cyano - need suggestions!!

[Newportreefer]

My 50 gal reef has been up a year. It recently developed cyanobacteria. It is Reef B on my blog
http://mynewportreef.blogspot.com/

I was given an Ozonizer and injecting it into my DIY venturi protein skimmer. Shouldn't this help to ozidize the organic materials contributing to the growth of the cyano?

I drip kalkwasser on this system 3-4 times per week (about 2 liters). Will this make it worse or better?

How about Vitamin C?

 

[mr_X]

if you are not sure about the administration and effects of ozone, i'd stay clear of it.
how often do you do waterchanges? i don't think kalk can fuel cyano, but i also don't see alot of calcium thirsty corals either. are you sure you need it at this point?
what about vitamin c?
what else are you adding? some other reef vitamins perhaps?
there is something you are adding, or neglecting to remove, that it's feeding off of.
how much faith do you put in your DIY skimmer? are you satisfied with the skimmate?
any new inhabitants added recently?
how about your substrate. do you vacuum it at all?
...just some stuff to double check :wink:

 

[stubbsz]

Plenty of flow i thought was the key with cyano.

 

[tarpons]

If misery loves company, you are not alone. My reef was started in Sept '06. Never a spot of cyano.

Then in October I was out of town for 3 days. I was dumb and did not have a light timer. I decided 3 days of constant light was better than 3 days of constant dark. When I got back there was a Half dollar sized spot of cyano. Now the stuff is scattered around & about. Disgusting!

My xenias, 'shrooms, inverts & fish are all fine. My bubble coral is fine. A large anchor coral started regressing in september when the clowns started harrassing it.

You are not fighting the battle alone!

Candy

 

[mr_X]

alot of flow is not the key, but it will help to not let the cyano get a firm foothold.
some keep corals that require less flow, and aren't in the position to have a turbulent tank.
if i had to put my finger on one thing, it would be nutrient export that's the key.

i'm amazed that 3 days of light didn't do more damage. if i remember correctly, my friend left his on for 2 days and that was enough to wipe out alot of his corals. i think you got lucky

 

[Newportreefer]

I usually get where I don't do many water changes; however, I have done 2 on this reef within the past month. Each time I vacuum the bottom.
I am not getting much skimmate. One site said that while the ozonizer is being used there is usually less skimmate. I had to put a ball valve on the return from the skimmer before this to get any and then it was not much.
The refugium has a great deal of Chaetomorpha (sp). I harvest handfuls out every couple of weeks. I have been hoping that it is taking up a lot of the gunk. Also, supposedly, Xenia is a good absorber nutrients.

I am trying the lights out for two days on the reef and lights on on the refugium. I also have some red slime remover coming.

BTW, is there a particular species of hermit crab that feeds on this stuff?

 

[mr_X]

do yourself a favor- don't use the red slime remover. find the problem that's causing the red slime, don't just try to cure the symptom.
red slime remover is an antibiotic. you have beneficial bacteria in your tank that can be harmed by the red slime remover.

i've used it in the past and although the red slime left for a week or so, it came back and my tank was also negatively effected by it.

the chaeto in your refugium could be giving you a false reading on your phosphates.

you mentioned vitamin C earlier....are you adding it to your tank?

i've never seen anything that eats red slime. some websites might say different, but i think they are trying to make a sale on some cleanup crew critters, instead of offering good information.

 

[pcardone]

cyano likes phosphates? if there is a particular rock that it likes to grow on, blow it off with a powerhead chem clean is a temporary fix.

 

[mr_X]

http://netclub.athiel.com/cyano/cyanos2.htm[/quote]

 

[mr_X]

ignore the medication sales pitch.

 

[Newportreefer]

The lights have been out 2 days now and I'll turn them on in the AM to see how it has worked.

Mr X Re: Vit C: I have used it for years. I have seen leathers with diseaseed spots clear up under this treatment. It is added to many of the frozen foods on the market; but if you are like me you probably prepare your own frozen foods. I also add garlic to my frozen concoction. I have seen many finicky eaters really go for it. Now you will think I am really nuts!! :roll:

Oh well when you get my age you are expected to be a little off-kilter. 8O

 

[mr_X]

na, actually, i understand the garlic. this is the first i've heard vitamin c. maybe i just don't pay attention to labels

 

[Newportreefer]

It has been 48 hours and now the lights are back on Reef. I don't see any cyano any more. See the attached.

 

[engineerfish]

I use vitamin C in my food preparation as well and have noticed a great difference in all of the tank inhabitants. Many of them have even shown some signs of mating. I use the Reef Plus vitamin and amino acid supplement manufactured by Seachem. I even feed my food to my freshwater tanks with excellent results. This is great for soaking silversides for any large predators, fresh or salt. Most of the time my cyano comes from too much nutrient with too much light; lessen one or both and it usually clears up. For instance if it starts to appear I will only feed the fish directly, such as the larger predatories (so they don't eat everything), and not feed anything else till it clears. Has been effective for me for many years and I have no skimmers or UV, only mechanical and biological filtration with healthy fish and beautiful corals. When I feed my corals I turn off main pump and only run a powerhead (for circulation) until the water clears. This is a great way to feed to create the "marine snow" effect that many corals desire without having large loads on your filtration system. Keep a good variety of scavengers (especially the sand bed or substrate) to clean up what the corals don't consume and you will see a difference in the whole tank. I go to my lfs and he usually gives me small tubeworms and critters that show up in his sand beds but aren't able to sell because they are usually just leftovers in his live rock tanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Judging by the pics, and all that macro - you have nutrient export/management issues. The cyano alone is a symptom of a problem, not the problem itself.

 

[Newportreefer]

I would agree with the previous post. I have been feeding this reef too much and usually every day. I am going to cut back on frequency and amount to see if that will not. I spent more than an hour harvesting Caulerpa today - not that it shows