Unique issue, seriously could use some help

[rajkovich207]

Hopefully I can find the right words to phrase this right, and it doesn't become to long winded.

My first sign of an issue is cyano. It has been creeping up more and more slowly but surely. Saturday I came back from a 4 day trip to see that the cyano has taken over many of my rocks. solution, Added another power head yesterday. Although not much time has passed, it seemed like the cyano has gotten worse and I came home from work today to find my skimmer over flowing.

Befuddled, I fix it and sit to brain storm in front of my tank. The corals seem ok but on closer inspection have paled some and PE isn't as great as it has been.

My brother house sat and watched the tank while I was away, he has experience with my dads tank so I am confident nothing has been added to the tank that was not suppose to be added.

I dose a mixture of reef frenzy, reef chilli and elos reef food about once a week and 1mL of acro power once a day. The food is a newish experiment but not something I am super concerned about harming anything.

Now for the unique part, and also where it gets complicated. My original suspect for the cyano was my algae turf scrubber. In the past 2 weeks it has really started to take off in growth, assuming that the new growth sucked up either to much phosphate or nitrate causing an imbalance creating the ideal environment for the cyano to grow, BUT remembering I have a poly filter in the tank, I checked it and according to the color I have tannins/humic acid present in my tank.
upon some quick research I find out that humic acid comes from the decomposition of plants or can be harvested from oxidized coal... what the what? yeah that's what I said.. but here is where my mind (with its loose nuts and bolts) starts a turnin and makes sense of the problem.

The algae turf scrubber may be taking out the nutrients faster then the algae in my "fuge" can use it (I have read reports of this and the ATS lies before the fuge so its logical to me) causing a die off (worth noting, I haven't noticed a decrease in algae die off) second I am using carbon, stick with my here, I recently upped the air flow for the ATS and have about a month old carbon sitting at the end of the filtration chain in a bag for the water to passively pass over.

and FINALLY where I actually get to the question! what do I do? could the old carbon and increased oxygen content in the tank be the problem, is the the ATS causing algae die off creating the humic acid? do I shut it off and pull the carbon?

I have an inkling that if I can rid the humic acid (which I am unsure how to do such a thing other then a couple WCs and fresh polyfilters) the cyano will disappear. if you have made it this far then I sincerely thank you, and im sure there is an easy solution for the humic acid but in my state of panic I didn't want to do anything rash and fast so I figured I would ask.
again this question is geared more for the humic acid and not the cyano, if the cyano does not cease then I will worry about it later.

thank you so much for any comments questions concernes bumps advice or any input what so ever in advance!
Tony

 

[Dr_Steve]

Cyano is generally caused from one or more of the following. Excess nutrients, poor flow/ dead spots and improper spectrum/aging lights. If you are running an ATS, the macro in your fuge will slowly die off as hair algae is much better at processing nutrients than the macro you would use in your fuge. Best to clean your ATS regularly. What are your nitrates and phosphates? I would back off the feeding to half of what you are feeding now for the time being and cut your photoperiod to 4/5 hours per day. Increasing your flow is also a good idea. You can also manually remove as much cyano as you can. Some people have had some luck w top crown snails although it's hit or miss with them. Also, Korallen Zucht makes a good product that is designed to out-compete the cyano when dosed properly. When all else fails, there is always chemi-clean although I would use that as a last resort. Good luck.

 

[rajkovich207]

Just wanted to bump this one time, again this question is based on the humic acid and what I should be doing. Thanks for the reply though doc

 

[mcarroll]

Most of the poop in your tank is always going to be plant matter (algae, etc), whether it's from the cleanup crew or the fish. I look at the "humic acid" reading on a polyfilter as a "normal" reading.....not actionable.

Someone else may have a better idea, but I think you're stuck with your humic acid and may be over-thinking this a bit. Which is okay...how I spend most of my time, I think!

Cyano is sometimes tough to figure out, but the cause is always very simple once you discover it. Hidden patches of detritus in sump, sand and rocks are pretty common causes - especially if the tank is being fed coral food, so your tank is a prime candidate for this. Expired T5/halide lighting can encourage it, as can excessive lighting/photoperiod. Also, old RO filters.

Hope this helps!

-Matt

 

[rajkovich207]

Thanks for the reply Matt! I do spend a lot of time thinking up new things for the tank, that's actually how I ended up with the ats. I ended UP pulling it last night as I found a cord burning because it got wet from bubble splashes. I'll let the humic acid ride for now and get the cyano under control first. Thanks again!

 

[mcarroll]

Good save!!!

-Matt

 

[Brem]

what color does the cyano have? I currently have the bright green cyano and its a pain in the ***...
Can turn back the lighting really solve a cyano problem?

(Im from The Netherlands, sorry for my english ^_^ )

 

[mcarroll]

what color does the cyano have? I currently have the bright green cyano and its a pain in the ***...
Can turn back the lighting really solve a cyano problem?

(Im from The Netherlands, sorry for my english ^_^ )

It can help, but it does depend on the nature and severity of the outbreak. Using all the mentioned strategies is usually my recommendation: check for detritus, dead flow pumps, old/ineffective source water purification, old lights, over feeding, etc.

If you find the cause to be detritus in the sand, that can be tough to solve. My usual recommendation is to siphon out the whole sand bed and only put new sand in if you really want it.

Hope this helps!

-Matt

 

[pickupman66]

in my experiences, the cyano is fueled by phosphates or nitrates. it is areas of moderate or lower flow that allow it to adhere and multiply. afterall, it is a bacteria. Given that it also uses light to help fuel its addiction to the phosphates. alot of times when an outbreak is severe, its uptake of these nutrients can cause tests to read low and give a false sense of security.

Doing a three or 4 day blackout to knock it back will help lower its numbers (and you may see more nutrients on your test kit, but you need to solve the nutrient issue or it will be back. (or something else takes over like Bryopsis or hair algae).

the ATS is deigned as giving the non desireable algaes and such a place where we want them to grow. these life forms then uptake alot of the nutrients, and weekly cleanings of it export this to our trash cans or front lawns (good garden fertilizers). I highly doubt it is the cause of you seeing the cyano in your tank.

 

[Brem]

welll.. this summer in Holland the temp will be around 27'C in the house...
The day after the temp is lowered by 25,3C. NOw the bright green cyano is vanished for about half the size it was..
So.. in my case the cyano comes up when the temperature rises...

...weird stuff, cyano...

 

[roomclearer]

I have a question. Is there a reason why I cannot seem to get my reef tank bellow 78.6 degrees ever no matter what it's not lights and house is at 77?

 

[mcarroll]

That question would be a great reason to open your own thread! But since you're already here, pull up a chair! :couch2:

Thanks to the Conservation of energy, pretty much every electrical device in your tank can be correctly thought of as a heater. Even the devices around your tank like lights or external pumps will have an effect on heating. Anything submersible is actually a pretty efficient heater, in fact.

Evaporation is the only thing you would ordinarily have for cooling...and evaporation is itself dependent on available water surface area, and various environmental conditions both within the tank stand, if it's fairly sealed, as well as in the larger room containing the tank.

It all adds up!

Hope this helps!

-Matt