cyano algea

[garys reef]

i have been trying to get rid of this for about a month now its not out of control yet i have been using special blend and water changes sucking out whatever red junk i see my question is should i be doing water changes while using that stuff and should i shut down my skimmer

 

[KathyC]

Yes you should be doing water changes and no leave the skimmer running.

How much Special Blend are you adding/how often and what size is the tank?

What % water changes are you doing? Is that the same as you usually do? You might want to increase it somewhat.

 

[waynotcars]

I used special blend to get rid of red cyano. I did not do water changes. It was all gone in 1 week. I kept skimmer running. It does not affect skimmer opreration. It is a bacteria which needs to colonize. Water changes during dosing defeats the purpose. You're just removing the bacteria before it has a chance to colonize. As instructions say, saltwater reduces effectiveness so use 2x what the dosage on box says.

 

[Jzhou]

What type of water are you using when you do your water changes. You can also try the shut your lights for 4 days trick. Corals aren't really affected, but the cyano starves to death.

 

[waynotcars]

Shutting lights off is nothing but a band-aid. A day after lights are turned back on the cyano will come back. Find the problem and attack it. Don't use band aid approaches.

 

[Jzhou]

Personally I think it might be a nutrients problem, thats why i asked about the type of water he's using.

 

[garys reef]

im using rodi water i only dosed 75 ml's so maybe ill go home and dose another 75 mils wife gonna kill me that stuff stinks its a 75 gallon tank with quite a few sps i think this whole thing started by over feeding new light fixture t5's bought in july

 

[garys reef]

i forgot to add 30 gallon water change

 

[waynotcars]

It only stinks like crazy in the bottle LOL. (it's horrible!) Once it hits the water the smell disappears. My 220 was covered in red cyano and I'm not kidding, in 1 week it was completely gone using this stuff. Dose real heavy today, then dose same amount bout 5 days later.

 

[jadakiss]

first of all what salt ur using, how much are u feeding and what ur feeding. give us some info about ur system.

 

[garys reef]

im feeding frozen brine and mysis i was feeding two cubes and a quater sized chunk everyday i just switched to esv salt was using tropic marin pro reef before that 75 gallon corner overflow tank 20 long sump with bermuda skimmer and two little fishies reactor running rowaphos when u say dose heavy what do u call heavy

 

[jadakiss]

ok listen dont over dose on the special blend , follow the instructions, if u over dose ull have a bacteria bloom and u can limit the oxygen in the water.how many fish u have

 

[garys reef]

1 yellow tang 1 hippo tang 1 flame angel 1 manderin and 2 small clowns 2 fire shrimp and 2 cleanershrimp and some hermits and snails

 

[waynotcars]

Jadakiss was touting special blend all the time. He loved it on every post he made for a while. In fact, recommended it to me in one thread. He over-dosed by using it practically every day! That's not what I mean and not what you should do. It seems you're feeding a bit heavy though. Check nitrates again. By heavy dose I mean, as the box states, saltwater inhibits it effectiveness so you can double thee recommended initial dose and 7 days later double the recommended follow up dose. Just double the doses stated on box but follow the time schedule as stated. Anything is not good if you go crazy with it.

 

[garys reef]

thanks i got ya dont do a water change till im done with the bottle

 

[waynotcars]

Right, give it a try. It won't give you a bacteria bloom if you don't go nuts with it and if you ever did get a bllom it's not enough to starve your fish of oxygen if you stop over-dosing. If you ever get a bloom just back off and all will be fine.

 

[garys reef]

thanks hope it works ! driving me nuts i cut back to two cubes of brine everyother day u think thats good ???

 

[Jzhou]

Damn that's still a lot of food.

 

[waynotcars]

Sure is a lot of food. You don't need that much. Cut way back for a while.

 

[waynotcars]

What are your nitrate and phosphate readings??