Cyanobacteria

bluetang66

bluetang66

Member
I also used and would recomend Chemi Clean I tried everything lights off, water changes, reduced feedings, nothing worked I used it as a last resort and as directed and it worked great for me. I believe mine was brought on when I upgraded my lights,once I got it under control it's not been a issue since.
 
tank1483

tank1483

Member
I am going to try an fix this thing without any medicine yet. I have added a 350 GPH canister filter to help out. This pushes my total GPH to 1170. Plus the filter should help get rid of any extra floating stuff. We will see how it goes.
 
tank1483

tank1483

Member
Wanted to give an update:
I ended up shutting my lights off for about three days. I turned the lights back on -about a week ago, and still no sign of cyano anywhere!
All of my tests have come out to 0 (except dumb nitrates, which are still at 5). The couple corals I do have seem to be doing fine.
I think I may have this thing handled for now<knock on wood> Maybe the cyano was feeding off of itself? Thanks everyone for all of their help and suggestions.
 
J

juliansreef2

Guest
i recently discovered cyano in my tank. at first i wasnt worried but then it started spreading very fast. my nitrates are low and my phosphates are about .01 im not sure what could be causing this :/ ive been doing water changes and not feeding as much. i also dont keep the light on as long as i know it lives on red spectrum light. can i keep my actinic on or will this still cause cynao? any suggestions help thanks,.
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
IMHO the best thing to do is to simply kill the lights until the cyano dies off. then resume with shorter duration and adjust so the cyano does not come back but the corraline,corals, macros still thrive.
my .02
 
jonw59

jonw59

Member
So i have similar problems with the red algae and was told to use "Chemiclean Aquarium treatment for red cyanobacteria". I have done it twice now and followed the directions exactly each time and seen zero change in the algae, Is this the same stuff others have been using? however, after reading this I am for sure over feeding so i will fix that right away.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonw59 http:///t/372061/cyanobacteria/20#post_3496272
So i have similar problems with the red algae and was told to use "Chemiclean Aquarium treatment for red cyanobacteria". I have done it twice now and followed the directions exactly each time and seen zero change in the algae, Is this the same stuff others have been using? however, after reading this I am for sure over feeding so i will fix that right away.
If you don't immediately do the recommended 25% to 50% water changes 24 hours after you use the product, then it does no good. This is an antibiotic, and as such it disrupts your entire tanks ecosystem, therefore an immediate water change is necessary in order for this product to work effectively.
If you are overfeeding your tank - you know part of the problem right there. The other part is keeping up with water changes, maintaining a thriving sandbed - or gravel vac'ing it often, blasing off your live rock of all detritus before every water change,... using macroalgae in a refugium or inside your tank to decrease nitrates and phosphates which cause cyanobacteria blooms...
A lot can be done to cure and prevent cyanobacteria - some of which is hard work. Using a chemical treatment should always be considered a last resort.
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/372061/cyanobacteria/20#post_3496275
If you don't immediately do the recommended 25% to 50% water changes 24 hours after you use the product, then it does no good. This is an antibiotic, and as such it disrupts your entire tanks ecosystem, therefore an immediate water change is necessary in order for this product to work effectively.
If you are overfeeding your tank - you know part of the problem right there. The other part is keeping up with water changes, maintaining a thriving sandbed - or gravel vac'ing it often, blasing off your live rock of all detritus before every water change,... using macroalgae in a refugium or inside your tank to decrease nitrates and phosphates which cause cyanobacteria blooms...
A lot can be done to cure and prevent cyanobacteria - some of which is hard work. Using a chemical treatment should always be considered a last resort.
+1
With the additional comment that it is never required to use a chemical treatment (and most especially antibiotics) to control cyano.
But that's just my .02
 
noobzilla

noobzilla

Member
I had the same problem a couple weeks ago, all I did was shorted the length of time my 10k's were on by 2 hours and left my blue light on for 12 hours for a couple days and it was gone within a week.
 
marvelfan

marvelfan

Member
Older thread, but I thought I'd add on to it. ... I'm fighting cyano right now myself. I've been overfeeding in order to feed an algae scrubber I've been experimenting with. I was feeding 1-2 cubes of frozen brine and mysis everyday along with reef chili every other day. It looks like my scrubber wasn't able to keep up with the feedings.
On Sunday I ended up doing a 25% water change. I scrubbed and removed as much of the cyano off all the spots I could reach. However the sand doesn't seem to be letting it go. I raked the sand to cover it up and within an hour it was working its way back to the top. I just re-positioned my power heads to hit some of the dead spots of rock in my tank where the most cyano was building up.
I noticed the most of my snails have been disappearing lately. Not sure why!
I don't currently have a refugium or my scrubber running, so tonight I'm going to run out and by some cheato and start running a sump light at night help control nitrates. I'm hoping my GFO/Carbon reactor will help with the rest.
I currently have an auto water change system configured to do 2 gallons of water change daily.
I cut back my lighting schedule from 14:30-00:30 (Blues -10 hrs)) 15:30-23:30 (Whites - 8 hrs) to 18:00-00:00 (Blues - 6 hrs) 19:00-23:00 (Whites - 4 hrs).
I plan on doing another 25% water change midway through the week.
I've cut back my feeding to 1 cube every other day. I will not be feeding the corals for now.
Hopefully I'll start to see some positive results soon!
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarvelFan http:///t/372061/cyanobacteria/20#post_3522134
Older thread, but I thought I'd add on to it. ... I'm fighting cyano right now myself. I've been overfeeding in order to feed an algae scrubber I've been experimenting with. I was feeding 1-2 cubes of frozen brine and mysis everyday along with reef chili every other day. It looks like my scrubber wasn't able to keep up with the feedings.
On Sunday I ended up doing a 25% water change. I scrubbed and removed as much of the cyano off all the spots I could reach. However the sand doesn't seem to be letting it go. I raked the sand to cover it up and within an hour it was working its way back to the top. I just re-positioned my power heads to hit some of the dead spots of rock in my tank where the most cyano was building up.
I noticed the most of my snails have been disappearing lately. Not sure why!
I don't currently have a refugium or my scrubber running, so tonight I'm going to run out and by some cheato and start running a sump light at night help control nitrates. I'm hoping my GFO/Carbon reactor will help with the rest.
I currently have an auto water change system configured to do 2 gallons of water change daily.
I cut back my lighting schedule from 14:30-00:30 (Blues -10 hrs)) 15:30-23:30 (Whites - 8 hrs) to 18:00-00:00 (Blues - 6 hrs) 19:00-23:00 (Whites - 4 hrs).
I plan on doing another 25% water change midway through the week.
I've cut back my feeding to 1 cube every other day. I will not be feeding the corals for now.
Hopefully I'll start to see some positive results soon!
and you got cyano. should be enough said.
FWIW IMHO the cyano should only be growing on the algae turf scrubber.
again my adivce of killing you display lights come to play. Just let the cyano grow on the turf scrubber. Wait until it all dies off in the display then adjust dispaly lighting and feeding so the cyano stays away.
muy .02
 
