Hi, any final thoughts on my fight against cyano before I drop the chemiclean bomb?

[Budman93]

Hey,

So I have a fresh tank, started around two months ago. Plagues are expected, I managed to tackle dinos and briyo, however cyano is kicking me hard last two weeks and it is not getting better.
I am vacuuming the carpets of it every day, I am doing 10-20% water changes during it.
At start I used soda to raise kH, I used kalk to pump the pH up too (first kalk then soda as soda brings pH down a bit).
Cyanos are back next day. I was trying to at start to wait until the carpet gets thicker and then vacuum it out in bigger batches - did not work.
I reviewed the flow in the tank, increased it significantly - did not work, in fact more cyano is where the current is the strongest!
I am changing filters, have skimmer on... I do not overfeed, there is no gunk gathering in dead spots, I have few hermits, snails and serpent star moving the sand (well recently it is so bad I noticed hermits are rather sticking to the rock)

I was planning to use chemiclean on the 15th, so now I wanted to ask if there is anything else I can do. The reason is, that cyano are making life of my zoas and brain coral a mysery. It is growing over them, some are closed last two-three days...

Here are the photos (I vacuumed day before!):

What am I doing wrong?

water:
kH: 7.5 (I am using Marine Pro salt which is 7.0)
pH: 8.2
NH3/4: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: 15
Ca: 475 (pumped with kalk)
PO4: 0.1 (was zero, I added a bit as some articles suggest 0 P4 could be causing it)


I do not have any more tests.

Help, please.

Had the same problem. Went away in a few days after i put my protein skimmer back on

 

[Paul B]

This is perfectly normal in a new tank and I would not do anything except keep vacuuming as that will remove anything the cyano feeds on. It is not harmful (as long as you keep it off any corals) and will abate on it's own "As long as you don't add chemicals". Any chemical you add will short circuit the natural reactions in the tank and cause problems in the future.

My reef is over 50 years old and I still get it. Don't worry about it.

You can see some of it here. It comes and goes and I call it "natural". Does that Red Waspfish, 32 year old fireclown tending her eggs and pregnant Ruby Red dragonette look frustrated?







Just my opinion but most people will disagree.
Good Luck.

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

You could also chalk it up to a classic case of NTS - Next Tank Syndrome. This is where you apply all the knowledge from your simple but successful first reef tank to a new ambitious build, only to receive a series of sharp kicks to the balls.

 

[MnFish1]

I don’t believe that blaming or adjusting white light solves anything (in the long run)…
If you ask why aren’t the natural reefs (lit by the white light of the sun) covered in red or green slime?
The Answer is: because nutrients and flow aren’t out of whack…
So there is your answer; Solve the root cause(s), it isn’t lighting…
If you do go the chemiclean route, make sure you have some manner of skimmer shutoff during the inevitable cup overflow…

you're actually supposed to leave the skimmer running - but let the skim mate go back into the tank (ie. most people can remove the cup)

 

[Doctorgori]

you're actually supposed to leave the skimmer running - but let the skim mate go back into the tank (ie. most people can remove the cup)

Yup!! I actually do that but my twist is I use it as a water change opportunity and always have pre-mixed AFSW and empty buckets at the ready….

 

[MikeCRK]

a quick update from the frontline

I believe that persistence with syphoning the gunk and other things is starting to benefit the cause.
Today morning for the first time in a while I did not have overflowing skimmer cup.
Fish seem to be more energetic and swimming happily around the tank.
Corals got a second life, SPS frags have long polyps.
There is much less cyano on the sand bed and rockwork.
I have maybe 4-5 spots where it is still a bit of a challenge, but it seems the bacteria is in retreat.

What I did since the last post:
- syphoning cyano at the end of a "day" through the sock and water back to the tank
- I cut down the white light big time
- I am applying 4ml H2O2 twice a day to battle free flowing particles in the water column (but this is rather homeopathic amount)
- after syphoning the gunk I use turkey baster and blow all the rocks, corals etc. (before the night)
- I had a look into AIO compartment and found that circulation was not great, the separator from the return pump was allowing the water to by-pass skimmer. Temporary fix done, I need to figure how to glue it to seal, this can wait.
- I tuned skimmer better (it was not bad, but now is super)
- I am tweaking the flow slightly each day, to change water patterns and make bacteria life harder
- During the day I use baster to blow off any "hair" which stuck on corals

What next:
- keep doing the above, hoping to not need to syphon that often, we are getting there
- I need to add calcium carbonate to pick-up free floating particles and get them out, water is a bit cloudy (but not yellowish/brown anymore). I would not think that getting food grade chalk powder in Ireland is such a challenge
- I think about upgrading the return pump to something stronger but this is not a priority. This way I can increase the flow and catch more surface gunk in overflow (stronger pump would increase the water level), as it is not good for me as it is right now.
- after I get the coral snow sorted, I am going to get the dosing pump plugged and start dosing.
- after better control in the tank, more CUC inside and I am moving the remaining corals from the cube over.

Believe me, the below is a massive progress. I tuned lights up for the photo and pumped up red balance on the picture to show where "the most cyano-places" are. Seems that left front, right front and some spots on the rock. But wow such a difference to what was there a week ago (week ago this photo, taken at this time of the day, would look as if someone put a gummieberry juice in it

BONUS: how to catch blenny in the cube and put him to the DT I need to counter the algae taking over the rocks which were occupied by cyano. Luckily, simple green algae.

 

[NoFeedback]

This is cyano and not dino. Likely your Phosphate and even nitrate levels are elevated. At times they dont have to be. In your pics, your tank has bright white light which are making the cyano happy.
Cyano blooms typically start when water nutrient concentrations of phosphate, nitrate and other organic compounds are too high.
Some of the most common causes include:
- Protein skimmer which fills water with tiny air bubbles. As bubbles form from the reaction chamber, dissolved organic compound molecules stick to them. Foam forms at the surface of the water and is then transferred to a collection cup, where it rests as skimmate. When the protein skimmer does not output the best efficiency or you do not have the suitable protein skimmer to cover the tank, the air bubbles created by the skimmer might be insufficient. And this insufficiency of air bubbles can trigger the cyano to thrive.
- Overstocking / overfeeding, your aquarium with nutrients is often the culprit of a cyano bloom
- Adding live rock that isn’t completely cured which acts like a breeding ground for red slime algae
- If you don’t change your water with enough frequency, you’ll soon have a brightly colored red slime algae bloom. Regular water changes dilute nutrients that feed cyanobacteria and keeps your tank clear
- Using a water source with nitrates or phosphates is like rolling out the welcome mat for cyano. Tap water is an example
- Inadequate water flow, or movement, is a leading cause of cyano blooms. Slow moving water combined with excess dissolved nutrients is a recipe for pervasive red slime algae development

I recommend to reduce white light intensity or even turn them off for 3-5 days. Add liquid bacteria daily for a week during the day at 1.5ml per 10 gallons. Add Hydrogen peroxide at night at 1ml per 10 gallons which serves as an oxidizer. Add a pouch of chemipure Elite which will balance phos and nitrate and keep them in check.

After the 5 days, add a few snails such as cerith, margarita, astrea and nassarius plus 6-8 blue leg hermits to take control.

Thanks for the input! I have been wrestling with this same issue. I will turn off the white light and see what happens. The red Cyano was off the chain but it seems to be losing the fight. Even in its reduced capacity, bacteria still reproduces very quickly!