Help with hair and cyano

[library 112]

Been in the saltwater side of the aquarium hobby for 22 months and starting to want to give up. I have a 112 gallon cube with the total system about 142 gal. I currently have 9 fish and a CUC :

Two tangs, 3 Ly Tail Anthias, 2 springie damsels, one clown, a dusky wrasse. Halloween Crab, a pair of cleaner shrimp, a pair of tiger conch and mix of snails
Parameters: I am new but they have stayed here for a pretty long while. Nitrate 11.5, Phosphate.09, calsium 517, Alk 8.1, Mag 1496, Salinity 1.025, Ph 8.5

I have an algae scrubber, I run GFO, Bio and Carbon, good size skimmer and have three Gyer pumps for flow. Radion light set to 75% at the recommended mix reef for a 9 hour cycle

So I have fought a mix at the same time of hair algae and cyano pretty much for the last year. My filter sock was even red today when I swapped it out instead of the normal brown green which is what promoted this post. I have used red slime and stuff in the past but hate doing it as it kills my mirobiome and feel it caused some coral death last time. Moreover it barley seems to put a dent in the stuff, even the red slime does not fully get ride of it. I have syphoned the sand till the point I need almost a new sand bed I could go on but I think the picture is set. So has anyone ever delt with this for a period like this, I am getting to the point of shutting down and I dont want to. I am looking for honest answers here as I have seriously tried nearly every thing. I do weekly changes and scrub and coral snow with micro factor and so on but nothing seems to change. I thought last week I was a little more on top and had a few days that seemed to be getting better and then it spiked again. I am doing coral snow and microfactor currently and then going to clean my gyers and keep at it. any help would be great.

 

[Rob A]

It sounds like just a long ugly phase. I hit my 180 going through the ugly phase with chemiclean and cut back the lights and feeding. It took a couple hits of chemiclean and it killed my sponges but it seem to speed things up.

 

[library 112]

It sounds like just a long ugly phase. I hit my 180 going through the ugly phase with chemiclean and cut back the lights and feeding. It took a couple hits of chemiclean and it killed my sponges but it seem to speed things up.

Well I hope you are right, I work quite a bit less over the next month or so so just going to keep at it and do have a sand goby coming to help a little

 

[bobnicaragua]

If this is a dry rock start, I would try adding live rock.

More snails should help with the hair algae.

 

[Sam7]

Yes, probably cut your lights back on hours per day even one hour less will start to help. I know you say you been trying everything but get in there brother and manual handle it into submission. Get that brush out and scrub , scrape and siphon.....repeat. More than you ever have. It will start to turn around but it does take time. Dont feed too much food to your fish and dont do so many things at once. Most those chemicals be making things worse. Get a cucumber for your sand then leave it alone. Are you using rodi water for topoff and water changes? Whats the tds of your water? Maybe you need new filters. There are no answers other than these and but time and lot hard work . Dont give up friend it will be a nice reward once it starts to mature. Most people throw in the towel too soon.

 

[Mrcote1]

My 160 gallon tank is just over a year old and ive been battling hair algae for the past 6 months. Ive been in the hobby for 15 years with numerous tanks though. It will go away, it just takes time.

Manual removal, good cleanup crew and stay consistent with water changes. I started my current tank with all dry rock because i wanted to mortar together a large rock structure, so I anticipated some issues. But I know it will go away eventually.

Also, a diamond goby is the best thing ever for the sandbed. Nothing else even comes close.

Your lighting also seems pretty high. I have 2 XR30s on the radiant color template and only set to 25% intensity

 

[library 112]

If this is a dry rock start, I would try adding live rock.

More snails should help with the hair algae.

Got 10 on the way to replensih

 

[library 112]

Yes, probably cut your lights back on hours per day even one hour less will start to help. I know you say you been trying everything but get in there brother and manual handle it into submission. Get that brush out and scrub , scrape and siphon.....repeat. More than you ever have. It will start to turn around but it does take time. Dont feed too much food to your fish and dont do so many things at once. Most those chemicals be making things worse. Get a cucumber for your sand then leave it alone. Are you using rodi water for topoff and water changes? Whats the tds of your water? Maybe you need new filters. There are no answers other than these and but time and lot hard work . Dont give up friend it will be a nice reward once it starts to mature. Most people throw in the towel too soon.

Well checked my lights and think mobius did something on a reset they were at a bigger intensity than I thought. Knocked them down to 8 hour and only 65% Thanks

 

[library 112]

My 160 gallon tank is just over a year old and ive been battling hair algae for the past 6 months. Ive been in the hobby for 15 years with numerous tanks though. It will go away, it just takes time.