marvelfan

marvelfan

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by beaslbob http:///t/372061/cyanobacteria/20#post_3522137
and you got cyano. should be enough said.
FWIW IMHO the cyano should only be growing on the algae turf scrubber.
again my adivce of killing you display lights come to play. Just let the cyano grow on the turf scrubber. Wait until it all dies off in the display then adjust dispaly lighting and feeding so the cyano stays away.
muy .02
I should clarify. Long story short. I had to clean out my sump this weekend. It was full of food particles. I didn't have any real filtration on my overlfow. Only about 40lbs of Live rock in the first chamber. I decided to unhook the scrubber on Sunday afternoon when I did the cleaning, so its only been out of the system for 2 days. The cyano has been in the tank for about a month or two. I was mistaking it for diatoms at first. My fiance was actually the one to see the area in the back of my tank with the red slime. The sand is just a dusty brown, so I didn't think it was cyano.
I'm going to add the cheato tonight with my grow lamp. The plan is to leave the sump lit and have a shorter light time in the DT. With smaller and less frequent feeding I'm hoping it will be enough to starve it out. I'll work on getting the scrubber back in too, but it need modifications. Not enough air flow over the screen.
 
scrapman

scrapman

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///t/372061/cyanobacteria#post_3208036
Start with more frequent larger water changes....WHAT do you have for flow?
WHat do you feed? Have you tested your phosphates?
What type of lighting do you have, and how long do you run them?
You can remove it all you want, but...if you do not find the source of the problem it WILL return....
super good answer....it's a combination of these factors..... You've got to fine tune to get rid of it!
 
marvelfan

marvelfan

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///t/372061/cyanobacteria#post_3208036
Start with more frequent larger water changes....WHAT do you have for flow? - 2x 1400 Koralia Powerheads and 2x 500 Koralia Powerheads in a 120 Gallon DT - Return pump is pumping at 1320 gal/hr + skimmer and reactor pumps.
WHat do you feed? Have you tested your phosphates? - I feed 1 to 1/2 cubes every other day with 3 spoons reef chili (1 spoon is intended for 20 gallons of water)
What type of lighting do you have, and how long do you run them? - I have 2 TaoTronic LED fixtures 120W each (30x3x blues/25x3w whites) - Blues run 4PM-12AM (8 hours) / Whites run 5pm-11pm (6 hours) - The whites are on the lowest dimmable setting possible(still pretty bright and corals are really doing well at the setting))
You can remove it all you want, but...if you do not find the source of the problem it WILL return....
 
marvelfan

marvelfan

Member
Since I added my algae scrubber back into the mix and I changed out my RO/DI filters the cyano has receded rapidly. My sand i almost complete pure white again. I'm still only feeding once cube every other day and feeding reef chili 2 times a week per instructions. (1 scoop for every 20 gallons).
Corals and fish are doing great. Most of my snails are dead. It seems the hair algae I was seeing has also receded. I may need to supplement algae sheets so they all have something to eat. I haven't had to clean my glass in a week, which is awesome.
 
marvelfan

marvelfan

Member
Went down to do my weekly maintenance and tests lat night and noticed my sand is starting to turn a rusty red again. I think its due to some recent changes to the system.
1. My white sump light burned out last week. I have my red/blue LEDs set up to replace it for now. I figured it would be enough for my cheato, (but maybe not?)
2. My skimmer pump burned out as well. I ordered a replacement Venturi pump, but it just doesn't seem to be working quite as well. Its removing some of the waste, but not nearly to the degree it once did. Unfortunetly I can't get a new Skimmer until November.
Tonight I will try to replace my carbon, readjust my skimmer (if I can) and install a new grow lamp on my cheato.
Any other ideas?
My only other area of concern is that I have hardly any snails left, they are all dying off on me. There is no algae in the tank and I think I may need to suplement something for them to eat as they are not touching the cyano.
It was nice having a pristine looking tank for about a month. here we go again!!!
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
Still sounds like you have made good progress.
my usual kill the lights and stop feeding still applies. sometimes you have to do it a few times until you find the combination of lighting and feeding that keeps the cyano away.
As usual my .02
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top