getting rid of cyano

[hamiltonguy]

I've had a few small breakouts in the past but didn't have any corals so i just turned off the lights for a couple days and it went away.

But now that I have an elegance coral and a torch coral, I was wondering if I can still do that or would that be too harmful?

I was aslo thinking of the cyano killer thing called "Red Slime" from Big Al's.

any suggestions?

[hamiltonguy]

Oh and I have two Koralia 1's. Most of the cyano is on the sand near the front of the tank and both my koralias are at the middle-lower end.

[abulgin]

Do NOT use red slime remover. It is an atibiotic and will kill good bacteria (I.e., your biofilter) along with the bad bacteria (I.e., red slime). The loss of your biofilter can cause ammonia spikes. Also, when red slime dissolves, it just released all of its bound up phosphatesand nitrates back into the water, so you need to do a lot of water changes for it to work, else you just leave the fuel in place for the next bloom.

Your corals can handle 3 days without lights, but it may stress them. Moreover, the lights out technique doesn't work (as you've figured out through the reappearance of red slime in your tank).

My advice is to figure out why you're getting it. Understand that all new tanks (1 year or less) are most likely going to have it. Assuming you practice good husbandry, it should eventually go away. Second, most tanks will have some BGA--it's just a fact of life. With those things said, I would do the regular stuff to eliminate BGA. Use RO/DI water. Test your salt mix to make sure it doesn't have a high amount of phosphates. Employ a refugium with macroalgae. Do regular water changes. Rinse frozen foods. Don't overfeed. Don't overstock. Run carbon. Use a good skimmer. And most importantly, be patient.

[hamiltonguy]

Well I'm using store bought RO water for top-offs and water changes. As for why it occurred I'm not too sure. I've read that it occurs in places with low flow but i have more than enough flow in the area where it's growing.

As of now I'm still hunting for some chaeto I can put in an AC110 and convert it to a mini fuge.

I feed once a day, pellets and flakes and sit there and watch to make sure everything gets eaten.

I'll run carbon for a couple days and see how that works out.

As for stocking, I don't think I'm over stocked. In a 20g I have four fish and the largest is probably 1.5 - 2".

Also, what is BGA?

[MrBunny]

Run carbon? I was on the understanding that carbon is bad.

[hamiltonguy]

The reason carbon's bad is because if you just leave it in your filter it will accumulate fish poop and uneaten food etc. Thus building up nitrates and since all the water is being pumped back into the tank, your pretty much pumping nitrates in your tank.

But, as far as I know (which isn't that far), if you want to clean your carbon pretty much everyday you shouldn't have too many problems.

[abulgin]

Originally posted by hamiltonguy
The reason carbon's bad is because if you just leave it in your filter it will accumulate fish poop and uneaten food etc. Thus building up nitrates and since all the water is being pumped back into the tank, your pretty much pumping nitrates in your tank.

But, as far as I know (which isn't that far), if you want to clean your carbon pretty much everyday you shouldn't have too many problems.

This is not correct. If you leave anything in your sump/tank, it will collect detritus. With that said, you need to change out carbon every 2-4 weeks anyway--nothing is going to build up in your carbon in 2 to 4 weeks to such a degree that it will send your nitrates up. Moreover, carbon should be run in either a fine mesh bag or a media reactor, neither of which is prone to accumulate detritus.

The benefits of carbon way outweigh any downsides. It is extremely good at removing dissolved organics and clarifying water. The reason you may have heard that carbon is bad is that some brands of carbon contain phosphate that can leach into your system over time. However, our resident chemist, Randy, has addressed this issue and believes that the amount of phosphate that is leached, when diluted by your system water, will have 0 impact on your system's phosphate level. Nevertheless, it's always a good idea to use quality products, including carbon (I use Marine Land's Black Diamond, and I've previously used ESV carbon).

[abulgin]

Well I'm using store bought RO water for top-offs and water changes.

Do you mean stuff out of a jug that you buy at a grocery store, or RO water that your LFS makes and sells? RO water (as opposed to RO/DI water) can still contain ions and dissolved solids. Have you tested it for phosphates and nitrates? If you buy it at your LFS, know that just because they claim its RO water doesn't mean they regularly change their filters.

I've read that it occurs in places with low flow but i have more than enough flow in the area where it's growing.

True, but it can grow anywhere--I've had cyano grow right in front of a power head.

I'll run carbon for a couple days and see how that works out.

This is going to take weeks to months to resolve, not a few days. Carbon is just one tool. You also need to siphon off cyano when you do water changes.

Also, what is BGA?

Blue-Green Algae, another name for cyanobacteria.

[hamiltonguy]

Originally posted by abulgin
This is not correct. If you leave anything in your sump/tank, it will collect detritus. With that said, you need to change out carbon every 2-4 weeks anyway--nothing is going to build up in your carbon in 2 to 4 weeks to such a degree that it will send your nitrates up. Moreover, carbon should be run in either a fine mesh bag or a media reactor, neither of which is prone to accumulate detritus.

The benefits of carbon way outweigh any downsides. It is extremely good at removing dissolved organics and clarifying water. The reason you may have heard that carbon is bad is that some brands of carbon contain phosphate that can leach into your system over time. However, our resident chemist, Randy, has addressed this issue and believes that the amount of phosphate that is leached, when diluted by your system water, will have 0 impact on your system's phosphate level. Nevertheless, it's always a good idea to use quality products, including carbon (I use Marine Land's Black Diamond, and I've previously used ESV carbon).

Thanks for correcting me. I believe I was misinformed then. When I first started, I was told that it's not to good to run carbon for the reasons that I stated and since those aquarists had a few years experience I believed that they were right.

As for the water, I buy it from another reef who owns a Water Depot store close to where I live and no I didn't of testing it. I'll do that as soon as I get back home.

It's mostly on the sand right now, I'll try to siphon out as much as I can with disturbing the sand and before it spreads.

Thanks for the info and correction abulgin, 'preciate it.

[Vin7250]

phosphates; check your levels. They may show up as 0 if the cyano has used them for fuel. Regular water changes, GFO (read up on it though before you use it), check your feeding habbits, and good flow.

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

Check this thread out it can help you / anyone with this problem
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=725686 GL!