Cyano going to cause me to shut down my tank

[Potatohead]

Been dealing with cyano for about a year. Never had much issue in previous tanks, they went pretty well, decided to upgrade, this tank is just insane. Cyano will start to go away, hair algae appears. Hair algae starts to go away, cyano appears. Tank was started with uncured Marco rock but it's about 20 months old now.

Nitrates are 1-1.5, phosphate .01-.04 depending on how much I feed. I do 10% water changes every 7-10 days. I do not run a refugium/algae scrubber/chaeto reactor, I do run GFO, carbon and carbon dose a small amount of nopox, 1.2 ml per day. Good skimmer. I have an eight bulb Sunpower sitting 11" off the water.

I have tried what feels like everything. I have manually removed so much that I only have about half the sand I started with. I have tried reducing my carbon dose and it gets worse. I can up the dose and strip the water and it starts to die but then of course corals really suffer. I have replaced my RODI unit, I have changed my salt, I have tried more water changes, I have tried less. I have reduced my photoperiod, I have changed my bulbs, including changing the spectrum. I have tried 150% doses of chemiclean back to back, it came back within days. I have increased my flow, I have four MP10's in a 66g tank. I've tried feeding more, and feeding less, as well as switching to mostly frozen from about 60-70% pellets and flake.

Two weeks ago there was lots of red turf algae, cyano really reduced at this point. I changed out the GFO, the algae started to die and cyano started growing on it. This has happened many times. Now the algae is almost all gone but cyano is rampant. I also had two of my torts die for seemingly no reason while most other corals and acros are doing fine to good. Except zoas, my zoas suck for some reason.

This is colossally frustrating. We all know the time and money invested into our tanks. The only thing I can think of doing is completely removing all GFO and carbon dosing and let it go wild until it all balances out, but I am concerned about losing most of my coral. Or, since changing the GFO seemed to start this latest breakout (or maybe it was just the algae dying), just stop GFO. Maybe I just have way too strong of a light for the amount of coral I have, but I've never really heard of that before. I flat out am completely stumped.

Any thoughts?

 

[Roggio]

If you have good flow there’s probably other variables. Carbon dosing definitely feeds it. If you add one of those cheap grow lights from amazon to your fuge it will grow cyno like crazy and possibly out compete the tanks cyno. Don’t tear down your tank. I have seen people use chemical treatments as a last resort with a lot of success.

 

[wattson]

do you have sand in your tank ?
are you using RO/DI water ?
filters good still ?

 

[trido]

I use chemi clean twice a year because I feed that heavy. It kills cyano every time. Have you tried it? Also, fluconaze kills GHA too. IN the hobby now days we have meds for most problems other than some nasty pests. No reason to do every thing the hard way.

 

[teller]

I am with @Roggio .
Try to grow chaeto in the sump.
Most probably cyano also moves to sump and competes with the one in DT.
You have nothing to lose anyway.

 

[Themako1]

I had the same problem, stop the carbon dosing. I did that replaced my sand, used two doses of chemi clean, and I’ve been good for a while now. Now I just do a couple water changes a month, added a bunch to my clean up crew and they take care of everything.

 

[Jose Mayo]

If all forms were tried and were not effective, I would start with azithromycin 1 mg / liter in a single dose. At this dosage it is effective for cyanobacteria and does not affect the animals, but there may be slight increase of nitrite; it is convenient to monitor the nitrogen cycle.

To do this, keep the skimmer on for oxygenation and remove the collecting cup, also remove the active carbon and wait until the cyanobacteria disappear for two days; then replace the skimmer cup and the active charcoal.

After 24 hours with active charcoal and skimmer running, perform 25% water change and dose Fluconazole 5 mg / liter in a single dose, again remove the cup from the skimmer and active charcoal and wait 14 days to get rid of the algae.

With my best wishes for success!

Best regards

PS: Azithromycin is found for human use in tablets of 500 mg, brand ZITHROMAX (Pfizer lab). It is not necessary to grind the tablet, it dissolves by itself in the water of the aquarium, it is enough to cut to the approximate measurement of the necessary dose and to play in the DT, in a point of good circulation of the water. The cyanobacteria disappear in 3 to 4 days.

 

[Potatohead]

If you have good flow there’s probably other variables. Carbon dosing definitely feeds it. If you add one of those cheap grow lights from amazon to your fuge it will grow cyno like crazy and possibly out compete the tanks cyno. Don’t tear down your tank. I have seen people use chemical treatments as a last resort with a lot of success.

I just don't see how a little grow light is going to compete with a Sunpower. Maybe if I keep it on like 18 hours a day it might work.

do you have sand in your tank ?
are you using RO/DI water ?
filters good still ?

Yes to all. Changed RODI unit itself (Aqua FX), and then filters again in pursuit of the problem a few months ago.

I had the same problem, stop the carbon dosing. I did that replaced my sand, used two doses of chemi clean, and I’ve been good for a while now. Now I just do a couple water changes a month, added a bunch to my clean up crew and they take care of everything.

