Get Rid of Cyanobacteria and Algae

[MarineDepot]

Get Rid of Cyanobacteria and Algae

A Recipe for Success from DrTim's Aquatics!

 

[afuel]

Can it be this easy. Certainly a week respected company

 

[afuel]

Also I’ve heard Dr. Tim and others talk about over skimming before. So the question is how does one know if they are and if so how do you stop? Buy a new smaller skimmer or adjust the one you have to a drier skimmate?

 

[OpenOcean33]

has this been tested for dinoflagellates with any success?

 

[MarineDepot]

Can it be this easy. Certainly a week respected company

Anecdotally I have experienced success limiting cyano by adding beneficial bacteria and being more stringent with tank maintenance although I have not followed this recipe exactly. If you would be interested in following the recipe to a T and documenting it here on Reef2Reef for the benefit of the community, shoot me an email at [email protected].

Jeff @ Marine Depot

Also I’ve heard Dr. Tim and others talk about over skimming before. So the question is how does one know if they are and if so how do you stop? Buy a new smaller skimmer or adjust the one you have to a drier skimmate?

This morning I invited Dr. Tim himself to join our discussion so he can share his experiences on over-skimming. One approach hobbyists take is to put their skimmer on a timer. Here is what Colin Foord from Coral Morphologic told us about running a skimmer on a timer:

"While we’ve long run our protein skimmer continuously, I’m beginning to consider running our protein skimmer on a 6 hour on, 6 hour off cycle. When you think about the reef, corals are not always bathed in the same quality water all day long. Most reefs around the world get washed with 2 tidal cycles each day. At low tide, these corals are usually subject to water with less clarity… due to the higher concentrations of phytoplankton that are abundant in shallower, nearshore habitats. At high tide, cleaner, clearer oxygen-rich water comes back in to bathe them, just as a protein skimmer does. Last year we began live phytoplankton dosing in all our tanks, and couldn’t be happier with the results. Ideally, I’d love to dose live phytoplankton for 6 hours with the protein skimmer off, then run the protein skimmer for 6 hours to remove the excess phyto and nutrients from the system. Any time we can mimic the natural rhythms of life in our reef tanks, I think the corals and marine life stand to directly benefit."
​

Bryan from Santa Monica Filtration added:

The less it runs, the more food particles remain in the water. Since natural reefs have the most food particles at night, turning the skimmer off at night makes the most sense. This also matches what most reefers want: clear looking water during the day. I personally however like to see food particles swarming throughout the water column, knowing that the corals and small fish are getting the particles they are used to getting. Any diver will recognize and appreciate the huge amounts of food particles.​

Jeff @ Marine Depot

has this been tested for dinoflagellates with any success?

Dr. Tim actually has another recipe for dinoflagellates! Here it is:

Jeff @ Marine Depot

 

[DrTim]

Hi All - the easiest way to know if you are over-skimming is if you are having algae/cyano/poor coral coloration issues then the chances are high you are over skimming. Ocean water (even water over reefs) is full of bacteria, marine snow and much more. The unintended consequence of skimmers, filter socks, UV etc is to remove all this from the water but they do nothing to the nutrients. Basically, you have eliminated the competition to algae and cyano which is why they start to dominate. The easy fix is to put your skimmer on a timer and turn the skimmer off at night for 3-4 hours. Every tank is different so it takes some tweaking but there is no 'rule' or good reason to skim 24/7.

 

[MarineDepot]

Hi All - the easiest way to know if you are over-skimming is if you are having algae/cyano/poor coral coloration issues then the chances are high you are over skimming. Ocean water (even water over reefs) is full of bacteria, marine snow and much more. The unintended consequence of skimmers, filter socks, UV etc is to remove all this from the water but they do nothing to the nutrients. Basically, you have eliminated the competition to algae and cyano which is why they start to dominate. The easy fix is to put your skimmer on a timer and turn the skimmer off at night for 3-4 hours. Every tank is different so it takes some tweaking but there is no 'rule' or good reason to skim 24/7.

 

[JBKReef]

Anyone out there have some simple Apex code to update for this? Wouldnt mind trying the "turn off my skimmer for 4 hours" suggestion.

 

[MarineDepot]

Anyone out there have some simple Apex code to update for this? Wouldnt mind trying the "turn off my skimmer for 4 hours" suggestion.

Hopefully R2R mods do not mind my linking here, but there are topics on this subject on the Neptune Systems forum: https://forum.neptunesystems.com/search.php?searchid=1037813

Jeff @ Marine Depot

 

[panui22]

Fallback OFF
Set ON
If Time 00:59 to 05:00 Then OFF
If Time 08:00 to 13:00 Then OFF
If Time 16:00 to 20:00 Then OFF
If Output RetPump_2_3 = OFF Then OFF
Defer 005:00 Then ON

Here is what I have been using. You can change your times to what ever works best for you. I have my slimmer go off 3 times a day.

 

[MarineDepot]

Fallback OFF
Set ON
If Time 00:59 to 05:00 Then OFF
If Time 08:00 to 13:00 Then OFF
If Time 16:00 to 20:00 Then OFF
If Output RetPump_2_3 = OFF Then OFF
Defer 005:00 Then ON

Here is what I have been using. You can change your times to what ever works best for you. I have my slimmer go off 3 times a day.