/2011, 06:40 PM

cut ur white lights to less hours

Psirex

10/07/2011, 06:41 PM

hopefully it will continue to die off over the next day or so. I already did a 20% wc (i usually do 40 as my routine) but it said 20 so i did 20....

Psirex

10/07/2011, 06:42 PM

cut ur white lights to less hours

I haven't turned those on yet only the blue....

RVANANO

10/10/2011, 02:42 PM

Well I was excited but now it's coming back. Anyone else heard of caribsea special grade sand causing it as stated before. I did try the magnet trick and sure enough it picked up like 20-30 bits. But I didn't think that was a whole lot for a 120 gallon. And none of them were rusting causing staining in the sand. And furthermore, if it was the sand, why would it have taken a year and a half to show up and only when my lights were old and my skimmer pump died? ALso many locals use this stuff and don't have cyano.. And what would be the correlation b/t cyano and small bits of volcanic material or iron etc?

Curious if my new MH lights aren't the cause as that was the thing I changed that was closest to when it started.

I am going to try running some GFO in my fluidized reactor this weekend to see if that helps. This is a total bummer as my tank looked so beautiful for a week :(

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6173/6221253949_f86528e98d_b.jpg

Chiefillini

10/10/2011, 04:17 PM

Refreshing my cleanup crew in the past has worked wonders on cyano. I get my clean up crews from reef cleaners on the web. If you haven't changed your crew in a while I would recommend this as well.

reefgeezer

10/10/2011, 04:18 PM

Well I was excited but now it's coming back.

Like I said earlier, IMO, you may have a dissolved organic problem. Looking at your tank, the bioload is not that high so I'd look for something that is not operating properly particularly the skimmer.

What skimmer are you running and what is the flow through it? Is it producing a lot of skimmate? What color? How much?

How much flow through the sump?

Is the current in the DT sufficient to keep detritus suspended until capture by the overflow?

How often do you change GAC?

Are you vacuuming the sand, rock, and sump regularly?

Are you adding any carbon (organic) compounds? Alcohol, sugar, some calcium supplements, vitamins, amino acids, vinegar, salt mixes that have vitamins in them, etc. can all feed cyano.

RVANANO

10/10/2011, 04:41 PM

Lots of skimate now that it's back up. If you missed it earlier, my skimmer pump died and it took a few months for me to get another. Now running a bubble blaster HY-3000S on my Octopus extreme 200. I skim wet so every 2-3 days I get a 1/2-3/4 full collection cup with brownish green stinky skimate.

Running a 1950 GPH return pump and a center mounted MP40 as well as a Tunze 2065 (IIRC) in a dead spot. The tank is very open so flow is pretty good. The return pump alone with twin 1" drilled returns puts a lot of flow in the tank as is. I don't have any places where detritus really builds up in the tank except a little bit under the right rock island.

Only supplemental I have is via Deltec P509 Ca RX.

MarineSniper

10/10/2011, 05:29 PM

How long have you kept the lights out for?

It's usually something that takes 3 days with no lights to really have much lasting effect

The one time I got it, I got it BAD. Tried everything, ordered Ultralife and then did a 72 hour lights out...including covering the front with a blanket. Killed it and it has never come back. I had tried the lights out for 2 days before but not with the blanket. You may want to try that before the chemicals...I still have the Ultralife; never had to use it, the cyano was gone before it arrived

reefer10245

10/10/2011, 05:35 PM

Yeah I think I will try Chemi clean since nothing else seemed to work. Now my sand bed is so thin that the bottom glass is visible all over the bed.

Chemi clean was the only thing that worked for me.

MarineSniper

10/10/2011, 06:03 PM

I would try covering the front of the tank. I don't know if it was that or just coincidence that it died off after all the other things: heavy water changes, removal, lights out, but 3 days without lights and the front covered so it got no light from the room and it was 100% gone and never returned

It wasn't a little outbreak, either. This stuff covered EVERYTHING! Every day, I was doing a 5 to 7 gallon water change from using a mini shop vac to take the stuff out...and it would be back, just as bad, in 3 hours. I had tried turning the lights out for 48 and 72 hours but it never worked. Had the thought that just because it looked dark to me, the bacteria might still be getting enough light from the room so I draped a blanket across the front and sides. When I took it off, I couldn't believe how white my sand was again and finally saw purple, not brown, rocks again

Try it and let me know if my success was a fluke. All my corals were fine with it, btw. In fact they looked better than ever, grabbing all that light after it was over

pfy333

10/10/2011, 09:15 PM

I tried to beat it in my 120gal using bio pellets and MB7. It went away and like you all of a sudden it starts returning all ****ed off. I can honestly say the pellets and MB7 kind of kept it under control. It would still grow but not out of control, it was just consistent. Then I stumbled on a thread here on RC. I forgot the posters name but he mention dropping the temp to 78F. So I dropped mine from 80F to 78F. I'll be damn, the cyano starting disappearing. Needless to say I was pretty stoke. I was still running the pellets and MB7 when I dropped the temp. I have broken down my tank and started a little cube. 8 months of no water change and skimmer emptying. You guessed it, cyano action. Again, this time just MB7 and dropping temp from 80F to 78F plus a small power head every other day to blast rocks and sands to let the detritus float into my overflow. I also have the drain going directly into the intake of my SWC 120 skimmer. It has been a month and the cyano is ALL gone. HTH.

