LIGHTS OUT

meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
I am sooooo freakin frustrated.......It seems I am getting cyano again in the 28G cube....I HAVE NO IDEA why......so I am shutting the lights out for a few days....only will have them on for 1 hour in the a.m. to feed the gobies
ALSO....I am sooooo tired of the brown on the sand and fuzz on the rocks in the 225G.....I am seriously thinking of turning the MH lights out for the rest of the week
Will the BTA's be ok with just actinics for a few days????
 
luvmyreef

luvmyreef

Active Member
Did you use chemiclean on the 28? My gbta did just fine during the four days my lights were out. I am gonna say yours will be ok too.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
NO....I had a little red slime remover and used it last week.....did not work at all :(
I am gonna do the lights out for a few days and a good w/c on Friday I think
 
luvmyreef

luvmyreef

Active Member
Worth a shot. I have never used the red slime remover, only the chemiclean. I know that they are two different treatments. Chemiclean has always worked for me. Goodluck with it. :)
 
fishmaster78

fishmaster78

Member
yeah i hate the cyano too.... i just started getting it the other day so i'm cutting my lights back two hours everyday for the next week
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Is the cyano located in one area or throughout the tank? Lights out will help in the short run but may not be the answer you are looking for.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by spanko http:///t/389241/lights-out#post_3438868
Is the cyano located in one area or throughout the tank? Lights out will help in the short run but may not be the answer you are looking for.
It's in all different areas :( I am cutting down food too.
In the cube I have 2 Koralia nanos, 1 on each side along with the original filter of course. I was contemplating getting a K1......Do you think I should try that????
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Can you post a picture of the tank, or point me to a thread that has a recent one, so that I can see the layout of the rockwork?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator

It's hard to tell, but the middle section is an open cave....as is the front of the tank.....I am still looking for more pics
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Here's one that shows the front a little better (pre 2nd PH) and I no longer have the yellow polyps in there...or the tall plant in the back left...or the green one front right.and most of that colt has withered away
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Observations:
The last picture looks quite packed in. The one nano powerhead and return would not IMO give enough flow throughout the tank to keep detritus up in the water column for removal. Does this tank have only one set of overflow slots at the top or is there another towards the bottom?
I am not sure the placement even of two nano powerheads at the back wall facing forward and the return facing forward are giving the tank enough flow to the rockwork again to keep detritus suspended.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
It's hard to see in the pics, BUT the rocks have a lot of openings.
It has one overflow in the center...2 returns at top...I have one pointed to top of water...one pointed down
Do you think I should take one of the powerheads, and place it going across the back??? OR SHOULD I get a stronger one???
Here is an old pic...but shows the caves better..AND you can see the openings behind too (I think)

 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
So where is the cyano in the tank? Is it just small patches around the tank, some larger patches in some area, kind of point me to where in the last picture in post #16. right side, left side , front etc. etc.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Henry...I get patchs all over....I get some back left and right corners, along the sides.....center in the cave...across the front...and even on the rocks (lower to middle rocks)
I wish I had some pics of it :(
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Sound like there is a flow problem either not enough or not in the correct pattern to me here. However for the purposes of others looking in I will also mention some basics.
How old is the lighting, spectrum changes can help to cause a bloom?
Are you keeping the sand nice and tidy via the use of some good shifting and surface cleaning critters like snails, worms etc?
Are you keeping the rock work nice and tidy via the use of some good critters as well as the auarists best friend the Turkey Baster?
Are you changing out on a regular basis things like floss - pads - chemipure - purigen - bio wheels - sponges etc. etc.?
Are you cleaning any biomedia being used like balls - tubes - rings - ?
Is there a lid on this tank? Is there enough surface agitation? Gas exchange is also an important consideration here as a build up in Co2 could also be a contributor.
And lastly remember they need only two things to grow - lighting and nutrients. DOC's, phosphates, and nitrates, are the primary source of nutrient for cyano. If you are not aggressively removing these sources and they are building up in your system well boom. Also as with any algae bloom testing for these things will always show lower readings that what there is in the system. They are being used by and pent up in the algae - cyano itself but are still there.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
The lights are the ones that came with the tank which I got the end of February
I have a tiger sand conch, fancy nass, and regular nass that sift/shift sand
I baste daily
change filter bag frequently as needed
NO bio-media
YES there is a lid....the lid that comes with the cube...I have one of the returns facing to the top of the water for top agitation....the back section is open of course
I DO THINK I have been overfeeding....with only 2 green banded gobies and the peppermint shrimp. I have drastically cut back
DOCS????? what is that?
just got home so checked nitrates...they are 0.....phosphates are .1
I think I will move the left PH to the outer wall and face it so it blows across the back.....STILL....should I get a stronger one????
 
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