Manual removal, good cleanup crew and stay consistent with water changes. I started my current tank with all dry rock because i wanted to mortar together a large rock structure, so I anticipated some issues. But I know it will go away eventually.

Also, a diamond goby is the best thing ever for the sandbed. Nothing else even comes close.

Your lighting also seems pretty high. I have 2 XR30s on the radiant color template and only set to 25% intensity

Just read this one Ill try the light even a little less and yeah I ordered that fish fro Dr Quarentine and its on the way

 

[PoseidonsReef]

Been in the saltwater side of the aquarium hobby for 22 months and starting to want to give up. I have a 112 gallon cube with the total system about 142 gal. I currently have 9 fish and a CUC :

Two tangs, 3 Ly Tail Anthias, 2 springie damsels, one clown, a dusky wrasse. Halloween Crab, a pair of cleaner shrimp, a pair of tiger conch and mix of snails
Parameters: I am new but they have stayed here for a pretty long while. Nitrate 11.5, Phosphate.09, calsium 517, Alk 8.1, Mag 1496, Salinity 1.025, Ph 8.5

I have an algae scrubber, I run GFO, Bio and Carbon, good size skimmer and have three Gyer pumps for flow. Radion light set to 75% at the recommended mix reef for a 9 hour cycle

So I have fought a mix at the same time of hair algae and cyano pretty much for the last year. My filter sock was even red today when I swapped it out instead of the normal brown green which is what promoted this post. I have used red slime and stuff in the past but hate doing it as it kills my mirobiome and feel it caused some coral death last time. Moreover it barley seems to put a dent in the stuff, even the red slime does not fully get ride of it. I have syphoned the sand till the point I need almost a new sand bed I could go on but I think the picture is set. So has anyone ever delt with this for a period like this, I am getting to the point of shutting down and I dont want to. I am looking for honest answers here as I have seriously tried nearly every thing. I do weekly changes and scrub and coral snow with micro factor and so on but nothing seems to change. I thought last week I was a little more on top and had a few days that seemed to be getting better and then it spiked again. I am doing coral snow and microfactor currently and then going to clean my gyers and keep at it. any help would be great.

Check your lighting could be too high levels of red and white , could be flow too causing cyano , and do i dare say again to dose chemi clean get some snails that feed on cyano like tectus and torchus and consider a 3 day blackout , i did all of these last week and have noticed a big change this week. Im going on 5 months cycled

 

[library 112]

Check your lighting could be too high levels of red and white , could be flow too causing cyano , and do i dare say again to dose chemi clean get some snails that feed on cyano like tectus and torchus and consider a 3 day blackout , i did all of these last week and have noticed a big change this week. Im going on 5 months cycled

chemi clean /red slime killed about 1000$ worth of corals but I do agree with all else. Personally I’ll never use chemi or red slime again

 

[PoseidonsReef]

Check your lighting could be too high levels of red and white , could be flow too causing cyano , and do i dare say again to dose chemi clean get some snails that feed on cyano like tectus and torchus and consider a 3 day blackout , i did all of these last week and have noticed a big change this week. Im going on 5 months cycled

chemi clean /red slime killed about 1000$ worth of corals but I do agree with all else. Personally I’ll never use chemi or red slime again

Jesus, did you over dose it? Or forget to do a water change after? Im fish only right now as im just starting my tank so ive only seen positive effect from it so far

 

[library 112]

Jesus, did you over dose it? Or forget to do a water change after? Im fish only right now as im just starting my tank so ive only seen positive effect from it so far

No, actually did a lower does. One of the things that those chemicals dont tell you is the kill your biome. So all you beneficial bacteria is gone as well as the problem. Dont get me wrong it probably one in 100 or more that have it happen the way it did for me but I wont chance that again. I lost a lot of my more sensitive corals and my anemone (that alone was $400) There are lost of things in this hobby that I find are different then the fresh. So much more could of gone this way or nuisances. So the chemical do the job but after what happened to me I wont chance that again and the biome well they dont tell you that you need to does benifical bacteria after use which I feel should be on the box.

 

[library 112]

Thanks all for the push the beginning of the week my sand nearly cleared up all the way and tank is looking good.

 

[W31Olds]

Get a couple of Tuxedo Urchins and add a UV System. I Urchin is worth 20-30 snails and they will eat some of the GHA.

 

[library 112]

Get a couple of Tuxedo Urchins and add a UV System. I Urchin is worth 20-30 snails and they will eat some of the GHA.

I had a tuxedo and he kept getting my zoas, also ran a uv still have it but with where my tank is Its hard to properly plum it. When I took it off I put on the algae scrubber and my three tandom reactors which seem to work. I think I will try a tuxedo again though