That is good to know !!! Thank you for sharing that bit of info .I do not use it in my softy/LPS tank. I have done it before and noticed that my Yumas disintegrate as a result.
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That is good to know !!! Thank you for sharing that bit of info .I do not use it in my softy/LPS tank. I have done it before and noticed that my Yumas disintegrate as a result.
I used it in my LPS and softy tank with no negative effects to any corals.That is good to know !!! Thank you for sharing that bit of info .
The two pictures are actually taken just a few minutes apart, one with a filter and the blue one without, after treating with Chemiclean.Is there any way you could post the before and after picture with the same lighting ??? It’s really hard to see the difference !!
How often do you plan on dosing chemiclean ?The two pictures are actually taken just a few minutes apart, one with a filter and the blue one without, after treating with Chemiclean.
Hello...My name is Emerson, and I use Chemiclean... Not only that, I think I might start using it on a six month schedule, just because I want to! There, I said it! Man does that feel good to get that off my chest!
Seriously, am I the only one that reluctantly uses Chemiclean to get rid of some nuisance cyano, dyno, funky whatever sludge, and then I wonder why I don't just make it a "once in a while" part of my Display Tank maintenance? I don't have filth and muck overrunning my tank, but what's there certainly takes away from my enjoyment.
I've kept various reef tanks for over 20 years. My current 90 gal mixed reef DT is coming up on five years old. This has by far been my most difficult build i getting to maturity, in part (I think) because I started with completely dead BRS Pukani dry rock. Now, two years removed from previous battles (hair algae, serious cyano, dinos that almost made me take the tank down), I finally feel like the tank is mature. I actually expect 90-95% of the things I might add to live and thrive and feel confident that if I drop $100 on a coral at my LFS or trade show, I'll still have something to show for it in a year or more. I have reef-nerd level equipment and monitors, dose 2-part BRS/Tropic Marin hybrid solution, and have finally dialed in my LED/T5 Hybrid lights. I have seven fish, two shrimp, a clam, and SPS, LPS, and soft corals. I feed adequately with a mix of pellets and frozen w/ Selcon. My water parameters are just about right where I want them (Temp ~78-79 deg, Ph 8.1-8.3, Alk 8.0-8.5, Ca 440, Mg 1550, NO3 1-3 ppm, PO4 .01-.03 ppm), tested daily/weekly/monthly as appropriate as well as ICP every six to nine months. My Mg runs high, but I never add it. Whatever salt I use must put it back in. My NO3 levels tend to get low, and I sometimes have to add Brightwell NeoNitro to keep it above 1 ppm. Still, every now and then, usually after six, maybe eight months since the last time I dosed Chemiclean, I start to get cyano (red and green) and dino flare ups. I try to wait it out, vacuum it out, wish it out. In the end, nothing works as well as, "ahem"... well,... you know...Chemiclean.
Eventually I ask myself: why am I so reluctant to use Chemiclean once or twice a year? I have no idea what the proprietary blend of oxidizing ingredients is, but it works! Not only that, I have yet to have a mortality with any fish, invert, or coral that I can attribute to the use of Chemiclean. If anything, my corals seem to do better for not being irritated by cyano. Further, it seems to clear out my overflow pipes and plumbing. Why do I think that? Because I have to restrict/close the drain gate valve in my primary overflow pipe (Beananimal) to bring the inflow/outflow for the overflow box back in to balance after every Chemiclean use to keep the water level high enough in the overflow box ans stop it from "slurping" air.
I definitely enjoy my reef tank more when it's cleaner, and I think I'm done beating myself up over the slime algae and sludge I just can't seem to shake. I'm not suggesting that it be the primary method, and I get the logic that treating the symptom doesn't fix the root cause (for the life of my I don't know what that could be, because my tank parameters and husbandry are where the should be). I'm also not recommending reliance on these kind of chemicals (Chemiclean, RedSlime Remover, and others) as a crutch, used willy-nilly by anyone; especially those new to the hobby. Try to figure out what is causing the issue. But...in my experience after using Chemiclean specifically eight maybe even ten times, it works, and it hasn't hurt me one bit. In the end, I think prudent use of these additives can work. I know it's anecdotal, but it has in my case.
I'm going to stop feeling like a bad reef keeper if I use chemicals (gasp!) to help out now and then. I'm going to use it as needed along with all the other chemicals I've used like GFO, Lanthium Chloride, Nitrate additives, Phosphate additives, Carbon, MicroBacter, Vibrant, that don't seem to be so stigmatized. I finished my most recent ~48 hour dose of Chemiclean, used as directed, today. I took my UV Sterilizer and Carbon offline; left the skimmer running. Yes, it will make your skimmer go crazy. Just let it drain or overflow right back into your sump or tank. Once the treatment time is up, I found the best way to get past that is when doing the recommended 20% water change after, use your skimmer drain and/or a tube and allow the skimmer to "wet skim" the first ~1/2 (10% tank volume) of the water change and drain directly into a bucket or drain. This works for me. The last time I dosed Chemiclean was nine months ago. I may just make it part of my six month maintenance plan.
The pictures below are from five minutes ago. Please keep the online beatings bearable, but I'm curious what every one else's thoughts might be, and if there are others out there who, like me, have had good experiences with these types of additives.
