My first Cyano outbreak on week 4

[sfin52]

I never had issue with nitrate. It was 50ppm. For nirtate stump remover works. It's a very specific brand. I'll see if I can locate it.

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

I have never had to lower the phosphate or nitrates after the first 3 years they just stayed at zero. I only bought the phosgaurd and purigen to kill this stuff . I think the brand was spectrum I would rather not use anything like that though. I’m wondering if this live phytoplankton I have may help instead along with raising p04

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

Once the plankton dies it becomes organic matter just like excess nutrients and raises the NO3/PO4 levels? Same thing I’m going for correct? 2 birds 1 stone lol... I could be wrong though I’m hoping this will work

 

[sfin52]

Woudnt hurt.

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

I will at least use this until the order for seachem flourish gets here

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

So far so good, I have not tested to water yet but will tomorrow and have not received flourish yet. However I have been using live phytoplankton. The Cyano is starting to peel from the back glass and I don’t see more growing on the sand.

 

[acabgd]

I think phyto is a good plan - can't hurt, but can help.

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

I’m not 100% sure that it’s even the phyto doing anything, I have read of it running course receding then coming back. I have found small patches of hair algae so at the least the system isn’t nutriant starved

 

[sfin52]

Seeing hair algea is a good sign. Don't pull hair algea out yet. Keep doing what you are doing. It's going to get ugly before it gets better.

 

[sfin52]

My tank after dino. Look at all that green hairy goodness. :)

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

My tank after dino. Look at all that green hairy goodness. :)

Will the hair algae go away on its own in time or will that be a separate battle later

 

[sfin52]

Separate battle. Mine is kept in check by algea grazeers. Dino started because of the battle with HA. Ran heavy gfo and nitrate reducers.

A healthy reef grows loads of algea. It's kept in check by grazers. In the thread I copied in the early post has a section called the end game that articulates it better than I can.

I'm always happy when I see ha in my tank. Old time reefers believed some algea in the tank was a good thing.

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

Is it safe to assume that since the tank smells like algae the carbon should be replaced? I didn’t see anything in the stick you posted about this. Smells kinda rough.

 

[sfin52]

yes replace carbon

 

[sfin52]

thats one of the reason to run carbon

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

I use the 100g bags and would hope that would last longer than 3 days. It is in my 150g an hour canister maybe should remove and add other bag to the slower flow filter?

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

I don’t mean to ask so many questions just trying not to mess with it more than necessary

 

[sfin52]

When .I was dealing with this I asked loads of questions. Keep asking. You not doing traditional water changes. I would run your skimmer. To help export stuff.

 

[sfin52]

I had two hob that I put on back of the tank besides my canister.

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

I stopped changing water only top offs