20g reef cyano

[Fishcrunch]

Hi everyone!

I recently tore down my 90g after a seemingly endless battle with cyano. I decided to switch over to a 20g long to try and start fresh. Well, being roughly four weeks in, cyano is starting to rear up on the higher reaches of the rock-work. The cyano has been easier to manage in this scale reef over the 90g, but i'd appreciate some guidance as to what can be done to alleviate the cyano. Here's a breakdown of some factors that would play into the cyano:

-My salifert kits are showing roughly 0.5ppm phosphate and 10-15ppm nitrates.
-Lighting is a Nicrew 2nd gen 150w mounted about 14" above the water's surface. It ramps up at 07:30am and turns off at 05:30pm, with the peak running at 40% blues and 7% whites for 4 hours.
-The tank is lightly stocked, with only a pink-streaked wrasse and a few cerith snails. I was feeding several times a day, but over the past week I've gone down to one feeding a day; alternating frozen mysis and hikari marine s pellets.
-I have approx. 30x turnover with two hydor powerheads. I also have a AC20 HOB filter with filter floss to skim particulate. I swapping out the floss daily.

I know this system is relatively new, but I'm hoping this doesn't become a fiasco like the 90g; as I scrubbed the rockwork daily for a MONTH with several lights-out events over 72 hours (last one i even wrapped the display and sump in 4mil poly for 72 hours), and it made little difference. I had that system running with seemingly little impact on the fish for over 10 months. Is there any potential for something in my rodi water feeding the cyano? My testing of the rodi product water shows 0ppm.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

Hi everyone!

I recently tore down my 90g after a seemingly endless battle with cyano. I decided to switch over to a 20g long to try and start fresh. Well, being roughly four weeks in, cyano is starting to rear up on the higher reaches of the rock-work. The cyano has been easier to manage in this scale reef over the 90g, but i'd appreciate some guidance as to what can be done to alleviate the cyano. Here's a breakdown of some factors that would play into the cyano:

-My salifert kits are showing roughly 0.5ppm phosphate and 10-15ppm nitrates.
-Lighting is a Nicrew 2nd gen 150w mounted about 14" above the water's surface. It ramps up at 07:30am and turns off at 05:30pm, with the peak running at 40% blues and 7% whites for 4 hours.
-The tank is lightly stocked, with only a pink-streaked wrasse and a few cerith snails. I was feeding several times a day, but over the past week I've gone down to one feeding a day; alternating frozen mysis and hikari marine s pellets.
-I have approx. 30x turnover with two hydor powerheads. I also have a AC20 HOB filter with filter floss to skim particulate. I swapping out the floss daily.

I know this system is relatively new, but I'm hoping this doesn't become a fiasco like the 90g; as I scrubbed the rockwork daily for a MONTH with several lights-out events over 72 hours (last one i even wrapped the display and sump in 4mil poly for 72 hours), and it made little difference. I had that system running with seemingly little impact on the fish for over 10 months. Is there any potential for something in my rodi water feeding the cyano? My testing of the rodi product water shows 0ppm.

Just about everyone has dealt with them, even multiple times, my personal experience was a rough one in my 40B tank. I just worked on keeping a steady maint. schedule and frequent water testing. It will take time for the tank to basically take care of them itself. You did not state any corals (unless I missed that part) but keeping the light at only the PAR you need during this time can help. The biome in your tank can fend this off, it takes time, patience, and a lot of water changes. I will say make sure you change the filter first thing in the morning before the lights come on if possible.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

Hi everyone!

I recently tore down my 90g after a seemingly endless battle with cyano. I decided to switch over to a 20g long to try and start fresh. Well, being roughly four weeks in, cyano is starting to rear up on the higher reaches of the rock-work. The cyano has been easier to manage in this scale reef over the 90g, but i'd appreciate some guidance as to what can be done to alleviate the cyano. Here's a breakdown of some factors that would play into the cyano:

-My salifert kits are showing roughly 0.5ppm phosphate and 10-15ppm nitrates.
-Lighting is a Nicrew 2nd gen 150w mounted about 14" above the water's surface. It ramps up at 07:30am and turns off at 05:30pm, with the peak running at 40% blues and 7% whites for 4 hours.
-The tank is lightly stocked, with only a pink-streaked wrasse and a few cerith snails. I was feeding several times a day, but over the past week I've gone down to one feeding a day; alternating frozen mysis and hikari marine s pellets.
-I have approx. 30x turnover with two hydor powerheads. I also have a AC20 HOB filter with filter floss to skim particulate. I swapping out the floss daily.

I know this system is relatively new, but I'm hoping this doesn't become a fiasco like the 90g; as I scrubbed the rockwork daily for a MONTH with several lights-out events over 72 hours (last one i even wrapped the display and sump in 4mil poly for 72 hours), and it made little difference. I had that system running with seemingly little impact on the fish for over 10 months. Is there any potential for something in my rodi water feeding the cyano? My testing of the rodi product water shows 0ppm.

Yes, the quality of the water you do your changes with will have a big impact. Being a small tank, even using distilled water from a Dollar General will slowly add up to the cost of a RO/DI filter. Its a needed investment in my eyes. I do believe my RO/DI filter purchase played a big part in helping my tank mature over the basic filtration I was using for my water supply.

 

[Fishcrunch]

Just about everyone has dealt with them, even multiple times, my personal experience was a rough one in my 40B tank. I just worked on keeping a steady maint. schedule and frequent water testing. It will take time for the tank to basically take care of them itself. You did not state any corals (unless I missed that part) but keeping the light at only the PAR you need during this time can help. The biome in your tank can fend this off, it takes time, patience, and a lot of water changes. I will say make sure you change the filter first thing in the morning before the lights come on if possible.

Do you think its less pertinent targeting specific parameters like phosphate, and instead focusing on a tighter cleaning regiment, like weekly 20% water-changes? What makes me more optimistic with the 20g is that at least now i'm registering obvious concentrations of nitrates and phosphates; whereas I had to dose my 90g to even register anything on my salifert kits (turned my skimmer off, etc.). I do have corals, but its a lone zoa and chalice frag. I'll definitely incorporate the floss swap first thing prior to the lights coming on.