cyanobacteria problem

IJayC1 · 05/03/2010, 09:28 PM

ok, I hate to hijack here but I have a nasty cyano outbreak, my numbers are good i think, 450 cal, 0 phos, 0 trates, 1500 on mg and 8.5 alk. I have a 55 gal tank with 2 modded 12's for flow. Will sugar or vodka help with this cyano problem? Ive syphoned it out, done the water changes, Ive even done a lights out for 3 days. The next step is acid bathing everything. Suggestions?

bertoni · 05/04/2010, 12:06 AM

Split from a Chemistry Forum thread on sugar dosing.

I'd try vodka before trying sugar. This article might help:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

A better skimmer might help, too. How much food is going into the tank per day?

ramtmac · 05/04/2010, 12:17 AM

I have a 55 gal also and actually going through same problem now. Yesterday i bought a Chemiclean red slime remover from my lfs. Suppose to take about two days to work. been about one day and its already starting to work. Not to cheap though about 16.99 over here

808Rob · 05/04/2010, 01:04 AM

Does the Chemiclean bring down your N03 as well? Is it safe for livestock?

bertoni · 05/04/2010, 01:50 AM

Chemi-Clean seems to be an antibiotic, and it's been known to crash tanks. If there's an underlying problem, the cyanobacteria will return. I don't use this type of product anymore.

Dont Ask Me · 05/04/2010, 01:56 AM

Chemi clean works but only for a limited amount of time, you need to get to the source of the cyano, how old are your bulbs?

troyman · 05/04/2010, 03:29 AM

if you havent been dosing vodka now is not the time to start when you have a problem sugar is the worse it causes cyno find your problem and fix it chemi clean kills your good bacteria also it also lowers oxygen level in tank and puts stress on animals its not the answer

mr.maroonsalty · 05/04/2010, 07:16 AM

Like has been said, track down the nutrients, weather its from your water supply, feeding, maintenance. If it is simply detritus is accumulating somewhere like in sponges or a sump, it can be an overnight fix. If the source is absorbed PO4 in gravel or rocks, it will take much longer to clean out, and it will take diligence, and likely using, and regularly replacing chemical filtration (gac, gfo, purigen, poly-pads...). There are biological controls like macro algae, nitrate reducers and ats'. These things take time, cyno is an early life form and very good and competing for nutrients. For the daily/weekly grind, I step up my water changes from weekly to three biweekly wc's (be careful your make up water isn't your source) I use a small airline tubing to syphon the cyano from rocks, and a larger vinyl tube the sand bed. One thing that can be help to do this longer, is to syphon into a filter sock in either a bucket or sump, returning the water to the tank by hand or with a pump. I use a small $20 shop vac to clean my sump at a regular interval. Other daily combative measure to take is to shelve your feeds, for perhaps a less polluting food and/or cut way back, shortening the light cycle, raising pH. You've probably heard all this before?
Lastly, just because your test kits tell you zero, it doesn't mean your levels are at zero, more than likely they are telling you they are below the detectable levels of that test kit. I'm on the waning side of a cyano issue right now, I could easily go a week or more with out having to clean the glass, yet the red stuff could comeback overnight. I've been doing many of the things I mentioned, along with gradually pulling a 6 year old sandbed from the dt, now I may be ahead of it, coralline is grow well, corals are colouring up, and my patches are getting smaller and much thinner. GL

mthomp · 05/04/2010, 07:18 AM

yeah you say your phosphates are 0 but if you cyano they really are not, it just that the cyano is eating em.

Chris27 · 05/04/2010, 07:28 AM

Siphon it all out, then run the chemiclean PER MANUFACTURES DIRECTIONS then do a large water change with 0 TDS water....run some carbon and phosphate removal media...it will go away eventually...I promise...directing a little flow towards the problem areas can also help also. It's natural, it grows all over the ocean like you wouldn't believe, and you won't find old light bulbs or excess nutrients in the ocean....