I think I will probably stop dosing next and see what happens. Problem is when I tried that maybe four to six months ago it started getting way worse. However over the last 2-3 months I have been slowly reducing, it's not about half where it was, and it was doing fine until the last week when the hair algae started dying off.

 

[Cory]

If your dosing vodka stop. Vinegar is not used by cyano. Vodka is.

 

[tankstudy]

I use chemi clean twice a year because I feed that heavy. It kills cyano every time. Have you tried it? Also, fluconaze kills GHA too. IN the hobby now days we have meds for most problems other than some nasty pests. No reason to do every thing the hard way.

I use it quarterly now. Couldn't get rid of it with low nutrients, couldn't get rid of it with high nutrients. Doesn't seem to effect the bacteria load.

 

[Potatohead]

If your dosing vodka stop. Vinegar is not used by cyano. Vodka is.

I was using nopox, 2.5 ml per day. Over the past six months I have gradually changed to half nopox and half vinegar to try and help the problem, and I am now only dosing 1.2 ml per day of the 50/50 mixture. It seemed to be working until the last ten days or so. The plan was to end up going 100% vinegar if it continued to work.

 

[Roggio]

I just don't see how a little grow light is going to compete with a Sunpower. Maybe if I keep it on like 18 hours a day it might work.



Yes to all. Changed RODI unit itself (Aqua FX), and then filters again in pursuit of the problem a few months ago.



I think I will probably stop dosing next and see what happens. Problem is when I tried that maybe four to six months ago it started getting way worse. However over the last 2-3 months I have been slowly reducing, it's not about half where it was, and it was doing fine until the last week when the hair algae started dying off.

This thing grows cyno like crazy. I left it on 24/7
https://www.amazon.com/Reflector-Sp...13190360&sr=8-3&keywords=led+grow+light+panel

I actually changed it to the Kessil 380 to stop the cyno

 

[KenO]

Google hydrogen peroxide, cyano and reef. A person did a very indepth study on how to rid your tank of cyano with H2O2. He also tells you how to test if what you have is cyano or Spirolina. You use 2 cups of tank water, add the stuff growing in your tank to the water and add 1ml of H2O2. If the water turns pink it's cyano. Then use the H2O2 method to rid your tank of the cyano. It worked for me. Takes about 2 weeks. If the water doesn't turn pink it's Spirolina. Use chemiclean. I had a combination of cyano and a little Spirolina. Once the cyano was gone, I used the chemiclean and little amount of Spirolina disappeared.

 

[hypnoj]

After having tanks for as many years as I have and continuing to run into the same problem as you, I’m convinced that it’s an absolute must to grow your own algae, whether in a refugium or algae scrubber or what have you. Grow it you must, by choice or by force.

 

[wattson]

nope,,I feed fairly heavy everyday for the fish and my No3 is 15-20 plus and dont test for Po4 ,,very little algae and no macro and no cyano..do only 5-10% water change monthly,,run skimmer very shortly once a week..all my tanks on my system are BB..

 

[EZ Electric]

I had same exact issue

I started dosing cyano clean by KZ which is a bacteria that is supposed to out compete the cyano. Says it takes up to 8 weeks. Recommends using coral snow in junction.

So I was about 2-3 weeks in and cyano was 80-90% less.

About 5 weeks in cyano came back with a vengeance.

I added a refugium 1 week ago. Bought the Kessil H380 grow light yes it’s 300 bucks but after watching brs video I was sold on it. I got 3 golf ball size cheatomorpha balls from AlgaeBarn and now only 5 full days in cyano is 90-95% gone.

I strongly recommend adding a refugium with a strong grow light with cheatomorpha. I run light from 9pm-9am opposite schedule from my display lights.

I also got pods and live phytoplankton from AlgaeBarn (they had a Black Friday sale) and added them too.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The only thing I can think of doing is completely removing all GFO and carbon dosing and let it go wild until it all balances out, but I am

Go back to the kiss method. The corals won't die.

Feed the the fish healthfully and not skimp.

Another friend of mine.
Check this out.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/reeferfoxxs-jbj-30.317132/page-11#post-4263637

This will tell you in intimate detail every thing you need to know about cyano.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/what-are-the-root-causes-of-cyano.338028/

Another blistering , heated and advanced look into nutrients , limitation , and formulaic biological processes.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/theory-on-nutrient-ratios-and-algae-bacteria.337339/




Or just skip past all that and examine the sum total of each and go back to what the old schoolers knew about biodiversity.

Because oddly enough, this isn't so crazy an idea after all.

Yes , it's mud. From Fiji. $20

 

[Potatohead]

Google hydrogen peroxide, cyano and reef. A person did a very indepth study on how to rid your tank of cyano with H2O2. He also tells you how to test if what you have is cyano or Spirolina. You use 2 cups of tank water, add the stuff growing in your tank to the water and add 1ml of H2O2. If the water turns pink it's cyano. Then use the H2O2 method to rid your tank of the cyano. It worked for me. Takes about 2 weeks. If the water doesn't turn pink it's Spirolina. Use chemiclean. I had a combination of cyano and a little Spirolina. Once the cyano was gone, I used the chemiclean and little amount of Spirolina disappeared.

