Cyanobacteria Problems!

FSTOCKMAL · 07/31/2008, 08:08 AM

cyanobacteria problems, and I haven't a clue why!
All my number are at zero and I'm using Di R/O water for replacement.
All corals, no fish, nothing going into the tank to cause a jump in pollutants.
I have use "ChemiClean" twice now but the stuff keeps comming back.
The last thing it could be is my lighting so I changed all my bulbs today.
If this doesn't work....?!*&$%??
Any suggestions????

waynesworld · 07/31/2008, 08:41 AM

what type of lighting I would get it using old mh bulbs that is why I went to t5

DMBillies · 07/31/2008, 09:24 AM

My first hunch would be that you don't have enough flow in the tank. Your levels being 0 is not that good of an indication that you don't have nitrate or phosphate problems because a lot of times the symptoms you notice (algae, cyano, etc.) are using up those nutrients as fast as they are being produced. If you don't have a lot of flow, stuff will settle out and cause problems. Cyano also grows a lot easier in lower flow areas where it can get a foothold. Of course, you may have plenty of flow and I could be off base but the majority of cyano problems I have encountered were a result of low flow.

FSTOCKMAL · 07/31/2008, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DMBillies
My first hunch would be that you don't have enough flow in the tank. Your levels being 0 is not that good of an indication that you don't have nitrate or phosphate problems because a lot of times the symptoms you notice (algae, cyano, etc.) are using up those nutrients as fast as they are being produced. If you don't have a lot of flow, stuff will settle out and cause problems. Cyano also grows a lot easier in lower flow areas where it can get a foothold. Of course, you may have plenty of flow and I could be off base but the majority of cyano problems I have encountered were a result of low flow.

I have plenty of flow throughout the tank and I'm using a ferric granular oxide phosphate reactor too. I'm also using ozone through my protein skimmer half of the time. I don't even have any fish in my tank.....and all the corals (SPS,LPS and softies) are doing great.
My MH lamps turned just a year last month so I just replaced them along with a pair of T5's.
That's my last straw...after that, I don't know what to do.
I'm really hoping it was my lighting that caused the cyano break out.

crumbletop · 07/31/2008, 05:07 PM

Any new rock in the tank? Is the rock old rock that was in a high-nutrient tank? If so, the rock could be leaching phosphate that is eaten up by the bacteria before it has a chance to be adsorbed by the GFO.

FSTOCKMAL · 07/31/2008, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by crumbletop
Any new rock in the tank? Is the rock old rock that was in a high-nutrient tank? If so, the rock could be leaching phosphate that is eaten up by the bacteria before it has a chance to be adsorbed by the GFO.

Nope!....nothing new added to the rank in over a year!

yerboy · 08/01/2008, 06:24 AM

i jsut read on another forum that dosing with vitamin c works to rid cyano. Anyone else ever tried this?

FSTOCKMAL · 08/01/2008, 02:06 PM

After thinking very hard about my cyanobacteria problems...and checking all causes of the stuff and ruling each one out, I have come to believe that possibly the problem may be due to my lime and vinegar mix (Randy Holmes-Farley) I'm adding to the tank. Randy has reported in another thread that there have been some reports of "the potential for unusual algal growths"
using the mix. To test my suspicions of the vinegar and lime mix, I've stopped adding the mix all together for one week. If the cyanobacteria disappears, I will have to blame the problem on the vinegar and lime mix I've been using. From there, it would have to be either the vinegar or the lime I'm using. Further test will tell which of the two could be causing my cyanobacteria. I could be all wrong...but it's worth a try.

DMBillies · 08/01/2008, 02:12 PM

What Lime are you using? I'd guess it would be the vinegar, which I have also read can lead to unusual bacterial growth and other such issues that you mention. Most people I know don't use that combination, they just use lime. At least that would be a fairly easy fix... I hope it works out.

FSTOCKMAL · 08/01/2008, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DMBillies
What Lime are you using? I'd guess it would be the vinegar, which I have also read can lead to unusual bacterial growth and other such issues that you mention. Most people I know don't use that combination, they just use lime. At least that would be a fairly easy fix... I hope it works out.

I'm using Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime and straight 5% vinegar from the food store.
My guess, (at least I'm hoping) it's the vinegar. I'll post my findings in a week or two.

07/31/2008, 08:08 AM	#1
FSTOCKMAL Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 28	Cyanobacteria Problems! cyanobacteria problems, and I haven't a clue why! All my number are at zero and I'm using Di R/O water for replacement. All corals, no fish, nothing going into the tank to cause a jump in pollutants. I have use "ChemiClean" twice now but the stuff keeps comming back. The last thing it could be is my lighting so I changed all my bulbs today. If this doesn't work....?!*&$%?? Any suggestions????

07/31/2008, 08:41 AM	#2
waynesworld Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Murfreesboro TN Posts: 2,013	what type of lighting I would get it using old mh bulbs that is why I went to t5 __________________ The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

07/31/2008, 09:24 AM	#3
DMBillies Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 2,086	My first hunch would be that you don't have enough flow in the tank. Your levels being 0 is not that good of an indication that you don't have nitrate or phosphate problems because a lot of times the symptoms you notice (algae, cyano, etc.) are using up those nutrients as fast as they are being produced. If you don't have a lot of flow, stuff will settle out and cause problems. Cyano also grows a lot easier in lower flow areas where it can get a foothold. Of course, you may have plenty of flow and I could be off base but the majority of cyano problems I have encountered were a result of low flow. __________________ Brian

07/31/2008, 05:07 PM	#5
crumbletop Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 4,718	Any new rock in the tank? Is the rock old rock that was in a high-nutrient tank? If so, the rock could be leaching phosphate that is eaten up by the bacteria before it has a chance to be adsorbed by the GFO. __________________ "Misers get up early in the morning; and burglars, I am informed, get up the night before." - GK Chesterton Current Tank Info: 90 gallon AGA RR. 20 gal sump. 6x54W T5. AquaController Jr.

08/01/2008, 02:12 PM	#9
DMBillies Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 2,086	What Lime are you using? I'd guess it would be the vinegar, which I have also read can lead to unusual bacterial growth and other such issues that you mention. Most people I know don't use that combination, they just use lime. At least that would be a fairly easy fix... I hope it works out. __________________ Brian

08/01/2008, 06:24 AM	#7
yerboy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Huntsville AL Posts: 275	i jsut read on another forum that dosing with vitamin c works to rid cyano. Anyone else ever tried this?

08/01/2008, 02:06 PM	#8
FSTOCKMAL Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 28	After thinking very hard about my cyanobacteria problems...and checking all causes of the stuff and ruling each one out, I have come to believe that possibly the problem may be due to my lime and vinegar mix (Randy Holmes-Farley) I'm adding to the tank. Randy has reported in another thread that there have been some reports of "the potential for unusual algal growths" using the mix. To test my suspicions of the vinegar and lime mix, I've stopped adding the mix all together for one week. If the cyanobacteria disappears, I will have to blame the problem on the vinegar and lime mix I've been using. From there, it would have to be either the vinegar or the lime I'm using. Further test will tell which of the two could be causing my cyanobacteria. I could be all wrong...but it's worth a try.