help !

[miked]

I have a 360 gallon reef aquarium, it has been up and running quite
successfully for a few months. I have an inch or so of gravel in
the bottom, live sand, but, having a TERRIBLE problem with red slime
algae all over the bottom .. I have lots of water flow on the
bottom, a home made protein skimmer which is working perfectly. I
have to empty the green sludge out every few days. I did treat with
polyox, and it did start to go away, but, i raked the bottom, and
now its come back with a vengance !! Has anyone out there any
suggestions ?

 

[bang guy]

I can't give you a fool proof method of removing it. I believe the antibiotics are a REALLY bad idea. This is what I can suggest:
Cyanobacter is always present, it's actually one of the required bacteria for a healthy tank. Unfortunately, if conditions are too favorable you will almost always get an outbreak.
Cyano thrives in low flow - high nutrient water - with lots of light.
If you take away two of these ingredients your problem will be solved.
IMO the long-term solution is a deep sand bed. Either in your display tank or in a large refugium (40 gallons +).
Another solution is growing some fast-growing organism and exporting it. I've used Xenia, Toadstool leathers, and algae. They all seem to work.
Short term solutions are usually fairly temporary because they treat the symptom (Cyano) instead of the cause (Excess nutrients).
Just for curiosity.... do you feed frozen brine shrimp? Do you rinse them before feeding to remove the preservatives (Nitrate).

 

[slothy]

Originally posted by Bang Guy
Just for curiosity.... do you feed frozen brine shrimp? Do you rinse them before feeding to remove the preservatives (Nitrate).

I didnt know that... learned something new today

 

[simm]

Bang Guy.. So your saying signs of Cyno is a sign that your tank is in good shape? Such as in great water params? Also I have another 100 gallon that has been setup for over 4 months now. About 120lbs LR and a 4" DSB with NO stock in it yet but Iam seeing Cyno. Will cyno grow even though your not putting food in because you have no stock?

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by simm
Bang Guy.. So your saying signs of Cyno is a sign that your tank is in good shape?
No, sorry if it sounded that way. Excess nutrients are the primary reason for Cyano. I'm just saying that it is always present, even in tanks with great water params. It's only visible when it becomes a problem. IMO it's a SYMPTOM of a bigger problem... not really that much of a problem in itself.

 

[simm]

ohh ok thanks!

 

[miked]

thank you bang guy !
here are the stats ... were lighting with 1 10,000kva metal hallide, and four 6500 calvin compact lights.. the tank is 5 feet long, by 3ft wide, by 3ft deep. the water flow is pointed downward, as a result plenty of flow in the bottom. i have the metal hallides and the compact lights on separate switches.. would you suggest turning off one or the other until the problem resolves ?
we do feed frozen brine shrimp, but haven't ever rinsed them.. and the frozen shrimp is only fed twice a week..

 

[bang guy]

I would think that lessening the lights may cause the Cyano to go away. Unfortunately I think it would be bad for the rest of your inhabitants too. The Cyano will also come right back once you start the lights again.
You need to find some way to export the excess nutrients. Water change will also work but that will quickly get expensive. My main recomendation is a refugium.
The 'Cyano'... is it growing in a blanket or in stringy filiments? Is there less of it in the morning before the lights come on?

 

[beth]

I almost hate to tell you all this because I don't want to encourage anyone to use chemicals in their reef tank, or use this one and then have a problem, but let me just "share" my exp.
I also had a cyano problem which started a few mos ago.
I did everything that Bang is suggesting above. I have lots of marcos that have always been adequate exports before, but, for some reason, I got a MAJOR bloom of cyano that literally overtook my tank within just a few days.
I added circulation with additional PH's. I would siphon off the sheets of cyano several times a days, I added some fresh LS, etc., etc. Well, things did improve a good deal over the course of a month, but I was basically constantly doing maintenance on my tank and there was no letting up on this or I’d be back to first base.
In the meantime, I had been trying to read up on Chemiclean which is made by Boyd. I contacted the manufacture to see if I could get them to tell me their ingredients. They would not tell me, but assured me that is was not antibiotics. I already knew that. They professed the product was perfectly safe for reefs as long as used as directed. The person I spoke to specifically said that when dosing, actual water in tank needed to be the guide for dosing, and not tank size. In other words, if you have a 100 gal tank, but with all the rocks, sand, etc., you really only have 60gals of water, then dose for 60gals of water.
Sick of cyano, I went ahead and used it. I was conservative with dosing [less then my estimated water volume]. Within 24-hrs, the cyano was near gone, and so was a lot of normal type sludge in the tank. The water was sparkling. I dosed again, even smaller dose than the last time. By the next day, my tank looked like new. Nothing died, and, better, I saw absolutely no adverse effects. Contrarily, everything suddenly perked up in the tank. Following the 2nd dose, I did a major tank clean/ water change. The tank looks great.
I have a natural reef system, so believe me, I did not take dosing my tank with a chemical lightly.

 

[bang guy]

Thank you Beth!
There is no better teacher than experience. Sound like someone has come up with a really good product.

 

[dockery07]

I also used Chemclean like beth and it did work perfectly with no problems. I would used it again after fighting red alage.

 

[marco333]

when you say rinse your brine shrimp wat do you mean. All i do is put them in a cup of water, and let them thaw, then feed them with an pipet.

 

[goldrush]

Rinse them with a brine shrimp(very fine mesh) net using ro/di water.As for the cyano,I have to tell you that after trying everything else,I used Maracyn,a very low strength antibiotic Erythromycin (sp?). I researched this very well and decided to use half the recommended dosage.I treated for 5 days,the cyano totally went away,I have had no ill effects. Cyano does not necessarily come from something you did wrong.It is a bacteria that can be introduced by something you add to your tank. I was,and remain convinced that in moderation,a light antibiotic will not harm the "good" bacteria we all want. Again, in the words of that sage reefer--"your tank,your choice" Good Luck

 

[wrassecal]

Bang Guy - I am having a second outbreak of cyano in my 20 gal stand alone refugium. It seems to like to coat the caulerpa and of course a patch on the sandbed. I have the caulerpa varieties you sent me and man are those bugs and snails taking off. I've got a emperor 280 and a maxijet 600 ph for circulation and a dsb. Why would I be getting cyano in that tank?
BTW - I too broke down the last time I had a cyano outbreak a few months ago and used the chemi-clean. I did work as advertised. If anyone uses it don't forget the 20% water change 48 hours after the second dose ( or first if you only need one)

 

[bang guy]

Is the stand alone Refugium just to grow bugs?
I suggest siphoning out the cyano. Is the Caulerpa growing fast enough to harvest some?

 

[wrassecal]

yes, I've harvested some of the caulerpa 3 times already I even traded some to my lfs for a sally lightfoot.
BTW - I now have 5 tulips

 

[phil1964]

I had a RED 20 gal.
3 days ago I moved my 2 percs and a CBS to my new tank.
Only one fish left in the 20.
The red is almost totally gone.
Guess it was overloaded.
The water always tested fine.