For preventing cyano on a DSB:

[hairtrigger]

What is more important?
I have plenty of water flow above my DSB from pumps in the corners of my tank, and the return valve. However, I also have two powerheads blowing across the mid section of my tank. I noticed that my cyano covers only my DSB, nowhere else.
Now, the above listed spots are the only places where I have powerheads. None blowing directly on or across the top of the DSB. Do you think the powerheads blowing across the midsection of the tank are necessary? Or should I move them down so they blow either across (which one) or on the top of the DSB?
If I should move them to the DSB, do you think that would help remedy my cyano?
Because:
Currently my water params are ideal, including phosphates. And there are no excess disolved nutrients in my tank. I have a more than adequate cleanup crew too. And a huge skimmer. BUT, I dont think I have enough detrivores, ie, pods, worms, etc, living in my DSB. So, that, coupled with flow on the DSB may be my problem. Or just flow. Opinions?

 

[overanalyzer]

something has to be causing it .... most likely the water flow - I have some powerheads moved so they hit just above the sand bed on the front glass and angled down - so there is no sand blowing .... also - soemthing to keep your sand bed stirred up would help!

 

[gene52569]

I have 2 horseshoe crabs which keep my bed stirred. But I was recomeded against it by one of the members here. All I can say is my sand bed is clean and white. Don't know if the long term effects are good or bad. I will have to just wait and see. The Horseshoe crabs have been there for 3 months.

 

[magdala]

omG, I am almost ready to throw in the fishnet over my month long battle with cyano. I have done 25% water changes on my 90 gallon every 3rd day for 4 wks. Ive tried redslime remover and chemicure, to no avail. I do not over feed (1xday) I have 6 phs so there is current at top, middle and across the surface of the dsb.
None of the lights are over 4 mos old. No phosphates, skimmer is working, I just CANT find the source, and IM LOSING patience with it .
I remove it by hand as much as I can, and it reappears 10 fold by the next day. I cant keep this up!!
salinity 1.024
ph8.2
am 0 ni 0 na 15
ca 440
phos 0
silicates 0
If I dont get this under control soon, Im gonna be posting on the classified bb ... sigh.

 

[leigh]

Does the depth of the DSB make a difference with cyano? (I never get cyano in my invert tank which has a 5 in dsb but have been having issues with it a lot lately in my reef with a 3 in dsb)...both share the same water supply so I was wondering if it's in the sand?
-leigh

 

[timo]

I had a large and growing patch in an appearantly high flow area, was recommended ChemiClean by Boyd, and it worked like a charm. (Don't forget to turn off the skimmer and remove carbon).
Tim

 

[michaeltx]

and remove chemi clean if you use it,
I had a bad case of cyno and used the little bottle of chemi something and it worked great within 2 days it was all gone.
but skimmer-carbon-chemiclean etc will absorb the antibiotics that you add to kill the cyno.
Mike

 

[hookedonreefs]

OK, I want to throw in my 2 cents.
I think cyno has to do (of course) with phosphate/lighting/and water flow. But I'm really starting to think a huge factor is with small inverts and such.
I've been fighting cyno for about four weeks now. I started by letting it go crazy hoping it would starve itself. Then I put in a phosphate sponge. Next I tested my water source all OK. Then two new phs & less light. Finally I opened up all out war with a dose of Boyd chemi cleen dosed twice in 72 hours with 20% water changes in between (as per the directions) I have severly decreased the amount of cyno, but it's still there. The one thing I'm low on is sand stirring creatures.
Soooooo, leigh, after reading your post I really think it has to do with the inverts. Your tank with little/no cyno has lots of inverts right? With the same water source you'd figure it would migrate between tanks, but it's not really. Or, it may be, but it can't get a foothold due to the invert mixing/consumption.
Again, I'm by no means an expert, I'm much more a newbie, but I do pay attention, and this is starting to look like the key. As my other posts state I'm working on more sand stirring creatures. If it works, I'll let everyone know.
Any feedback to my theory?