I think I almost have that thread memorized by now

After having tanks for as many years as I have and continuing to run into the same problem as you, I’m convinced that it’s an absolute must to grow your own algae, whether in a refugium or algae scrubber or what have you. Grow it you must, by choice or by force.

nope,,I feed fairly heavy everyday for the fish and my No3 is 15-20 plus and dont test for Po4 ,,very little algae and no macro and no cyano..do only 5-10% water change monthly,,run skimmer very shortly once a week..all my tanks on my system are BB..

I really don't want to run a fuge for a few reasons. I see so many successful tanks without them but I am reaching the point where I don't know what else to try.

I had same exact issue

I started dosing cyano clean by KZ which is a bacteria that is supposed to out compete the cyano. Says it takes up to 8 weeks. Recommends using coral snow in junction.

So I was about 2-3 weeks in and cyano was 80-90% less.

About 5 weeks in cyano came back with a vengeance.

I added a refugium 1 week ago. Bought the Kessil H380 grow light yes it’s 300 bucks but after watching brs video I was sold on it. I got 3 golf ball size cheatomorpha balls from AlgaeBarn and now only 5 full days in cyano is 90-95% gone.

I strongly recommend adding a refugium with a strong grow light with cheatomorpha. I run light from 9pm-9am opposite schedule from my display lights.

I also got pods and live phytoplankton from AlgaeBarn (they had a Black Friday sale) and added them too.

I may have to try. I don't want to be "that guy" but I am so sick of dealing with this, I just want to enjoy my tank and watch things grow.

Here's a (bad) pic from tonight, it's actually better than normal because I stirred some up cleaning the glass. It's hard to tell but the rocks are about 30% covered and sand about 80%, and it's thick. Lots of stringy bits too.

 

[EZ Electric]

I had/have same exact issue.

I started dosing cyano clean by KZ 6-8 weeks ago.
It is a strain of a bacteria that is supposed to out compete cyano. KZ recommends dosing coral snow in junction. Which I do. After 2 weeks in cyano was 70-80% gone. Was very happy with the product and I started telling others to use it.

Then 4-5 weeks in cyano came back with a vengeance.

Black Friday i decided to shop and add a refugium. I purchased the Kessil H380 grow light after watching BRS videos was sold. AlgaeBarn also had a sale and I bought 3 golf ball size clean cheatomorpha balls and pods and live phytoplankton. Added all Saturday (5 days ago). Today cyano is 90-95% gone.

Tank looks better today than it has in 10+ weeks.

I do 30% water changes every 2 weeks.

I change socks weekly.

I don’t have too many fish and feed sparingly once a day. Nitrates and phosphates next to 0

I strongly recommend a strong grow light and cheatomorpha

I run mine 9pm-9am opposite display lighting.

I run refugium son my other systems and they are cyano free for 10+ years. New display is running for a year and is still under construction sort of speak and thought I could beat cyano but failed until i added the refugium. I still dose KZ and am very happy I don’t have to blow off cyano daily anymore

 

[Mad Marine]

Been dealing with cyano for about a year. Never had much issue in previous tanks, they went pretty well, decided to upgrade, this tank is just insane. Cyano will start to go away, hair algae appears. Hair algae starts to go away, cyano appears. Tank was started with uncured Marco rock but it's about 20 months old now.

Nitrates are 1-1.5, phosphate .01-.04 depending on how much I feed. I do 10% water changes every 7-10 days. I do not run a refugium/algae scrubber/chaeto reactor, I do run GFO, carbon and carbon dose a small amount of nopox, 1.2 ml per day. Good skimmer. I have an eight bulb Sunpower sitting 11" off the water.

I have tried what feels like everything. I have manually removed so much that I only have about half the sand I started with. I have tried reducing my carbon dose and it gets worse. I can up the dose and strip the water and it starts to die but then of course corals really suffer. I have replaced my RODI unit, I have changed my salt, I have tried more water changes, I have tried less. I have reduced my photoperiod, I have changed my bulbs, including changing the spectrum. I have tried 150% doses of chemiclean back to back, it came back within days. I have increased my flow, I have four MP10's in a 66g tank. I've tried feeding more, and feeding less, as well as switching to mostly frozen from about 60-70% pellets and flake.

Two weeks ago there was lots of red turf algae, cyano really reduced at this point. I changed out the GFO, the algae started to die and cyano started growing on it. This has happened many times. Now the algae is almost all gone but cyano is rampant. I also had two of my torts die for seemingly no reason while most other corals and acros are doing fine to good. Except zoas, my zoas suck for some reason.

This is colossally frustrating. We all know the time and money invested into our tanks. The only thing I can think of doing is completely removing all GFO and carbon dosing and let it go wild until it all balances out, but I am concerned about losing most of my coral. Or, since changing the GFO seemed to start this latest breakout (or maybe it was just the algae dying), just stop GFO. Maybe I just have way too strong of a light for the amount of coral I have, but I've never really heard of that before. I flat out am completely stumped.

Any thoughts?

If you're feeding frozen food, make you rinse it you rinse it under regular tap water with a brine shrimp sieve. This worked for me. Also, turn down white light on LED to 30%.