Chemiclean

[kaspm]

I picked some up due to a cyano outbreak in my tank that I just can't seem to get completely rid of. I noticed it said to use an air stone to add oxygen to the tank. Is this necessary I have a 120 with only 3 fish?

[reefbroao]

I would just have a powerhead breaking the surface. Airstones aren't ideal by any means in a marine environment.

[Entacmaea]

Hey Kaspm - you might try other non-chemical means of solving the cyano issue before adding chemicals to the tank, which honestly is undesirable and ideally would only be a last resort. Sounds like you have tried other things, but I'd avoid these chemical fixes like the plague if I were you. They might provide a quick(er) fix, but may not solve the root cause of excess nutrients, inadequate water flow, etc. Think about what you are doing and how it is effecting your tank - you are putting a chemical into the tank that strips oxygen out of the water - this is not a good thing(!), regardless of any temporary side benefit. If you have a skimmer on the tank, that is probably enough aeration, but I'd avoid chemicals if you can. If you are at your wits end, that is understandable too - just know that nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank, not matter what the bottle instructions say ; )

[bat21]

I've read plenty of horror stories about those chemical fixes and dead fish. What kind of lighting do you have? I had a cyano outbreak and figured out it was completely due to my T5 bulbs being too old. As soon as I changed them to new bulbs, the problem disappeared.

The point is, even if that chemical works, it will just come back. You can do the same thing by leaving your lights off for 3 days. Cyano will go away. If you don't figure out the cause, you're accomplishing nothing.

[Ron Reefman]

Cyan has many factors that can lead to an outbreak (light, food, water chemistry, flow). Read up on the variety of causes and go after those. If all you do is add chemicals, the cyano will come back after the chemicals get diluted by water changes.

[Sk8r]

^this.

Cyano often comes as the annual migration of the sun in the seasons brings sunlight to hit your tank once a day. Check your curtains. Check the age of your bulbs if not LED. Chemicals to solve this cause an array of problems in some tanks. Cost me hundreds of dollars to learn that.

[isomorphic85]

interesting... i'm having an issue with brown on my sand, can't seem to figure it out, has been there for about 2 months now... i have t5 lamps that are about 8 months old... running about 6 hrs a day... no corals etc...

do you think this could also be attributed to the t5's needing to be changed? what is the average lifespan of t5?

[reefbroao]

The brown will most likely be diatoms and will probably go away in time. I am assuming the tank is new.

[isomorphic85]

have had the brown for at least 2 months... tank is about 10 months old