Another Cyano thread.

lpsouth1978 · 09/19/2015, 10:28 AM

Hi all, I am by no means new to the world of reef tanks, but in my ~15 years of saltwater tanks, I have not had to deal with Cyano, until now.

I have a ~6 month old system that has a few areas growing mats of Cyano. It is by no means an infestation, but it is unsightly in those areas and I would like to get rid of it. I suspect that the problem is flow in those areas, but wanted your opinions.

Setup:

300DD tank
Custom LED @ 1368 total Watts, running at about 50%
Reef Octopus Regal 300SSS skimmer
Biopellet reactor
GAC reactor, only runs part time
Fuge with rubble and Chaeto
Jebao DCT-15000 return pump
2x Jebao RW-20 wave maker pumps for flow, with JBWave
RO/DI for ALL water
Tunze ATO
55 gallon ATO Reservoir
100 and/or 200 micron filter socks, changed at least weekly

Fish:

Naso Tang
Yellow Tang
Achiles Tang
Melanurus Wrasse
Lineatus Wrasse
Carpenters Fairy Wrasse
Green Mandarin
Midas Blenny
Royal Gramma Basslet
7x Green Chromis
4x Lyretail Anthias

Inverts:

Lots of crabs and snails
Blue Maxima Clam

Corals:

Many different SPS
Duncans
Torch Coral

Tank Params:

Temp = 78-79
SG = 1.025
Ammonia = 0
Nitrate = <5ppm
Phosphate = 0 (Hanna Checker)
Calcium = 490
Alk = 9dKh
Mag = 1275

We feed the fish 2x a day using LRS Reef Frenzy and mysis or LRS Herbivore Frenzy and Mysis. We also offer both Nori and red algae sheets daily for the tangs. The lights start to ramp up at 6:30am and start to ramp down at 6:30 pm. The lights are at full power from 8:00am to 6:30pm. We use this schedule because it gives us the chance to feed everything before and after work, otherwise the fish are all in hiding.

This picture shows where the Cyano is growing, though there is none in this picture. The biggest area is on the very right side of the tank. The other is closer to the middle of the tank, but in a small cove in the rocks.

Allentown · 09/19/2015, 11:15 AM

Biopellets give you 1 of 3 things. A low algae healthy tank or a cyano infirmed tank, or an bacterial bloom inferned tank.

And it's about equal chance you get one as the other as the variable that determines one from the other has yet to be determined.

Don't shoot the messenger, I am just going by Randy Holmes opinion.

LRS stuff tends to be really messy I only use it about once or twice a week.

No judgement here but you've got to try and get to those filter socks 2x a week...I doubt that is the problem but it's not helping. Even when traveling Sun-Fri I still come home Friday and change them, then change them again on Sunday before I leave.

I know the RW 20s move lots of water, but you need more flow. Try adding a couple RW4s or RW8s to the back glass pointing forward. My tank is 75g less than yours and already has more flow..and I'm considering adding more.

Also, is that a window behind the tank? It's time to add a black back ground or get the tank painted...it will also look better asthetically.

Since you only run GAC part time in that reactor...consider running GFO in it when it is not running GAC (alternate). I run both and change them very frequently.

lpsouth1978 · 09/19/2015, 11:52 AM

Thank you for the thoughts and advice. I am not convinced that the biopellet reactor is the culprit here. If the cyano was growing throughout the tank, I could see that, but it is only in those 2 spots.

I will try to get to the filter socks more often. They are a bit difficult to change on my setup, but I will do my best.

I have already considered more flow and as stated in my first post, I believe this to be part of the problem.

Yes, there is a sliding glass door on one side of the tank. Blacking out the side of the tank is not an option. We have it setup so that we can see through all sides of the tank and that is not changing. The curtains stay closed 95% of the time and I can certainly add darker curtains.

We actually have a GFO reactor as well, and we were running it for the first few months, but we found that our water was too clean. We were getting 0 phosphates and 0 nitrates. Even after taking the GFO offline, we have only seen phosphates rise to 0.02ppm. We reduced our biopellets to 1/2 the previous quantity and now we are getting <5ppm nitrates.

What about just starting with something like 1 cup of GFO? would that even have an effect on a 300g tank?