MarineSniper

10/10/2011, 09:31 PM

I also started using MB7 when I had my outbreak. I went with the total darkness about 3 days in so I don't know how much it helped but I've continued using it at their low nutrient dosage, ever since

alanbates12

10/10/2011, 09:52 PM

Chemi Clean works great and it did not bother anything in my tank. The only advice I can give you is follow the instructions, as far as the carbon and skimmer go, and do the 20% water change. Give it a few days and treat it again. I call it the one two punch. Then of course find your problem, ie overfeeding, sock filters, bio balls, not a good CUC, not good husbandry. Best of luck. I've used it a few times and it works great. I've found it works best when you give it the one two punch, even if it does not look like it needs it. And remember when you turn your skimmer back on for the first time it will go crazy.

alanbates12

10/10/2011, 10:09 PM

And by the way that tank looks GREAT! Love the Rose. I had a guy give me one on RC. It split a month later. Try the one two punch. I think the first time it breaks lots of the cyno loose and you'll get rid of lots of it but you'll still have some come back later. also I saw best results a couple days after the treatment.

<a href="http://s921.photobucket.com/albums/ad59/rab1212/?action=view&current=RoseAnemone.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad59/rab1212/RoseAnemone.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

alanbates12

10/10/2011, 10:26 PM

Here are a couple or video's of my tank before and after chemi clean. And it's completely gone now and I've found the root cause so I should be good to go. I have to scroll down to see the second video. Not sure whats up. Buts it's cool if you stop the top video in the cyano spots and then let the other video catch up. You'll be able to see the difference.

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid921.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fad59%2Frab1212%2FAquariuimCyanoTxDay1.mp4">

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid921.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fad59%2Frab1212%2Faquarium3daysafterCyanoTx.mp4">

RVANANO

10/11/2011, 06:32 AM

Yeah I tried the chemi clean and lights out and it went away for a week but is now coming back just slightly in a few areas.

reefgeezer

10/11/2011, 07:20 AM

Do you have 1900 GPH flowing through your sump? How much is flowing through the skimmer? Could it be that the high flow rate is reducing the efficiency of the skimmer?

RVANANO

10/11/2011, 07:30 AM

I am not sure how I would know that but it was fine for 18-20 months so I cannot imagine that is the issue. As stated, it all started when my skimmer pump died and at the same time I realized my lights needed changing. And then we had the hurricane and during that time I sold off some of my corals just in case and then moved all my rock around. More likely it was a combo of all those negative attributes.

alanbates12

10/11/2011, 07:51 AM

Just a theory but your skimmer dies, nitrate/phosphates increase, new lights got the cycle started as your nitrite and phosphates were elevated and it fueled a cyno outbreak. And cyno will grow in a low light enviornment. So now you have to clean they system, ie turkey baster, sand bed vaccume, and maybe a CUC upgrade( http://reefcleaners.org/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=261&category_id=20&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=34 )

RVANANO

10/11/2011, 07:54 AM

Done and done and still cyano..

Psirex

10/11/2011, 08:06 AM

Done and done and still cyano..

Have you tested you water lately? wondering what the levels are...

RVANANO

10/11/2011, 08:09 AM

I have tested the following recently. Ca 450, Mag 1300, Alk 10, PH b/t 8.15-8.4

Psirex

10/11/2011, 08:11 AM

I have tested the following recently. Ca 450, Mag 1300, Alk 10, PH b/t 8.15-8.4

What are your nitrate and phos levels at?

RVANANO

10/11/2011, 08:13 AM

Oh yeah sorry.. Nitrates were 15 and I don't have a phosphate test. I had been told recently that my tank may not test for phosphates with the cyano issue.

Psirex

10/11/2011, 08:16 AM

Test for them anyway they can only be absorbed so fast..... I would do a water change to get the nitrate levels lower also - 15 is not bad but not good either...

RVANANO

10/11/2011, 08:20 AM

That was before my recent change this past weekend.

reefgeezer

10/11/2011, 10:57 AM

That was before my recent change this past weekend.

A 10% water change will only drop nitrates 10%. In a week, they may be right back up where they were. You'll have to do large water changes or do smaller ones way more often to drop nitrates noticeably.

Can you do 10% per day rather than 10% per week to see how that effects the nitrate level and cyano growth? Doing larger quantities, say 20%, at each change is a little more efficient for nutrient export, but has to be balanced against stressing the system. You don't have to keep it up forever, just until nitrates (and dissolved organics) stay down without them.

alanbates12

10/11/2011, 03:11 PM

Do you have any sock filters or bioballs or sponges?

alanbates12

10/11/2011, 03:13 PM

Oh and do you feed your Rose often? I was feeding mine every third day and was told that could elevate my Nitrates/Phosphates.

RVANANO

10/12/2011, 07:44 AM

I never feed the RBTA.

RVANANO

10/14/2011, 07:16 AM

Those small traces of cyano that started showing up in the sand haven't increased at all. Just 3 small areas about the 3-4" or so in diameter and they are very subtle. I will do another water change this weekend and siphon those areas out and then run some GFO.