CYANO OUTBREAK!!! After treatment cleanup??

[Sacredwrites]

I have battled cyano like all new reefers, but I just had a turbo snail die and I think it threw my tank into this cyano outbreak. I know how to kill it get rid of it, and even control it... what i am asking for help on are effective was to remove cyano after its dead. Scraping it off rock and getting it out of substrate without propagating cyano all throughout my water. Any tricks you guys use to remove cyano?

[MondoBongo]

i siphon it out when i do water changes. along with any other nasties like bubble algae or any kind of waste.

in to the siphon it goes, to the drain bucket, and down the toilet.

[Sk8r]

I don't think the cyano outbreak caused the snail death but that both the snail mortality and the cyano outbreak may have a common cause: check your water parameters and be sure the tank isn't getting any stray sunlight from a window --- cyano loves that.

[Sacredwrites]

Sk8r: The snail died then the cyano... my parameters are okay. I will be procuring some Phos-Guard after my chemipure treatment however. I am new to the hobby and have plenty of time on my hands. I check a couple times a week lol.

MondoBongo: Right syphon... ugh, but that doesn't get it all out of my substrate or off my rocks. The stuff stays there even after the treatment. Long stringy dead cyano. the problem I am having is that I just don't get enough pull from my cyphon to snag the stuff. I have tried over and over. I have broke down and pulled rocks out and cleaned them with a toothbrush. Used a ladle or net to pull large amounts of substrate and globs out. But there has to be a more efficient way. It would take five or more 50% water changes to get just my syphon to pull it up. Could my syphon be a bad one?

My LFS suggested I just get rid of all my substrate and start over. That is what I am leaning towards. I mean if my only other solution is to siphon I might as well. It doesn't solve the problem of the rock but I guess when I tear it down I will just scrub the rock. Dirty damn cyano!!!

Thanks for the help guys... I appreciate it, but I hope there are more ideas out there. I know what caused the cyano outbreak, and I know how to get rid of it, but water changes have proven not powerful enough to remove the dead cyano.

[Whistl3r]

You sure it's cyano? When I had it I could peel it off the rocks or the sand in a slimy sheet. Was very messy so I did it as part of a water change like Mondo described.

[MondoBongo]

One thing I did for stuff like this is make a smaller siphon.

Smaller diameter hose and almost matching diameter rigid plastic tubing. That way you're not moving as much volume, but you considerably higher suction force. Both of which help remove things better.

It's certainly tedious, not ideal by any measure, and definitely not the only action you should take. But it is, in my opinion, an important step in the fight.

As sk8r said, any amount of sunlight fuels it like mad, and there could be other underlying chemistry or nutrient issues that need addressed.

[Portsie]

Are you using a gravel vacuum at the end of your hose? This significantly reduces the suction. If so, remove it and just use the hose, or just run to your local hardware store and grab a length of half inch tubing.

[CReyes350]

Chemiclean. I am in no way affiliated with the company, but I love the stuff!

I was trying to deal with cyano for about a year until I finally broke down and used it. I have thousands of dollars invested in livestock so it was a VERY difficult decision to make, but I had tried just about everything already. Sometimes cyano IS a mystery and it’s not so easy to pinpoint the cause especially when the parameters are all in check/lighting is good. I followed the dosing instructions, left my skimmer on (collection cup off), turned the lights off, and crossed my fingers.

I have been cyano free for about nine months and I’m loving my reef aquarium. Good luck solving your issue; I just thought I would share a bit of personal experience.

[Sacredwrites]

I like the pulling the siphon apart idea! Next time I will try that.

I used chemiclean and removed substrate. I went glass bottom while I treated the tank. I replaced substrate with a much smaller about of fiji pink. I had 15 lbs or so and I think it was too much. I took it all out and I have only replaced about a 1/4lb of completely new substrate.

My underlying parameter problem is more than likely phosphates... But to be honest I don't know and only had it checked twice in four months at the LFS. I do not have a tester for that yet but will get one as soon as possible.

I don't mind tedious (otherwise I would switch hobbies ;) ) so I like the powerful siphon idea a lot. That would have helped when it was a smaller issue.
My cyano was heavy muck. Blackish maroon so I just can't find any other bacteria or algae that would describe what I am dealing with. I have turned my light down considerably. I am only running my Razor Dawn/Dusk at 35% w/45% b peaked for two hours. I have even heard of Blacking out my tank, but I am hoping what I have done will solve this problem.

Chemiclean seems to have a lot of backers and from what I see only four days later is a clean tank. But so many people say it that way LOL. "I used chemiclean and blamo... no more problems." But I am willing to bet that's not entirely an honest review. I used it, but in reality I also pulled out every rock and scrubbed them top to bottom with a toothbrush to remove dead cyano and though not necessary I completely removed 15 lbs of substrate. Then I cleaned a hell of alot of equipment and did about a 50% water change. Now, I can say it looks like chemiclean worked, but truthfully my full review will come in two months...

What are your parameters for zero cyano?
Thank you.