Curator,
Here is a good post from another forum on dealing with cyano. You are going to have to do some work to get rid of it.
http://www.reef-visions.com/forums/index.php?topic=2888.0">http://www.reef-visions.com/forums/index.php?topic=2888.0</a>
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Many of have had it and battled it at one time or another. For some of us, it has reoccurred over and over again. What are some of the causes and how do we win the war against it? Testing the tank is the first and foremost beginning. Nitrates and Phosphate levels (PO4) should be tested often. You have to know what you’re fighting. If you doubt the reading, have the LFS take another test. You can have problems with cyano even if your water parameters all test normal. No reading may be present as the levels are consumed as fast as they occur. Testing the water from the top level of substrate or near or even in your liverock sometimes will show a reading, where elsewhere in the tank shows no reading.
Below are some factor’s that have helped in treating this nightmare:
*Tracking what you do to the tank. Log all test’s and activity.
* Testing all water parameters. Get a baseline of what you are working with from the start. If the tank is out of Ionic
balance then you can’t treat or rid of the cyano effectively. Try getting readings at various times of the day so its accurately reflecting what's going on in the tank.
*Water changes – more frequently than usual, smaller frequent ones, rather than less often large ones. Using RO/DI water is optimal. There is always the option of having the local water company run a test as well.
*Activated Carbon – running, rinsing and replacing any media and changing it frequently.
*Nitrates - Added a refugium, aids in keeping nitrates down. Adding anything that you can use to export the nitrates, xenia, and even some caluerpa or grasses straight to the tank.
*Lighting - it is a photosynthetic bacterium, so it thrives on light. Do your bulbs need up-dated? There may be a wavelength change that starts the bloom or contributes to the growth. This goes for the tank and refugium as well. Cut back on how long the lights are on each day during treatment.
*Reflectors – increase light intensity.
*Phosphate media – such as Rowaphos or Phosban.
*Skimming – Improving it would likely help, aiding in the removal of organics.
*Antibiotics -The antibiotics should be a last resort, but some folks have successfully used them. Others find it a temporary fix. The secret is achieving the proper balance when you treat the tank and you don't remove the beneficial bacteria in the sand and rocks.
* Red Slime Remover – using this treats it, but does it come back, because the conditions are still there that need to be treated as well. You attack the source, but not the symptoms. Does your oxygen levels drop when using this? Adding air stones may help to keep that up.
*Vacuum – Export all the nutrients out that feed the bloom, from where it lies. Using a turkey baster to suction it out daily helps. By leaving the decaying algae and detrius in the tank, it provides more nutrients to fuel a new bloom. Some vacuum the top layer of the substrate.
*Power heads – moving the powers heads to get a better flow over the effected areas. Stagnant areas have more growth. Also using a PH to blow off the detritus that settles on the LR and elsewhere. Let it filter out and do it again Increasing turnover rate will help.
*Kalk – using this to help keep the pH to a consistent level seems to help. It solves two other big issues for reef keepers: maintaining calcium and alkalinity. A consistent 8.3 helps.
*Overfeeding – many frozen or flake foods are high in PO4, soaking the food in RO/DI water and then draining the water out before adding the food to the tank helps. Also, cutting back on feedings will help.
*Clean up crew - adding animals that eat red slime, such as Strombus gigas. Serpent stars may be added to keep the top of the sand stirred.
*Salifert Phosphate Killer, Chemi-clean, tetracycline and chaeto are others that reefers have resorted to.
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