Stupid cyano!!

[jwils27]

I have cyano. First time i've ever seen it in my tank. I have a 40 cube that has a mag 12 on full blast 0 phosphates, nitrites and ammonia. My nitrates are trace. I did a water change yesterday and sucked it all out for the most part. 2 day its back, not as bad. anyone have any sugestions on why i would be getting it and how to get rid of it. Also will UV help? I have one but I am not running it now. I would prefere to not use any chemicals as well. Thanks for any comments and advice.

 

[wolfie]

Sleeper Banded Goby.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=206">http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=206</a>


Get 1 of this goby. It clearn out the Cyano in 2 days where I had failed from 3 months of WC every 2-3 days.

I've try other goby and none work, but this 1. BEWARN you will need to have rocklift if you are going to get 1.

 

[fishwhisperer]

The Sleeper Banded eat cyano?

 

[ericmcj31]

I've just come to notice it's a normal part of cycling of some new tanks. I battled it for a few months, and several water changes (about 2-3 per week), and keep lights down to a minimum. If you don't have coral, I would leave them off for a couple days except for feeding. I also used some OTC stuff like Red slime remover or something to that affect. If you use this, though, it will treat the problem, not the cause, so if you have something that is making the cyano bloom, it won't cure it, but will make tank look better until cyano cycles away. Oh yeah, I assume you're using RODI water??

 

[wolfie]

fishwhisperer;106286 wrote: The Sleeper Banded eat cyano?

that 1 does while the other will not even touch it.

 

[krb]

What is your light setup and schedule? How much flow do you have in what size tank? What is your bioload? What is your CUC? Do you have a refuge w/ macros in it?

I battled cyano for quite a while in my tank. I reduced my feedings down to once every three days. Increased my CUC with astreas, blue leg hermits, and nass. vibex. The astreas and blue legs will eat cyano, but as a last resort it seems. After I got the cyano eradicated, I went back to my normal routine. I had increased the CUC to offset my tendency to overfeed. The cyano is there because of a load of nutrients (phosphates probably) in the water. You may not detect it with test kits. I would suggest reducing your feedings, cut down your light schedule, increase your CUC and increase flow. DO NOT use chemicals. They only provide temporary solutions and down the road problems. Find the source of the problem and fix it. Also, a refuge with macros is always a good idea.

Good Luck

 

[suasati]

Are you running any PO4 removers? If not, it maybe a route to look at....

 

[jwils27]

40g cube with 2 clown 1 bicolor and 1 bangii 3 BL and 20+ astrea i feed 1 x per day and i run 1 250W MH 12 hrs per days and i have a mag 12 pushing about 1100 GPH through the tank. It dose not seem lke a cyano type enviroment to me.

 

[jwils27]

i use purigen sp

 

[suasati]

jwils27;106335 wrote: i use purigen sp

You may want to go with something like Phos-Ban or GFO... You maynot test any PO4, but cyano is a sure sign you have excess PO4... Once you control it your cyano problem will go away, in the mean time, removing them by syphon will be the best option in addition to water changes... remove them just before lights go out, by removing them you are also removing nutrients from the tank kinda like algae scubbers... Good Luck.

 

[krb]

jwils27;106334 wrote: ...i run 1 250W MH 12 hrs per days ...

I would cut that photoperiod down by a couple of hours and see how that helps. A major downfall to the cyano lifecycle is that is dies off at night and re-establishes itself the next day. the longer the photoperiod the more that grows. Also, when you siphon out the the cyano, do it at the end of your photo period. Get some blue legs too

 

[dannybradley]

According to Tom Wyatt's talk at our last meeting there are strains of cyano that will acquire everything they need to thrive from the air. I believe it was nostocales. So even if you have very phospates and nitrogen sources, you may have one using an alternative food source. I would go ahead and try a Polyfilter. They're pretty good at stripping the water of nutrients.

 

[dannybradley]

Oh, and as far as photoperiod... One of the most annoying things about cyano is that it is a bacteria that is also photosynthetic. It can thrive with and without light. But removing one energy source may help some.

 

[flyingarmy]

Agree, its just a cycle of a new tank set-up. Give it some time, I know it looks like crap but with increased skimming, adding some PHOSBAN in a media reactor should take care fo the issue. Good luck!

 

[fishwhisperer]

I've had excellent results with RowaPhos.

 

[flyingarmy]

fishwhisperer;106473 wrote: I've had excellent results with RowaPhos.

That is definitely the best Phosphate remover out there! Won't leach back out once its saturated. Little on the pricey side but well worth it!

 

[jmaneyapanda]

SuAsati;106340 wrote: You may want to go with something like Phos-Ban or GFO... You maynot test any PO4, but cyano is a sure sign you have excess PO4... Once you control it your cyano problem will go away, in the mean time, removing them by syphon will be the best option in addition to water changes... remove them just before lights go out, by removing them you are also removing nutrients from the tank kinda like algae scubbers... Good Luck.

agreed- you wont have that dark mat cyano without the phosphates. Nutrient export is the key.