Cyano

[twocute2b4u]

Alright folks, I know this has been posted before, I've looked through the forums and found some information on cyano. However, it seems like the case of cyano that I have is determined to stay intact.

I have a 34 gallon Red Sea cube, the tank has been established for at least 4 months. The cyano started right around November 10th. At first I really didn't do much for it, however right around December 5th or so I started with some intense water changes. I was changing 1-3 gallons a day.

Last week I continued with water changes, I contently scraped the junk off of my glass and used a turkey baster to blow it off of my rock and coral. On Friday I visited Chris at Einstein Aquatics, I got filtra M from him and carried on my merry way. I've added fresh carbon and added two cap fulls of Filtra M as Chris instructed me.

Is there anything else I can do or anything that I should not be doing? I hate seeing the red bubbly junk all over my rocks and corals. I also hate the fact that my corals seem to have stringy cyano all over them. I want my tank back to how it looked 2 months ago.

In advance I appreciate everyone's help.
Denise

 

[Reefplumber13]

i have been fighting it for a few months also i thought i got it all out when i got most of it out and did what ansley said do to cover it with a blanket for a few days and i thought it was gone im going to try that again but try some other things i have been told and lowwer my food amount

 

[twocute2b4u]

I have also reduced feedings of fish and coral. My fish are fed once a day now and the corals once a week. I will definitely try an airline hose to siphone it off the rock rather then blowing it off and into the system.

 

[mopar9012]

it can also be cause by too much lighting.
I read on the internet that theres many reasons why you might have cyano.

I had it, I tried the too much lighting thing and it worked. It later came back and took over the whole tank(probably b/c my lighting system was too powerful for a 29) so I cut the lights off for about a week and a half and Ive never had it since. I also dont have that same light.

 

[derek_s]

What food are you using, and what are you dosing? Some supplements and foods are packed with phosphates (which Charlie was right, can/will cause cyano), such as DTs ( I think) and especially dry foods.

You may also want to continue to back of the feedings, or feed smaller amounts more often (say a much smaller amount twice a day).

If it is thick enough, it siphons out very easily with some hose; I use a 3/8 hose as it is harder to clog but still doesnt drain too much water while sucking out the cyano.

 

[dannybradley]

mopar9012;264469 wrote: it can also be cause by too much lighting.

If that were true, no one could have a nice reef tank. Light can act as the catalyst for fast growth if the other parameters are met first.

Cyano will grow to the ability its environment provides. If you only have enough phosphate and nitrogen present for it to cover half your tank, it can only grow to that amount. More light just gives it more energy to get there faster.

As stated before, reduce your phosphate and nitrate current levels and input. If you feed a dry food, use pellets, not flakes. Also, use only low phosphate pellets(Ocean Nutrition Formula One and Formula Two are great for this). If you feed frozen, rinse it out using a fine mesh net(brine shrimp net) to wash away the waste frozen in with the food. After rinsed, you can add your selcon, Zoe, garlic, etc. and feed it to the tank.

If you want go the chemical route, I've had good success with Chemi Clean by Boyd enterprises. Follow the directions exactly and you shouldn't have problems. I have to note, however, that this only treats the symptom, but not the underlying issue. There are some strains of cyanobacteria that are quite invasive and difficult to irradicate, and sometimes need something other than good husbandry practices to eliminate, suchas Nostoc sp..</em>

 

[spike]

I agree with Derek on DT's as being a contributor to cyno outbreaks. Each time I have followed the directions for use on the DT's bottle I have had a cyno outbreak. Now I use only about 1/3 of the recommended amount and only dose twice a week.

 

[ralph atl]

DannyBradley;264525 wrote: If that were true, no one could have a nice reef tank. Light can act as the catalyst for fast growth if the other parameters are met first.

Cyano will grow to the ability its environment provides. If you only have enough phosphate and nitrogen present for it to cover half your tank, it can only grow to that amount. More light just gives it more energy to get there faster.

As stated before, reduce your phosphate and nitrate current levels and input. If you feed a dry food, use pellets, not flakes. Also, use only low phosphate pellets(Ocean Nutrition Formula One and Formula Two are great for this). If you feed frozen, rinse it out using a fine mesh net(brine shrimp net) to wash away the waste frozen in with the food. After rinsed, you can add your selcon, Zoe, garlic, etc. and feed it to the tank.

If you want go the chemical route, I've had good success with Chemi Clean by Boyd enterprises. Follow the directions exactly and you shouldn't have problems. I have to note, however, that this only treats the symptom, but not the underlying issue. There are some strains of cyanobacteria that are quite invasive and difficult to irradicate, and sometimes need something other than good husbandry practices to eliminate, suchas Nostoc sp..</em>

agree 100%

 

[ralph atl]

ramone;264618 wrote: I agree with Derek on DT's as being a contributor to cyno outbreaks. Each time I have followed the directions for use on the DT's bottle I have had a cyno outbreak. Now I use only about 1/3 of the recommended amount and only dose twice a week.

yup!

 

[stickx911]

atreyu917;264776 wrote: Sorry it's probably a dumb question....what's a DT?
I'm new obviously. haha.

 

[cameron]

Here are my fixes:

<ul>
<li>Cut the feedings: Most people tend to overfeed their tank and unless you are doing some extreme filtration you will only be contributing to the problem. Reduce feedings to once every few days unless you have a species that requires more frequent feeding and then target feed that creature. You can resume more frequent feedings once the problem is resolved.</li>
<li>Check the new water you are putting in the tank: This is a common problem. People tend to trust that water they buy or the fancy RO/DI they have is doing its job. Test that water on more than one meter and you may find it is full of DOCs or phosphates.</li>
<li>Put some chaeto wherever it will fit: This can help keep a problem from spreading or to help prevent a problem. It isn't a cure but it does have a lot of other benefits besides sucking up phosphates. You can usually get some for free from fellow reef members.</li>
<li>Reduce the light cycle: Most algae needs lights to grow. By shortening the light cycle it can give you time to take control.</li>
<li>Up the flow in the tank: Pretty much all nuisance algae hate higher flow environments and rarely is there a reason not to up the flow in a tank. Even if you only do it for a short time, it can help control the problem until you ID the cause of the excess phosphates and DOCs.</li>
<li>Check and/or increase filtration: Carbon, GFO (PhosPure is good), Purigen and even a filter sock that is cleaned frequently can help get a problem like this under control. Often however, one of the above is a cause of the problem as people tend to neglect changing media causing it to become a factory for these kinds of problems. Clean the skimmer, replace any media, remove any filter pads, etc.</li>
<li>Stop dosing any excess chemicals: For the time being, you should consider only doing water changes and possibly putting in a two part solution if you have corals. Past that stop any trace element or other supplements.</li>
</ul>

In the end, you have to find the fuel that is causing this outbreak or you will fight it until you do. Many of the methods above are control only so find the source of the phosphates/DOCs to really get past this. Something you are putting into the tank on a regular basis is causing these outbreaks since the algae itself needs food to grow and the only way it doesn't starve itself is if it is getting replenished.