05/03/2010, 09:28 PM	#1
IJayC1 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 103	cyanobacteria problem ok, I hate to hijack here but I have a nasty cyano outbreak, my numbers are good i think, 450 cal, 0 phos, 0 trates, 1500 on mg and 8.5 alk. I have a 55 gal tank with 2 modded 12's for flow. Will sugar or vodka help with this cyano problem? Ive syphoned it out, done the water changes, Ive even done a lights out for 3 days. The next step is acid bathing everything. Suggestions? __________________ Jay Current Tank Info: mostly softies and lps looking tp start sps shortly

05/04/2010, 12:06 AM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Split from a Chemistry Forum thread on sugar dosing. I'd try vodka before trying sugar. This article might help: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php A better skimmer might help, too. How much food is going into the tank per day? __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/04/2010, 01:50 AM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Chemi-Clean seems to be an antibiotic, and it's been known to crash tanks. If there's an underlying problem, the cyanobacteria will return. I don't use this type of product anymore. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/04/2010, 07:16 AM	#8
mr.maroonsalty Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: upstateny Posts: 2,504	Like has been said, track down the nutrients, weather its from your water supply, feeding, maintenance. If it is simply detritus is accumulating somewhere like in sponges or a sump, it can be an overnight fix. If the source is absorbed PO4 in gravel or rocks, it will take much longer to clean out, and it will take diligence, and likely using, and regularly replacing chemical filtration (gac, gfo, purigen, poly-pads...). There are biological controls like macro algae, nitrate reducers and ats'. These things take time, cyno is an early life form and very good and competing for nutrients. For the daily/weekly grind, I step up my water changes from weekly to three biweekly wc's (be careful your make up water isn't your source) I use a small airline tubing to syphon the cyano from rocks, and a larger vinyl tube the sand bed. One thing that can be help to do this longer, is to syphon into a filter sock in either a bucket or sump, returning the water to the tank by hand or with a pump. I use a small $20 shop vac to clean my sump at a regular interval. Other daily combative measure to take is to shelve your feeds, for perhaps a less polluting food and/or cut way back, shortening the light cycle, raising pH. You've probably heard all this before? Lastly, just because your test kits tell you zero, it doesn't mean your levels are at zero, more than likely they are telling you they are below the detectable levels of that test kit. I'm on the waning side of a cyano issue right now, I could easily go a week or more with out having to clean the glass, yet the red stuff could comeback overnight. I've been doing many of the things I mentioned, along with gradually pulling a 6 year old sandbed from the dt, now I may be ahead of it, coralline is grow well, corals are colouring up, and my patches are getting smaller and much thinner. GL __________________ Back from the dead! Current Tank Info: 140 dt reef

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05/04/2010, 12:17 AM	#3
ramtmac Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 407	I have a 55 gal also and actually going through same problem now. Yesterday i bought a Chemiclean red slime remover from my lfs. Suppose to take about two days to work. been about one day and its already starting to work. Not to cheap though about 16.99 over here

05/04/2010, 01:04 AM	#4
808Rob Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 277	Does the Chemiclean bring down your N03 as well? Is it safe for livestock?

05/04/2010, 01:56 AM	#6
Dont Ask Me Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Australia, sunshine coast Posts: 234	Chemi clean works but only for a limited amount of time, you need to get to the source of the cyano, how old are your bulbs?

05/04/2010, 03:29 AM	#7
troyman Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: troy ny Posts: 1,025	if you havent been dosing vodka now is not the time to start when you have a problem sugar is the worse it causes cyno find your problem and fix it chemi clean kills your good bacteria also it also lowers oxygen level in tank and puts stress on animals its not the answer

05/04/2010, 07:18 AM	#9
mthomp Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 766	yeah you say your phosphates are 0 but if you cyano they really are not, it just that the cyano is eating em.

05/04/2010, 07:28 AM	#10
Chris27 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 4,452	Siphon it all out, then run the chemiclean PER MANUFACTURES DIRECTIONS then do a large water change with 0 TDS water....run some carbon and phosphate removal media...it will go away eventually...I promise...directing a little flow towards the problem areas can also help also. It's natural, it grows all over the ocean like you wouldn't believe, and you won't find old light bulbs or excess nutrients in the ocean....