Extreme Water Clarity and Cyano Eradication, Made Easy!

[G Santana]

What was the dose? 500mL tank water to grams, tsp, tbsp of product?

 

[reeftankdude]

I just started using a UV and Seachem Purigen. My water is so clear it appears that the tank has no front glass. Dont know if it is the Purigen or the UV sterilizer. Just added two fish so the UV will run for another week. I initially added the UV for an bacteria bloom. New to the hobby, but my two cents.

 

[fishybizzness]

Hi all, Not sure if this was asked. Stupid question but does this need to be refrigerated or can it just sit in the stand at room temps?

 

[legionofdoon]

It's inert no organics so you can leave it out.

 

[Bruce Burnett]

For those looking for the product, this one can also be used and is cheaper too:

Calcium Carbonate

There is also one
Duda Energy FGcc5f Food Grade 97+% Calcium Carbonate from Ground Limestone, 5 lb. https://a.co/d/4UP4tdp
It can also be used as an antacid.
I add 1/2 teaspoon to a water bottle filled with ro/di add bacteria shake well let sit for couple hours and then, shake well and dose to tank, 100 gallon didplay. Anyone know how well it works with roller mat or does it waste a lot of the roll.

 

[DE FISH]

guessing this is good to use ?

 

[topjimmy]

I can't imagine getting ten tablespoons of this into 500ml of water. Is that right? 500ml is the size of a standard drinking water bottle.

 

[Kydnblue2]

Can you use any calcium carbonate powder? The one you recommended is sold out

 

[Lavey29]

Can you use any calcium carbonate powder? The one you recommended is sold out

Yes people have used other brands.

 

[Lavey29]

I can't imagine getting ten tablespoons of this into 500ml of water. Is that right? 500ml is the size of a standard drinking water bottle.

Works fine and provides enough to dose weekly for months.

 

[MrCurlyman]

Hello all!

I have been reefing now for about 25 years, and over those many years I have picked up many tips, tricks, and best habits/practices. From a hobbyist and even a coral vendors perspective, I have gained quite a bit of valuable information. Many of you likely even have a coral that came from company, Pro Corals. The most popular of which being the PC Rainbow Acro.,

Over those years I attempted to pass on as much information and knowledge as possible. Now, I am compiling all the knowledge into one area and will be releasing articles and likely some YouTube guides on a weekly basis.

This is a great hobby and what makes it great is the wonderful community of reefers. Almost all are extremely helpful and it is our duty to aid one another and when we can, impart the little knowledge that we pickup along the way to aid others in their journey. We, and myself included, can easily forget what it was like entering the hobby. Its a minefield and much livestock and funds can be wasted. For someone like myself, books and online forums were my only sanctuary as I did not have any local hobbyist to gather knowledge from. There were many issues, losses and way too much money needlessly spent. Hopefully this series of guides will help those just entering the hobby and perhaps even help some reefing veterans to polish up their game.

The articles will be posted on my blog and right here on Reef2Reef. I am slowly building up my online presence through FB, Instagram and YouTube. If you'd like to follow along and receive the most up to date information please feel free to follow. I will try and keep the articles and video brief. We all have busy lives so I will attempt to post only the cliff notes.

www.ReefSite.com
Instagram: @Reefsite
Fb: @ReefSites
Twitter: @RimlessReef
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SonnyM63



Now, enough yammering. Onto the article!


Extreme Water Clarity and Cyano Eradication, Made Easy!

One of the most frequent questions I receive is how do I have such amazing water clarity and an overall clean looking setup. Well, it quite simple and you can easily do the same while also helping rid yourself of cyano or and the very least not allowing it to gain a foothold in your system. While this is not a cure-all, it will help you achieve your goals and help maintain a healthy aquarium.


For a number of years I had purchased branded products of Coral Snow to help achieve water clarity. That is, until I asked around and found that you can simply make you own Coral Snow solution, saving you hundreds of dollars.

What is Coral Snow?

At its simplest, Coral Snow is a Flocculant.

Flocculant’s work by binding small particles together into a larger mass that can be easily removed via filter socks or a proteins skimmer. The Coral Snow can also help to removal yellowing compounds such as phenols while at the same time helping neutralizes some undesirable chemicals in the system.

Personally, I use this powder Calcium Powder and one jar should last you years. Creating the solution couldn't be any simpler.

• Select a clean container, one that is resealable and able to be shaken. I use an old creatine bottle.(Yes, I am on the GAIN TRAIN)
• For 500ML of solution, add 10 level tablespoons of powder to roughly 425-450ML of RO/DI water.
• Shake the bottle up, and let it sit for two hours. After which, it will be ready to use.
• Now, I don’t believe that you can overdose with this product, but a good recommended dose is 5ml per 50gl of aquarium volume.
• Be sure to shake up the bottle prior to each use as the powder can settle.