 

[michaeltx]

thats about what I am thinking my inverts wont go into high flow area they just get blown over and away from it but the cyno that I get starts around the water outlet and behind it then spreads around but what gets me in my tank its starts in the high flow areas and from what I have always read is that cyno starts in low flow and to help get rid of it is to increase flow. what do you do if it starts in high flow area?? and for some reason it loves to grow on hair algae go figure I think the are colaborating against me LOL
anyway the bigger clean up crew that I add last thursday has helped get rid of what little bit that I had so I think your ideas have alot of sense in them ( does that make sense LOL)
Mike

 

[leigh]

It's an interesting theory. However most of my inverts are large--the two hermit crabs are the size of adult fists and eat whole cocktail shrimp for meals. Aside from that in that tank I have some mexican snails, a sally lightfoot, and a very small boxing crab. The reef also has mexican snails as well as 2 fighting conch, sand sifting snails, scarlet hermits, and turbo snails. I would've thought the reef then would be better off since it has more little inverts that munch on algae, but perhaps the big crabs eat more algae than I think. I do have less light on the invert tank--only 130 watts pc, as opposed to 260 on the reef, but the lights are on the invert tank for much longer-- normally 12-14 hrs as opposed to the reef which gets 10 hrs white 12 hrs actinic. The reef also has more circulation. So I still wonder if it's the sand bed itself, since the reef has a shallower sand bed than the invert tank and the only place I get cyano is on the sand in the reef. Hmm...all very interesting

 

[hookedonreefs]

MichaelTX, I'm glad you concur with my theory. -concur is the right word right? ->bad day and my brain is starting to fry. -
I don't know about the high flow areas. I really want to add worms. they should mix the sand around regardless of flow (the way I figure) I really want to get some spaghetti and bristle worms. I found a website that sells spaghettis at 1.00 each, but the bristles won't come in until 6/15. I guess it's worth the wait. I'm going to buy a bunch of both. I'll let you know what happens.
Oh yeah - I just started my skimmer after my double dose of chemi-cleen. BOY is it wiggin' out! I'll have to empty the colection chamber in like 5 minutes! It's only been on for 10 minutes! I'll have to turn it off tomorrow or the collection cup will overflow. Nasty smell to have everywhere!

 

[michaeltx]

you should have the bristle worms from your rock that will go into your sand bed just takes them time to come out and go into the sand my tank has been up for over a year and the larger ones are just starting to come out of the rocks. some of them are just huge!!!
so I dont know about buying them to add to the tank but hey there good to have just watch there numbers.
Leigh those big hermits are probably doing alot of sand stirring in there travles around the tank. but more light and the deeper sand and mot as much stiring the sand might have something to do with it on the sand but just a guess.
I had

[hr]
2 quenn conchs
1 sally lightfoot
2 emerald crabs
1 sand sifting star
and a few turbos.
I just added ----
2 fighting conchs
120 turbos
2 sally lightfoots
6 emerald crabs
12 microhermits
12 nerite snails
12 nassarious snails
6 cerith
and are doing a great job stirring the sand and starting to get rid of a lot of stuff I had growing on the sand including the cyno and hair algae so I think a larger sand stiring clean up crew keeps it down but thats something to watch the next few months.
Mike

 

[timo]

My cyano was in a high hermit traffic zone...lots of stirring. I use a CC substrate,
After 5 days and the 20% water change, I, too dealt with a skimmer that wanted to only fill with water, not to mention a tank that looked like a snowstorm, but after two more days of this, it cleared up and tank is clear.
Thank you, Boyds. This is not a plug, but it really worked.

 

[cincyreefer]

I would recommend using a product called "Red Slime Remover" I think it is made by Red Sea, but i am not positive. Just beware that it can drop the pH and lower the oxygen levels in the tank so I would put an airpump in the water to compensate. It removed all my cyano within two days. I followed that with a 30% water change using RO water and have not seen any since. My coraline is even looking better than ever.

 

[justinx]

You know . . . I posted a lengthy post on how to get rid of red slime a while ago. Not too many people read it then but it seems that people are still having issues. I'll bump it up for you guys. I spent a good deal of time researching the issue, and I wrote this article from experience. Trust me . . . .

 

[overanalyzer]

Originally posted by JustinX
You know . . . I posted a lengthy post on how to get rid of red slime a while ago. Not too many people read it then but it seems that people are still having issues. I'll bump it up for you guys. I spent a good deal of time researching the issue, and I wrote this article from experience. Trust me . . . .
agreed - I did everything that JustinX posted but I ended up doing a 1/2 dose of the chemi pure or chemi clean (little bottle high dollar) and that was the knock out punch!