How to fight cyano? Poll

hecterma · 07/16/2017, 08:08 PM

I am reading a lot of mixed reviews.

Is it better to fight a cyanobacteria outbreak by vacuuming sand bed and doing water changes or is it better to use a chemical such as chemiclean?

What is better?

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Tcox · 07/16/2017, 08:53 PM

My opinion, if the outbreak isn't horrible, is vacuum, lights off 3 days, and step up waterchanges.

I used chemiclean with the above and had great results.

mcgyvr · 07/17/2017, 04:30 AM

define better?

better as in potentially "safer" for the inhabitants of the tank? Then siphon is better..
or better as in more likely to work right away/faster? Then chemiclean might be the better option..

I will always recommend you "try" siphon/3 day blackout first and see how it goes..

deputydawg88 · 07/17/2017, 05:14 AM

Having been dealing with cyanobacteria for the last couple of months, I think I may have finally broken the back of the outbreak after doing a water change, where I syphoned the majority of the slime, followed immediately by three days of a blackout. I am now using reduced hours with the blues and I'm going to gradually build back from there but after 48 hours with no cyano return, so far so good.

hecterma · 07/17/2017, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

define better?

better as in potentially "safer" for the inhabitants of the tank? Then siphon is better..
or better as in more likely to work right away/faster? Then chemiclean might be the better option..

I will always recommend you "try" siphon/3 day blackout first and see how it goes..

Yes, I guess I mean safer for your livestock. I have heard many people use chemiclean and say it does not harm their livestock. It also says that it will not harm any beneficial bacteria or livestock right on the box of chemiclean. So is it really that harmful to inhabitants? Can it kill them off or just stress them out?

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hecterma · 07/17/2017, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deputydawg88

Having been dealing with cyanobacteria for the last couple of months, I think I may have finally broken the back of the outbreak after doing a water change, where I syphoned the majority of the slime, followed immediately by three days of a blackout. I am now using reduced hours with the blues and I'm going to gradually build back from there but after 48 hours with no cyano return, so far so good.

When doing a 3 day lights out do I need to cover the tank completely so absolutely no light gets in or do I not turn on the tank lights for 3 days?

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Tcox · 07/17/2017, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hecterma

Yes, I guess I mean safer for your livestock. I have heard many people use chemiclean and say it does not harm their livestock. It also says that it will not harm any beneficial bacteria or livestock right on the box of chemiclean. So is it really that harmful to inhabitants? Can it kill them off or just stress them out?

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My tank is a 60g with quite a few soft and LPS with only one SPS. Also have two fish and inverts in a clean up crew. I dosed the prescribed amount of chemiclean, 3 days of no light, and a 30% waterchange. It didn't appear to stress any of my corals or livestock. My pop population was fine. The cyano is gone and most of my algae was stunted. My tanks perameters remained stable which lead me to believe my beneficial bacteria was fine. I had a great experience with the stuff but your mileage may vary. If your outbreak isn't overbearing, just try to siphon, water change, and cut lights. Go ahead and grab some chemiclean to keep in your arsenal in case you don't win or have a battle to fight later.

Sk8r · 07/17/2017, 08:32 PM

THe main question with chemiclean is how good is your skimmer.

hecterma · 07/17/2017, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

THe main question with chemiclean is how good is your skimmer.

Why? Does chemiclean need to be skimmed out?

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hecterma · 07/17/2017, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tcox

My tank is a 60g with quite a few soft and LPS with only one SPS. Also have two fish and inverts in a clean up crew. I dosed the prescribed amount of chemiclean, 3 days of no light, and a 30% waterchange. It didn't appear to stress any of my corals or livestock. My pop population was fine. The cyano is gone and most of my algae was stunted. My tanks perameters remained stable which lead me to believe my beneficial bacteria was fine. I had a great experience with the stuff but your mileage may vary. If your outbreak isn't overbearing, just try to siphon, water change, and cut lights. Go ahead and grab some chemiclean to keep in your arsenal in case you don't win or have a battle to fight later.

Thanks for your feed back. Makes a lot of sense to only use chemiclean as a last resort.

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deputydawg88 · 07/18/2017, 04:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hecterma

When doing a 3 day lights out do I need to cover the tank completely so absolutely no light gets in or do I not turn on the tank lights for 3 days?

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Don't turn lights on for three days.

homer1475 · 07/18/2017, 04:52 AM

Had a bad issue with cyano back in my biocube. Went out and bought some chemiclean, never used it.

Siphoning it out during my weekly WC's and increased the flow to those areas cleaned it up without the hassle.

Chemiclean while effective, in my eyes only mask's the underlying problem. I have read many a thread where people have used chemiclean to only have the problem come back a few weeks/months down the road. Fix the underlying problem(nutrient control, flow to low, lights to high) and it will clear up on it's own.

