Cyano issue. Need advanced advice

Rodeo_Roger · 03/18/2018, 04:55 AM

Perform ultra life treatment, goes away. Dosing Fritz Zyme 460 regularly. Running GFO. Cheato in sump with grow light but grows very slowly. Po4 0ppm with Hannah checker. ULR Hannah checker 1ppb. When I treat it goes away for a couple weeks but comes back. Not horrible, but enough on the rocks to bother me and stunt coralline growth. I am just trying to keep ahead of it so it doesn’t cover my coral and starve them. I have a standard sand bed (about an inch or so). Is it possibly just remaining dormant in bed and seeding back into the tank from it?

mcgyvr · 03/18/2018, 07:18 AM

Totally normal..
Welcome to cyano..

How old is the tank?
In general its very common on newer tanks (under 1 year or so) and can happen to all tanks on occasion.. I get it seasonally and just siphon it out and it will go away..
No one really has a solid/works all the time answer to get rid of it and most of the time is actually performing a beneficial function in the tank.. But is unsightly..

I'd remove the GFO too if you don't have a phosphate problem...

Rodeo_Roger · 03/18/2018, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Totally normal..
Welcome to cyano..

How old is the tank?
In general its very common on newer tanks (under 1 year or so) and can happen to all tanks on occasion.. I get it seasonally and just siphon it out and it will go away..
No one really has a solid/works all the time answer to get rid of it and most of the time is actually performing a beneficial function in the tank.. But is unsightly..

I'd remove the GFO too if you don't have a phosphate problem...

Tank is probably a little over a year old. I am on the fence about tanking all of the sand out and running another treatment. Bleach and rinse the sand and let it fully dry out. I was actually planning to just leave the GFO running now and not change it until I start to see some phosphates.

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mcgyvr · 03/18/2018, 07:25 AM

You would be wasting your time thinking that taking out the sand is going to be a solution..
Its not.. Cyano is always there and can/will always come back..

It comes and goes and there are some things that can help keep it away but one should just accept that cyano will always be there in some level or another..

increasing flow/changing light spectrum/blah blah blah so many things people try and many times they can work.. but there is not one single person that has beaten cyano and can guarantee they will never have it..

Rodeo_Roger · 03/18/2018, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

You would be wasting your time thinking that taking out the sand is going to be a solution..
Its not.. Cyano is always there and can/will always come back..

It comes and goes and there are some things that can help keep it away but one should just accept that cyano will always be there in some level or another..

increasing flow/changing light spectrum/blah blah blah so many things people try and many times they can work.. but there is not one single person that has beaten cyano and can guarantee they will never have it..

Yeah, that’s true. I personally don’t even believe the whole increase of flow theory. If anything, I’ve seen that be more detrimental because I’ve noticed the cyano just clings tighter to the rocks haha. Shutting lights off makes no difference because when you turn them back on the cyano is there in 15 minutes haha.

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ROlympia · 03/18/2018, 07:54 AM

I let the cyano grow except that I removed it from around corals. I siphoned it out with water changes and used an external canister filter to vacuum it out on non-water change weekeends.

After several weeks it seems to have subsided and the good news is that it choked out the algae everywhere the cyano was growing.

Rodeo_Roger · 03/18/2018, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROlympia

I let the cyano grow except that I removed it from around corals. I siphoned it out with water changes and used an external canister filter to vacuum it out on non-water change weekeends.

After several weeks it seems to have subsided and the good news is that it choked out the algae everywhere the cyano was growing.

Well, I guess that’s one way to look at it. Way to stay positive haha

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nycman · 03/23/2018, 08:24 PM

I battled it recently and won. It was all over my substrate and lower rocks. Very unsightly. I tried a bunch of things. The things that were coincident with the removal of it were an RO/DI filter change - check your RO/DI water - it needs to be 0 PPM. Eliminated all lighting intervals below 10,000K. Removed GFO. Replaced filter sponges in sump with 50, 100, and 200 micron pads, and changed them daily. Finally, you need to aggressively siphon it off the substrate. This may all be coincidental, I don't know for sure.

Ryan33 · 03/23/2018, 08:49 PM

I've been fighting with it the last couple weeks in a small biocube. I was ready to panic at first but I just take out what I can during the weekly water changes watch how much I'm feeding and I stir the sand once or twice a day. I plan on upgrading this tank soon so I'm just going to ride it out and see what happens.

03/18/2018, 04:55 AM	#1
Rodeo_Roger Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 92	Cyano issue. Need advanced advice Perform ultra life treatment, goes away. Dosing Fritz Zyme 460 regularly. Running GFO. Cheato in sump with grow light but grows very slowly. Po4 0ppm with Hannah checker. ULR Hannah checker 1ppb. When I treat it goes away for a couple weeks but comes back. Not horrible, but enough on the rocks to bother me and stunt coralline growth. I am just trying to keep ahead of it so it doesn’t cover my coral and starve them. I have a standard sand bed (about an inch or so). Is it possibly just remaining dormant in bed and seeding back into the tank from it?

03/18/2018, 07:18 AM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Totally normal.. Welcome to cyano.. How old is the tank? In general its very common on newer tanks (under 1 year or so) and can happen to all tanks on occasion.. I get it seasonally and just siphon it out and it will go away.. No one really has a solid/works all the time answer to get rid of it and most of the time is actually performing a beneficial function in the tank.. But is unsightly.. I'd remove the GFO too if you don't have a phosphate problem... __________________ Who me?

03/18/2018, 07:25 AM	#4
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	You would be wasting your time thinking that taking out the sand is going to be a solution.. Its not.. Cyano is always there and can/will always come back.. It comes and goes and there are some things that can help keep it away but one should just accept that cyano will always be there in some level or another.. increasing flow/changing light spectrum/blah blah blah so many things people try and many times they can work.. but there is not one single person that has beaten cyano and can guarantee they will never have it.. __________________ Who me?

03/23/2018, 08:24 PM	#8
nycman Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: New York City Posts: 199	I battled it recently and won. It was all over my substrate and lower rocks. Very unsightly. I tried a bunch of things. The things that were coincident with the removal of it were an RO/DI filter change - check your RO/DI water - it needs to be 0 PPM. Eliminated all lighting intervals below 10,000K. Removed GFO. Replaced filter sponges in sump with 50, 100, and 200 micron pads, and changed them daily. Finally, you need to aggressively siphon it off the substrate. This may all be coincidental, I don't know for sure. __________________ 72x26x24 Miracles rimless with ReefSavvy ghost overflow 4xMitras LX7206 / Lifereef sump, skimmer and fuge 302 Aquatics algae scrubber / JBJ 1/3 HP Chiller Aqua UV 28W

03/18/2018, 07:54 AM	#6
ROlympia Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Posts: 138	I let the cyano grow except that I removed it from around corals. I siphoned it out with water changes and used an external canister filter to vacuum it out on non-water change weekeends. After several weeks it seems to have subsided and the good news is that it choked out the algae everywhere the cyano was growing.

03/23/2018, 08:49 PM	#9
Ryan33 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 53	I've been fighting with it the last couple weeks in a small biocube. I was ready to panic at first but I just take out what I can during the weekly water changes watch how much I'm feeding and I stir the sand once or twice a day. I plan on upgrading this tank soon so I'm just going to ride it out and see what happens.