09/19/2015, 10:28 AM	#1
lpsouth1978 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 915	Another Cyano thread. Hi all, I am by no means new to the world of reef tanks, but in my ~15 years of saltwater tanks, I have not had to deal with Cyano, until now. I have a ~6 month old system that has a few areas growing mats of Cyano. It is by no means an infestation, but it is unsightly in those areas and I would like to get rid of it. I suspect that the problem is flow in those areas, but wanted your opinions. Setup: 300DD tank Custom LED @ 1368 total Watts, running at about 50% Reef Octopus Regal 300SSS skimmer Biopellet reactor GAC reactor, only runs part time Fuge with rubble and Chaeto Jebao DCT-15000 return pump 2x Jebao RW-20 wave maker pumps for flow, with JBWave RO/DI for ALL water Tunze ATO 55 gallon ATO Reservoir 100 and/or 200 micron filter socks, changed at least weekly Fish: Naso Tang Yellow Tang Achiles Tang Melanurus Wrasse Lineatus Wrasse Carpenters Fairy Wrasse Green Mandarin Midas Blenny Royal Gramma Basslet 7x Green Chromis 4x Lyretail Anthias Inverts: Lots of crabs and snails Blue Maxima Clam Corals: Many different SPS Duncans Torch Coral Tank Params: Temp = 78-79 SG = 1.025 Ammonia = 0 Nitrate = <5ppm Phosphate = 0 (Hanna Checker) Calcium = 490 Alk = 9dKh Mag = 1275 We feed the fish 2x a day using LRS Reef Frenzy and mysis or LRS Herbivore Frenzy and Mysis. We also offer both Nori and red algae sheets daily for the tangs. The lights start to ramp up at 6:30am and start to ramp down at 6:30 pm. The lights are at full power from 8:00am to 6:30pm. We use this schedule because it gives us the chance to feed everything before and after work, otherwise the fish are all in hiding. This picture shows where the Cyano is growing, though there is none in this picture. The biggest area is on the very right side of the tank. The other is closer to the middle of the tank, but in a small cove in the rocks. __________________ Current tank: 40B work in progress w/20L sump

09/19/2015, 11:15 AM	#2
Allentown Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Augusta, Ga Posts: 975	Biopellets give you 1 of 3 things. A low algae healthy tank or a cyano infirmed tank, or an bacterial bloom inferned tank. And it's about equal chance you get one as the other as the variable that determines one from the other has yet to be determined. Don't shoot the messenger, I am just going by Randy Holmes opinion. LRS stuff tends to be really messy I only use it about once or twice a week. No judgement here but you've got to try and get to those filter socks 2x a week...I doubt that is the problem but it's not helping. Even when traveling Sun-Fri I still come home Friday and change them, then change them again on Sunday before I leave. I know the RW 20s move lots of water, but you need more flow. Try adding a couple RW4s or RW8s to the back glass pointing forward. My tank is 75g less than yours and already has more flow..and I'm considering adding more. Also, is that a window behind the tank? It's time to add a black back ground or get the tank painted...it will also look better asthetically. Since you only run GAC part time in that reactor...consider running GFO in it when it is not running GAC (alternate). I run both and change them very frequently. __________________ NEW Build: 225g 72x27x27 Tigger Emerald 39 Sump, ConeS CO-3, 3xHydra 52, BRS 2 part dosers, Vortech MP-40 QD Gyre XF150, Neptune Wav x2, 2x Jaebo RW-4, SMR-1, MR-1 Last edited by Allentown; 09/19/2015 at 11:25 AM.

09/19/2015, 11:52 AM	#3
lpsouth1978 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 915	Thank you for the thoughts and advice. I am not convinced that the biopellet reactor is the culprit here. If the cyano was growing throughout the tank, I could see that, but it is only in those 2 spots. I will try to get to the filter socks more often. They are a bit difficult to change on my setup, but I will do my best. I have already considered more flow and as stated in my first post, I believe this to be part of the problem. Yes, there is a sliding glass door on one side of the tank. Blacking out the side of the tank is not an option. We have it setup so that we can see through all sides of the tank and that is not changing. The curtains stay closed 95% of the time and I can certainly add darker curtains. We actually have a GFO reactor as well, and we were running it for the first few months, but we found that our water was too clean. We were getting 0 phosphates and 0 nitrates. Even after taking the GFO offline, we have only seen phosphates rise to 0.02ppm. We reduced our biopellets to 1/2 the previous quantity and now we are getting <5ppm nitrates. What about just starting with something like 1 cup of GFO? would that even have an effect on a 300g tank? __________________ Current tank: 40B work in progress w/20L sump