"I"m Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!: -Stuart Smalley
If I didn't put out enough caveats in the Original Post, my apologies. I'll say again: using Chemiclean or Red Slime Remover once in a while works for me, but may not be for everybody. Just trying to question the "shaming" of using a product that is just another tool in the box.Keep posting pictures monthly with updates and Aquabiomics 16S DNA results. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for you to establish a superstrain that takes over and the microbial processes in your system are all messed up.
No, it's not fair becuase both pictures are taken after, sorry if I didn't make it totally clear in the original post. One is with a filter, the other without, taken minutes apart. Unfortunately I didn't take the before pictures as it didn't occur to me that I'd be writing the post until after looking at my results again, I was wondered why I ever hesitate. Again, my experience only.Have to ask, I’m sure you get great results from using it but are those two pictures a fair reflection on the before and after? As one looks like it’s under white light and the other under heavy blues, most of our tanks will look totally different under those conditions.
It’s similar to those ads for diet pills where one is clearly pushing out their stomach and the other holding it in.
If they named it "enzymeclean" you wouldn't feel nearly as bad about using it!
I'm not saying or advocating that Chemiclean be dosed on a planned schedule. In the past I've had my tank degrade for various unknown reasons despite having parameters dead on, plenty of flow, no overfeeding, and no new additions.How often do you plan on dosing chemiclean ?
Maybe I missed it but with a 4.5 year old well established tank with stable parameters what do you attribute as the root cause of your periodic cyano?I'm not saying or advocating that Chemiclean be dosed on a planned schedule. In the past I've had my tank degrade for various unknown reasons despite having parameters dead on, plenty of flow, no overfeeding, and no new additions.
When I started my current set up four and a half years ago, I did so with 50+ lbs of Pukani dry rock. According to some Forum posts, that could be an root cause or issue. It could be that I used live sand. It could be that I didn't rinse the sand. Too much light too soon. Early on I had PO4 at zero because four years ago GFO was the best thing ever (I still use GFO, but vary sparingly).
My tank has evolved into a ULNS and I usually have NO3 in the ~1-2 ppm range; sometimes lower, but always measurable. I sometimes add a nitrogen supplement like BA NeoNitro to keep it up. Bottoming out with zero NO3 and/or PO4 has been anectdotally viewed in forums like R2R as a culprit in the micro-bacteria battle favoring cyano. In my experience I would have to agree. But in what I can or could measure (NH4, NO2, NO3, PO4, Alk, Ca, Mg) nothing was out of balance. ICS Testing confirmed this. The point being, I couldn't figure out or nail down what caused cyano break outs.
Still I delayed, wrung my hands, performed water changes trying to suck it out and waited while the cyano and/or sludge only returned days later. It built up to the point wher in my mind the decision was to try or use Chemiclean/Red Slime Remover (with slightly less effect), continue to get less and less enjoyment out of my reef tank, or re-boot. All I could see was the "filth and muck" building! Not being a micro biologist I can't say empirically what is going on, but the proprietary oxidizing or anti-bacterial ingredient in Chemiclean seems to knock back the cyano to a point where the other beneficial micro organisms can catch up and out compete it while keeping it in check again. (Thank you for joining in above @Randy Holmes-Farely. I absolutely respect your knowledge and appreciate when you have time for comment. I agree the labels with some of these whether they work or not are hard if not impossible to decipher)
Looking back on my notes, I have used a cyano remover six or seven times in the time this tank has been up; so about every 8-10 months, sometimes less. It does seem more often than not, the cyano appears in or near the transition from Spring to Summer with increased tank temp, but that is purely anecdotal. I first used it when thee tank was less than a year old. Personally, I have never had a loss I can attribute to either Chemiclean or Red Slime Remover.
The long answer to your question: For me, going forward I will use it when I need to, hopefully not more often than every six months. But... I'm done worrying on whether I'm a good reefer, what other people think, or what my mom would say. I'm pushing past any "shame" about dosing it to begin with. I will use it as a tool, not a crutch to be overused or relied on solely. Hope that helps.
No, I can't say exactly what it is.Maybe I missed it but with a 4.5 year old well established tank with stable parameters what do you attribute as the root cause of your periodic cyano?
I@ Timfish, As a ten year member, you must know in R2R we're all always appreciative of encouragement and constructive comment. Thankfully, this set up is coming up on 4 1/2 years and I don't have any super-strains yet. If they do show, I'll be sure to follow up and post those pictures too. After all, that's what this collegial forum is for: a friendly exchange of information and thoughts, and to encourage our fellow aquarists and reefers. As for the Aquabiomics Test, I'm not against it, though it seems to be more of a New Tank tool to see where your tank is towards being "established". At this time, and for $99, it's not a tool I'm using or willing to pay for.
Here's the link for anyone interested in a biome bacterial test: https://www.aquabiomics.com/. If you search the BRS Live videos they do an interesting interview with one of the founders, though they were having some tech issues in keeping the live feed up. Ryan specifically used it to see where his BRS 360 was while it cycled and established itself. . . .
Absolutelyinteresting. if my tank was softie dominant I'd probably take more liberties with treatments but acropora want nothing to do with the instability that follows after the abrupt nutrient change.
Agreed, and who knows how that antibiotic affects the microbiome. I'm sure it kills off beneficial bacteria.I would feel worse. Far worse. . I personally avoid products from companies that mislead reefers.
Their actual misleading statements are bad enough. Calling Chemiclean anything other than erythromycin is misleading (since it is that antibiotic).
Sad, really, that hobby companies do such things.