The best time to add the solution to you aquarium is after conducting maintenance such as blowing off the rocks, cleaning the glass, siphoning the sand or conducting a water change. Ideally, you should be doing all of the aforementioned maintenance items during a water change, but that discussion is for another time.

Now, on to my personal favorite use of the product: preventing and getting rid of Cyano!

Cyano Solution

Cyano, in all its forms, has been the bane of many a reefers existence. Nothing can upset or ruin the appearance of an aquarium display like that nasty, slimy cyano! The algae is present in all systems, and dates back to the dawn of planet but you can keep it from taking over your aquarium and causing you heartache.

Ideally, you want to be taking preventative measures to ensure that cyano does not gain any real estate in your reef. Prevention is always easier than treatment, but if you can always treat it too.

To amplify the Coral Snow, you will need a bacterial solution. Most will do, but I like Microbacter7 by Brightwell Aquatics. What we are doing here is mixing the bacteria with the Coral Snow, allowing it to bond and adhere to the surface of sand and rock. Basically, we’re trying to eliminate land for the cyano to stake its claim. While most of the Coral Snow will be removed via filtration, there will be a bit that coats you aquariums surfaces, in this case with bacteria that will out compete algae.

The Mix

Take your measured solution of Coral Snow and add it to a small container.

• A plastic or glass cup will suffice.
• Next, add 10 drops of Microbacter7 per 5ML of Coral Snow.
• Allow 5 minutes for the solution to sit and then dose into your aquarium.

Note that Coral Snow will cloud your aquarium for at least two hours. Filter socks and Protein Skimmer(s) should be left on.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, you find this Coral Snow solution to be advantageous. I have used it for years with great results. My aquariums are devoid of cyano and nuisance algae. The fish look like their floating in mid air and the true colors of the corals are allowed to shine through.

I dose once a week but there is no issue dosing it daily if you are dealing with a particularly bad breakout of cyano. For best results, siphon out as much cyano as possible before dosing Coral Snow.

Good luck and if you need any additional help please feel free to reach out.

Sonny [email protected]

Does it mess with the calcium level in the tank? I'm dosing calcium

 

[billyocean]

Does it mess with the calcium level in the tank? I'm dosing calcium

No. No parameter changes or phos/nitrate changes. I dose 23 ml of ALK per day and did find after using this several times I had to back my dose down to 20 ml per day. I believe the DIY got rid of whatever else was consuming alk that wasn't my corals. The ALK is now being consumed more efficiently IME.

 

[reefah]

I so excited to try this!!!!!!

 

[Baby_Shark]

I so excited to try this!!!!!!

I tried it lastnight, this morning the water is clearer then ive ever seen it! You can really see the beauty in your corals after this.

 

[Lavey29]

Does it mess with the calcium level in the tank? I'm dosing calcium

I've used it twice now and see no variation in my calcium level.

 

[miyags]

How often do you do treatment??I do tank maintenace once a week.

 

[Lavey29]

How often do you do treatment??I do tank maintenace once a week.

Sunny recommended once a week typically best after water changes when the tank is usually stirred up a bit. I've been doing mine after lights out so my fish don't get freaked out.

 

[Karen00]

In my experience, a skimmer is not necessary at all! I've used it in my old 180 as well and as my current 20G AIO and just filter socks and filter floss is enough to be effective.

I have also done up to a 10x dose just for fun and nothing bad happened at all.

I have a quick question because you don't have a skimmer... My tank is a sort of AIO but it is actually designed for freshwater so the back chamber isn't like the chamber's in a saltwater AIO. It's basically two chambers... The water enters into a big empty chamber where I currently have the heater and a bag of marine pure gems then the water flows into a smaller chamber where it hits the filter block. The filter is a rigid frame that has charcoal on the inside and is surrounded by stiff floss. The water flows through the filter trapping debris and then the clean water flows back into the tank. Will this work to trap the flocculant?

Also, does the flocculent get heavy enough to sink? I usually clean my sand bed so was wondering if the solution could be added a couple hours before maintenance then siphoned up with the other debris and any remaining flocculant in the water column could be trapped by the filter block.

 

[billyocean]

I use filter floss in my filter socks when I treat. Skimmer not necessary if ypu have something to trap the particulates

 

[reefah]

I tried it lastnight, this morning the water is clearer then ive ever seen it! You can really see the beauty in your corals after this.

Do you think this will work instead of the one mentioned above? Amazon said it was out of stock so was wondering if this will do
Pure Original Ingredients Calcium Carbonate (1 lb) Dietary Supplement, Food Preservative, Acid Neutralizer https://a.co/d/2pq6X7S