In need of serious help!

[b_clark711]

I am having a red algae bloom that is taking over my tank. I will post some pics later as I just cleaned it off 2 nights ago, but I can already see that it's starting to come back. It's on the sand bed (which I have a sand sifting goby, but he can't do anything about it) growing on my rock and starting to grow on my coral, which is what I am most worried about. It's like a film, and you can pull it off, but it usually just breaks off, and I have TONS of it! I have excellent water movement, even in the back portion of my tank (120 bow front), good filtration, but it seems that it's getting out of hand. I have the 36" Orbit fixture (384 watts, 4x96watts) and I have no clue as to what may be causing it! Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Please, please help! I had this trouble when I got into saltwater back in 1999, and with the removal (by hand) it went away. Any suggestions at all would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[spanko]

Sounds like a cyano outbreak.
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.

 

[b_clark711]

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2721994
Sounds like a cyano outbreak.
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.
That helps more than you will ever know dude! I really appreciate that, and cyano is EXACTLY what it is! I will definitely change my water more often, but the thing about it is that as far as nutrients, I don't think I overfeed the fish, but I was overfeeding my coral. So I assume that calcium, strontium, iodine etc. all qualify as nutrients huh? LOL I will try all of the above and add another powerhead or 2! I appreciate your suggestions and I will update a.s.a.p. Phosphates will be high if there are excess nutrients right? I have the reef master test kit so I can test for just about anything, and while I have been doing this for a while, this is definitely uncharted water for me! Thanks again!

 

[b_clark711]

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2721994
Sounds like a cyano outbreak.
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.
Also, what kind of chemical additives are there? I am not a fan of adding chemicals for control of algae etc. but if all else fails then I will be left with no other choice!

 

[b_clark711]

Update - I went home last Friday (August 15th) and totally cleaned my ENTIRE tank. I basically "peeled" the blankets of cyano off the lr & ls where I could, and used my koralia to blow off the rest. While suspended I siphoned that crud out, and ended up changing about 20 gallons of water. It is now Thursday of the following week and it's back. I slowly watched it grow, and will probably have to do the same "deep clean" on it once again. I haven't had time this week to get a grip on the problem as we have been setting up the baby's room for her arrival in a couple of weeks. With that being said, I am going to spend ANOTHER 3 hours cleaning on this bad boy this weekend, but was interested in knowing if anyone has had any dealings with the Sleeper Byno Goby. It supposedly eats cyano, and I wanted to check with the "gurus" to see if anyone has one, has heard of anything specific about them that would help me in deciding on purchasing one etc. Thanks in advance! I am at wits end with this and for my passion to have me at wits end isn't natural, it's never had me like this, but I am in a pretty stressful state in preparing for our first child! Any comments will be appreciated!

 

[wattsupdoc]

Originally Posted by B_Clark711
http:///forum/post/2729630
Update - I went home last Friday (August 15th) and totally cleaned my ENTIRE tank. I basically "peeled" the blankets of cyano off the lr & ls where I could, and used my koralia to blow off the rest. While suspended I siphoned that crud out, and ended up changing about 20 gallons of water. It is now Thursday of the following week and it's back. I slowly watched it grow, and will probably have to do the same "deep clean" on it once again. I haven't had time this week to get a grip on the problem as we have been setting up the baby's room for her arrival in a couple of weeks. With that being said, I am going to spend ANOTHER 3 hours cleaning on this bad boy this weekend, but was interested in knowing if anyone has had any dealings with the Sleeper Byno Goby. It supposedly eats cyano, and I wanted to check with the "gurus" to see if anyone has one, has heard of anything specific about them that would help me in deciding on purchasing one etc. Thanks in advance! I am at wits end with this and for my passion to have me at wits end isn't natural, it's never had me like this, but I am in a pretty stressful state in preparing for our first child! Any comments will be appreciated!
There are many things that "supposedly" eats cyano. From what I have seen, nothing does. After all it is a bacteria, what on earth eats bacteria? Keep up the cleaning routine you are doing,. As well I would add to dust the LR before you begin. I use a turkey baster and gently blow on the rocks to release the crud. If you haven't done this, you will be amazed at how much junk is released. Additionally, do you have a lot of diatoms on the glass? How do you handle them when you do? The reason I ask is because diatoms also use nutrients to propagate, if you are just wiping them off the glass with a mag float, they are just being knocked away to spread somewhere else. I believe this can contribute to cyano outbreaks, as the nutrients remain in the tank. I myself had a problem with cyano on the SB for quite a while. I started using paper towels once a week to wipe the glass and OF boxes clean. With syphoning the top layer, only that that was covered in cyano, down to my refugium. I intentionally let it build on the glass until I just cant stand it any more. Then shut down most of my flow and start slowly wiping away. The diatoms cling to the towel. For 2 weeks now I have not had any cyano in the DT. I have been doing the paper towel thing for about the last 6 weeks.