Crusinjimbo · 07/18/2017, 05:00 AM

I'm not sure any of the above are cyano cures. I struggled for years off and on with cyano until I started a DIY algae turf scrubber on my 60 cube. PO4 and NO3 levels went to almost undetectable levels. Poof, cyano gradually disappeared not to return. My guess, nutrient control may be a cure. My story anyway.

deputydawg88 · 07/18/2017, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crusinjimbo

I'm not sure any of the above are cyano cures. I struggled for years off and on with cyano until I started a DIY algae turf scrubber on my 60 cube. PO4 and NO3 levels went to almost undetectable levels. Poof, cyano gradually disappeared not to return. My guess, nutrient control may be a cure. My story anyway.

Nutrient control is prevention, not cure! Of course I completely agree, however.

hecterma · 07/18/2017, 01:51 PM

In short, most will agree chemical free is the best way to go.

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jayball · 07/18/2017, 02:00 PM

I will get a cyano outbreak every now and then. I usually go with a small bag of GFO in the sump and a couple waterchanges to suck it out leading to the 3 day blackout with a 4th day of blue only to re-acclimate the coral.

I have never had to use chemiclean. I will eventually start an ATS to deal with my mildly excessive feeding.

oceanfan913 · 03/09/2018, 10:07 AM

Chemical if bad enough otherwise manual scrub down and pickup followed by water changes to get water in a better state then also control the nutrient load in the water.

tmccaffery · 03/09/2018, 10:41 AM

Better water flow and water changes the way to go.

07/16/2017, 08:08 PM	#1
hecterma Registered Member Join Date: May 2017 Posts: 96	How to fight cyano? Poll I am reading a lot of mixed reviews. Is it better to fight a cyanobacteria outbreak by vacuuming sand bed and doing water changes or is it better to use a chemical such as chemiclean? What is better? Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

07/17/2017, 04:30 AM	#3
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	define better? better as in potentially "safer" for the inhabitants of the tank? Then siphon is better.. or better as in more likely to work right away/faster? Then chemiclean might be the better option.. I will always recommend you "try" siphon/3 day blackout first and see how it goes.. __________________ Who me?

07/17/2017, 08:32 PM	#8
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	THe main question with chemiclean is how good is your skimmer. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

07/18/2017, 04:52 AM	#12
homer1475 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 5,313	Had a bad issue with cyano back in my biocube. Went out and bought some chemiclean, never used it. Siphoning it out during my weekly WC's and increased the flow to those areas cleaned it up without the hassle. Chemiclean while effective, in my eyes only mask's the underlying problem. I have read many a thread where people have used chemiclean to only have the problem come back a few weeks/months down the road. Fix the underlying problem(nutrient control, flow to low, lights to high) and it will clear up on it's own. __________________ 80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256 Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht: "He's just taking his lunch to work"

07/18/2017, 05:00 AM	#13
Crusinjimbo Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Wesley Chapel FL Posts: 751	I'm not sure any of the above are cyano cures. I struggled for years off and on with cyano until I started a DIY algae turf scrubber on my 60 cube. PO4 and NO3 levels went to almost undetectable levels. Poof, cyano gradually disappeared not to return. My guess, nutrient control may be a cure. My story anyway. __________________ Jimbo 13.5G EVO

07/16/2017, 08:53 PM	#2
Tcox Registered Member Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 149	My opinion, if the outbreak isn't horrible, is vacuum, lights off 3 days, and step up waterchanges. I used chemiclean with the above and had great results.

07/17/2017, 05:14 AM	#4
deputydawg88 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 141	Having been dealing with cyanobacteria for the last couple of months, I think I may have finally broken the back of the outbreak after doing a water change, where I syphoned the majority of the slime, followed immediately by three days of a blackout. I am now using reduced hours with the blues and I'm going to gradually build back from there but after 48 hours with no cyano return, so far so good.

07/18/2017, 01:51 PM	#15
hecterma Registered Member Join Date: May 2017 Posts: 96	In short, most will agree chemical free is the best way to go. Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

07/18/2017, 02:00 PM	#16
jayball Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,671	I will get a cyano outbreak every now and then. I usually go with a small bag of GFO in the sump and a couple waterchanges to suck it out leading to the 3 day blackout with a 4th day of blue only to re-acclimate the coral. I have never had to use chemiclean. I will eventually start an ATS to deal with my mildly excessive feeding.

03/09/2018, 10:07 AM	#17
oceanfan913 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 55	Chemical if bad enough otherwise manual scrub down and pickup followed by water changes to get water in a better state then also control the nutrient load in the water.

03/09/2018, 10:41 AM	#18
tmccaffery Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 170	Better water flow and water changes the way to go.