cyno out of controll

sparkymedic

sparkymedic

New Member
i started to get a little cyno developing on the front of the tank along the sand bed. i added a karolia 1 to blow across the sand bed a karolia 4 to go across the rock face and a maxi 1 across the top of the water. i also have a skimmer that moves 900 gph. i reduced the time my lights are on to about 6 hrs a day. since i did this the cyno has exploded (not literaly). it is all over my sand bed, lr, and glass. my water parameters are perfect, temp 75. my tank is a 75 gallon. i have thought a bout leaving my lights off for a day but am worried about my torch coral and anenome. any suggestions.
 
ilovemytank

ilovemytank

Member
Alot of people say reduce light, feedings and water changes ! Cyno is a bacteria not in an algea. I'm not saying that these aren't good advice. I have watched threads of people on here that have said they have been fighting cyno for onths and are about to win. These might work and you may battle it for a long time. Most on this site believe that chemicals should be a last resort. All this is great advice and you if you leaarn to rely on chemicals then you will never take the time to learn what you did wrong to cause the problem in the first place. Use every problem to examine all of your practices to find accurate problems. With all that said; Cyno has simple chemical cures that will solve it in 24 hours. I think Chemi-clean is better but you also have red slime remover by Ultralife. I was actually reading an artical today in Aquarium Fish International that talks about this. I have used both and know many people who have with no negative side effects. It is safe for all Aqurium inhabitants. It may kill some beneficial bacteria as well but they will grow back. Cyno can get out of control quick and never is fun. I wish you the best of luck however you decide to get rid of it. If you do use one of the chemicals I listed themn your skimmer will go nuts. Shut it off for a few days and then do a water change. It might take two water changes before your skimmer won't go beserk on you.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Good info from Ilovemytank.
Here is my take:
Here is my take on getting rid of Cyano.
Red Slime (Cyano Bacteria)
Cyano grows on top of nutrient rich areas of low flow. There are a number of things that need to be correct or possibly corrected to combat this without the use of chemical additives. The biggest thing is to get rid of the extra nutrients.
1. Evaluate your feeding. If you are feeding more than can be eaten in about 1-2 minutes it is too much and the remainder of it is falling to the rock and sand and becoming nutrient.
2. Evaluate your flow. If you have areas in the tank where there is little to no flow this can be corrected by adding power heads or repositioning the ones you already have. You don’t need to create sand storms just have water moving over the area to keep detritus suspended in the water column for removal by your filter – skimmer.
3. Evaluate your water changes. The solution to pollution is dilution! You want to continually remove unneeded nutrients as well as replace those things that are used by the system. 10% weekly is a good change schedule. Some do 20% every other week and some vary the schedule from there, but a good start is 10% per week.
4. Evaluate your lighting schedule. About 10 hours of daylight is all that is needed.
5. If you have a cyano outbreak do the above 4 items andh:
a. At water change time siphon off the cyano first. It will come up easily almost like a blanker.
b. After siphoning stir the affected areas a little to suspend any detritus for the water change and filtering - skimming removal.
c. Use a turkey baster now and at every water change in the future to again suspend the detritus for removal by the water change and your filtering – skimming.
Keeping nutrient levels low to non-existent will help to avoid cyano outbreaks and any algae outbreaks as well as keep your tank and you happy happy.
Hope that helps.

[hr]
Henry
 
ci11337

ci11337

Active Member
I read that same article in AFI about 5 minutes ago and was all ready to sound smart.
Beat me to it

Seriously though, i've used red slime remover before and it worked well, it took a few treatments but i haven't seen it since. *knocks on wood*
 
sparkymedic

sparkymedic

New Member
thanks for the advise. i agree that using a chemical should be a last resort. i had cut back on feeding i think i will cut back a little more and up my water changes and go from there. thanks again for the help.
 
nigerbang

nigerbang

Active Member
dont cut the light back....cover the tank in wrapping paper so no light gets in..thenleave the lights off for about 3 days...works like a charm...never have another problem again
 
sparkymedic

sparkymedic

New Member
Originally Posted by NigerBang
http:///forum/post/2843412
dont cut the light back....cover the tank in wrapping paper so no light gets in..thenleave the lights off for about 3 days...works like a charm...never have another problem again
can my torch coral and anenome go 3 days with no light?
 
nigerbang

nigerbang

Active Member
Originally Posted by sparkymedic
http:///forum/post/2843436
can my torch coral and anenome go 3 days with no light?
the torch yes...the nem maybe..if so it will take a few days for it to open back out...I didnt have a nem when I had to do it..
 
robertmathern

robertmathern

Active Member
I think it will be ok. In the reefs hurricanes sit over them for days sometimes. There is not much light going thourgh that. so imo it will be fine. But I a far from an expert for I dont have any of the above.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by ci11337
http:///forum/post/2842779
I read that same article in AFI about 5 minutes ago and was all ready to sound smart.
Beat me to it

Seriously though, i've used red slime remover before and it worked well, it took a few treatments but i haven't seen it since. *knocks on wood*
I've used one of the red slime removers a few times over many years. They work great and I've never had any side effects. IMO:If the slime returns, then you have a problem; if not, it was a one time occurrence and no big deal. There will always be disagreement over use of chemicals; but I have no problem OCCASIONALLY using well researched products to solve occasional problems.
 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
I have recently gotten green algae all over my rocks and some sort of algae is getting into my sand and pretty much forming a mat (it's green not red tho) I put a small algae scrubber in my sump with a light on it. Do you think that I could get away with wrapping my tank up and sealing out light for 3 or so days while leaving the light on in the sump for the algae scrubber? Any concerns about the fish in the tank getting messed up by the drastic change in light cycles?
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
If you are using a chemical remover remember to turn off your skimmer or at least empty the catch cup once a day
 
rotarymagic

rotarymagic

Active Member
My methods..
bag of aluminum based phosphate sponge.. to quickly drop phosphates..
then run a bag of GFO at 5times the recommended minimal dose.. I like rowaphos.
make sure there is adequate flow through the tank...
make sure that the inorganic nitrate exportation is taken care of.
Do lots of 25% water changes... while siphoning the red slime out.
BTW this has ALWAYS worked for me..I feed everyday and probably too much lol...
If that doesn't fix it... then chemi clean and repeat the above.
Once I have a tank established... I never get testable nitrates or phosphates...
I have always run a fuge and GFO on all my tanks too..
This nano I'm doing will have a turf scrubber and I may also still run GFO.
 
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