 

[b_clark711]

Originally Posted by wattsupdoc
http:///forum/post/2729666
There are many things that "supposedly" eats cyano. From what I have seen, nothing does. After all it is a bacteria, what on earth eats bacteria? Keep up the cleaning routine you are doing,. As well I would add to dust the LR before you begin. I use a turkey baster and gently blow on the rocks to release the crud. If you haven't done this, you will be amazed at how much junk is released. Additionally, do you have a lot of diatoms on the glass? How do you handle them when you do? The reason I ask is because diatoms also use nutrients to propagate, if you are just wiping them off the glass with a mag float, they are just being knocked away to spread somewhere else. I believe this can contribute to cyano outbreaks, as the nutrients remain in the tank. I myself had a problem with cyano on the SB for quite a while. I started using paper towels once a week to wipe the glass and OF boxes clean. With syphoning the top layer, only that that was covered in cyano, down to my refugium. I intentionally let it build on the glass until I just cant stand it any more. Then shut down most of my flow and start slowly wiping away. The diatoms cling to the towel. For 2 weeks now I have not had any cyano in the DT. I have been doing the paper towel thing for about the last 6 weeks.
Never crossed my mind about the diatoms, but I do usually just wipe it off with an algae scrubber. I am DEFINITELY going to try the paper towel idea, because everytime my scrubber is taken away from the glass, it's like a green cloud escapes from it, which in essence is going right back into my tank. As for "dusting" the lr, I usually do that about once a month, but it had been at least 2 months from the last time I dusted them, besides last Friday when I dusted them, and I actually use my koralia, it works waaaaaay better than a baster, but then again it stirs the water up way more, which is actually what I wanted due to the fact that I wanted to keep all of that b.s. suspended so that I could siphon it out! This outbreak has grown alot slower than the previous outbreak, which tells me that I have rid my tank of SOME of the excess nutrients, but I guess what I needed to hear was the fact that it takes some time, and as far as the cyano eating goby was concerned, I was pretty sure that was the case, but wanted to ask just to clarify! LOL Thanks again and I will heed your advice and work with paper towels from now on and keep up my weekly water changes until I get my nutrients lower than now! I was getting confused because my tests were all coming back fine, even nitrates & phosphates and I sat down last Friday in the midst of a breakdown wondering how this could be, and it was then I realized that the reason I wasn't getting any readings wasn't because I didn't have excess nutrients, but it was because all of the excess nutrients were being used up by this cyano! I have had a saltwater set up since 1999, and it was only recently that I switched from my 40 gallon to my 120 bow front, and it's LOTS more work to keep up, because no longer is a two 5-gallon bucket, a suffice water change! LOL We are talking 5-6 of those 5-gallon buckets, but when it's clean & cyano free, MAN what a beauty!

 

[wattsupdoc]

Keep up the fight,

realize that you are fighting things that are billions of years old, and probably the beginning of all life on this planet. So these things are a worthy opponent. Yes, it is more work but man is it nice when it sparkles.

I'm starting to see a tad coming back in mine right now, but definetly I see a marked difference. Dont forget that the diatoms lock all that same stuff up too. Which cant be tested, and remains in the column.

 

[jeanheckle]

Originally Posted by B_Clark711
http:///forum/post/2729630
Update - I went home last Friday (August 15th) and totally cleaned my ENTIRE tank. I basically "peeled" the blankets of cyano off the lr & ls where I could, and used my koralia to blow off the rest. While suspended I siphoned that crud out, and ended up changing about 20 gallons of water. It is now Thursday of the following week and it's back. I slowly watched it grow, and will probably have to do the same "deep clean" on it once again. I haven't had time this week to get a grip on the problem as we have been setting up the baby's room for her arrival in a couple of weeks. With that being said, I am going to spend ANOTHER 3 hours cleaning on this bad boy this weekend, but was interested in knowing if anyone has had any dealings with the Sleeper Byno Goby. It supposedly eats cyano, and I wanted to check with the "gurus" to see if anyone has one, has heard of anything specific about them that would help me in deciding on purchasing one etc. Thanks in advance! I am at wits end with this and for my passion to have me at wits end isn't natural, it's never had me like this, but I am in a pretty stressful state in preparing for our first child! Any comments will be appreciated!
Sorry you're having such a problem. I have a byno goby and he keeps the tank spotless. Good luck with the tank and the baby.
Dori

