Cynobacteria and uv

[MantisLvr]

If cyno gets in water column will a hang on UV sterilizer kill it?

[nereefpat]

Yes. If anything cellular goes through the UV, slow enough, and the light is powerful enough, it will be killed.

I wouldn't necessarily expect it to fix a cyanobacteria problem however.

[MantisLvr]

Its a 9 watt hang on UV on a 40 breeder with a rio 600 pump. Its only moving I believe 200 gallons an hour. I know your not suppose to scrub cyno off in tank but had a couple rocks that I couldn't take out. It also wouldn't siphon off. I am hoping UV will kill what got into the water column. Anymore thoughts appreciated.

[nmotz]

I recommend Red Slime Remover. In general I shy away from chemicals to fix my problems, but it works really well and won't harm your tank. Your corals might close up for a while, but they'll be fine.

Also watch your skimmer. It'll go nuts when you introduce the stuff into the water. I just raise my collection cup and let the skimmer run. I also turned the lights out for two days. It produces a lot of micro bubbles. Afterwards, the cyano is gone. My SPS were just fine. Good luck!

[nereefpat]

I don't have much personal experience with them. I believe there is a suggested flow rate for the light. You want to be under that flow rate to be most effective, and the bulb has a certain lifespan as well.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge can chime in.

[nmotz]

I don't have much personal experience with them. I believe there is a suggested flow rate for the light. You want to be under that flow rate to be most effective, and the bulb has a certain lifespan as well.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge can chime in.

This is true, there is science linking different flow rates to different levels of effectiveness. I don't have the literature in front of me, but I've seen it before. Unfortunately, the bottom line is that UV won't work for Cyano.

[MantisLvr]

These were the only two patches left in tank. It was even on my sand bed in spots but its gone now by siphoning and hasn't come back. So the UV won't kill some of what I put into the water column? The pump was what was recommended to me. I would think it would be correct at least I hope so.

[MantisLvr]

The UV bulb is brand new. I am hesitant to use red slime removers because people I know who have used it then had a bad hair algae bloom afterwards. Anymore discussion on this topic appreciated as well as an answer to question. Thanks.

[mav3rick478]

I recommend Red Slime Remover. In general I shy away from chemicals to fix my problems, but it works really well and won't harm your tank. Your corals might close up for a while, but they'll be fine.

Also watch your skimmer. It'll go nuts when you introduce the stuff into the water. I just raise my collection cup and let the skimmer run. I also turned the lights out for two days. It produces a lot of micro bubbles. Afterwards, the cyano is gone. My SPS were just fine. Good luck!
Did you do the black out during your Red Slime Remover treatment or afterwards? I just started my second black out and I'm debating whether to bite the bullet and use Red Slime Remover or Chemiclean.

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[nmotz]

Did you do the black out during your Red Slime Remover treatment or afterwards? I just started my second black out and I'm debating whether to bite the bullet and use Red Slime Remover or Chemiclean.

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I did the blackout at the same time as the Red Slime treatment. Worked beautifully.

[Esper]

If cyno gets in water column will a hang on UV sterilizer kill it?

Yes, it will kill it (given enough exposure time to the light). The UV cannot affect the rest of the cyano in the tank, though. Only the cyano that enters the UV sterilizer.

Chemiclean is apparently an antibiotic:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1344187

[MantisLvr]

Thanks for all the info much appreciated.

[BlackTip]

UV will not eradicate Cyano. I have 85W UV with dedicated pump running at 280 gph, and I had cyano outbreak few times. If your tank is new, there is not much you can do about it other than keep up with maintenance. It will go away once your tank gets older.