 

[b_clark711]

Originally Posted by jeanheckle
http:///forum/post/2732039
Sorry you're having such a problem. I have a byno goby and he keeps the tank spotless. Good luck with the tank and the baby.
Dori
So he DOES eat that cyano? And thank you for the kind words!

 

[wattsupdoc]

I personally don't believe the goby EATS the cyano. If the goby is a sand sifter, then he is eating things in the sand, possibly including algae, but definitely nutrients of some kind. These would be nutrients that cyano would use. Also, the goby keeps the SB stirred, so cyano has a harder time to take hold. So while it may look like he's eating the cyano, I would bet this is not the case. Just that the cyano is growing where he wants to sift, both for the same reason. I had a banded bullet goby for some time. He was a great addition and did sift the sand very well. However, this resulted in sand particles in the column at all times.....It was a trade off, when he was gone, I chose to deal with the SB and not the particles.

 

[rael]

After trying to clean mine unsuccessfully, I went the lazy route and used chemi-clean. I have heard others have a problem with it but it worked like a champ for me. Cleared it out in a couple of days, never to return.

 

[wattsupdoc]

How long ago has that been?

 

[b_clark711]

I have a gold head sleeper goby who sifts sand, but it does nothing as far as the cyano goes!

 

[b_clark711]

Originally Posted by Rael
http:///forum/post/2734485
After trying to clean mine unsuccessfully, I went the lazy route and used chemi-clean. I have heard others have a problem with it but it worked like a champ for me. Cleared it out in a couple of days, never to return.
I may give that a shot! All of the reviews that I have read have been superb, we shall see how well it works!

 

[b_clark711]

That Boyd's Chemi Clean came in today, and I am going to dose it tonight, I will update how well it works! Keep your fingers crossed!

 

[small triggers]

the chemi clean works great, but you must follow the directions to the T. you still probably need to add some flow or some additional powerheads, i was getting it on the back of my tank wall. Good Luck

 

[spanko]

+1 with small triggers. The chemi clean is band aid repair IMO and the root cause, the accumulation of nutrient, will still need to be addressed.

 

[b_clark711]

Originally Posted by small triggers
http:///forum/post/2738937
the chemi clean works great, but you must follow the directions to the T. you still probably need to add some flow or some additional powerheads, i was getting it on the back of my tank wall. Good Luck
You would be a total fool to NOT follow the directions to a T whenever you dose ANYTHING in your tank. Especially if it's anywhere close to the amount of money I have in mine! LOL As for flow, I am golden. I have my main pump which is 750 gph, 2 of the Koralia 1's & 1 of the Koralia 2's, then I have an additional marineland powerhead that's rated at 170 gph, and they are strategically positioned in my 120 bow front so as for flow we are good. It does say something about keeping the O2 levels up, so I just installed the aerator that came with the Marineland powerhead and there are bubbles galore. I am actually posting on the morning after the first dose and it hasn't even been 24 hours yet and I can tell a HUGE difference!

 

[b_clark711]

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2739171
+1 with small triggers. The chemi clean is band aid repair IMO and the root cause, the accumulation of nutrient, will still need to be addressed.
I have to disagree with you on this one. For the previous month I have done water change after water change, pulling nutrients out, spent HOURS pulling & blowing cyano off of my rock & sand bed, and to no avail. When I posted on here, it was literally my last resort. Everything, with the exception of the Boyd's Chemi clean, I had previously tried, for over a month, and I keep getting massive blooms, which tells me it's more than just nutrients. This Chemi clean breaks down sludge & sediment so that it's a non-issue and removable by your filter, and it does the same for red slime (cyano), bubble, blue/green algae etc. To me, breaking it down for filter removal is NOT a band aid approach, in fact, imo, it's quite the opposite! Don't take my disagreement as harsh or ungrateful. I really appreciate everything everyone has suggested, and please keep them coming. I am just the type that if I don't agree with something, I voice it, and it's not in a threatening way and if it is I apologize because that's not the case. Just stating how I feel about it!