Red and Green Cyano at the same time -- and I really don't understand what to do. (Big Ask)

mike550

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Hello All,

So I've read the cyano threads, and honestly am more confused as to what a good path forward is. So please excuse my newbie questions and perhaps some are repetitive.

Background: I have a 120G mixed reef tank that's been up and running around 14 months. Nice mix of fish along with BTA, shrimp, urchin, snails, and crab. And I'm just starting to add corals -- although I have a really nice patch of Green Star Polyp and a softball sized Frogspawn. Interestingly, my kenya tree has pulled back a bit over the past month or so. Skimmer, no refugium, but I also added Seachem Matrix media six months ago to help manage nitrates. I also dose ESV B-Ionic. Current parameters are:

Salinity: 1.025
NO3: 8
Alk: 8.5
Ca: 470
Mg: 1380
Phosphates: 0.03-0.1 (averaging 0.1 over past 30 days)

A couple of months ago, I noticed Cyano starting when I was dosing RedSea Coral AB+ (50% dosage) so now only dose 25% once a week. Around the same time, my phosphate levels started increasing so I started to dose NoPox (25% recommended). It's not making any visual impact but phosphates are starting to decline but nitrates staying level. I do 15% weekly water changes and brush / siphon the cyano off about 1/3 of the rock each time.

The threads have so many different suggestions and advice, I'm having a hard time organizing my thoughts. So here are my questions -- and open to all suggestions.

1. Is NoPox helping or hurting the situation (and why?)
2. Should I replace NoPox with GFO?
3. When people turn "off" their lighting what happens to the coral? Or is this just turning down (or off) the "white" light. I have AI Primes so I can turn down / off the white channel
4. I'd really like to avoid chemicals like Chemi-Clean or Vibrant as it seems that it can stress / kill marine life.
5. What should my plan be for reducing cyano and then keeping it out?

Thanks in advance, and I know this is a huge ask for help.
 

lapin

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I only run GFO so I cant say much about Nopox.
I do dose vodka and vinegar. Pretty much the same but its not exactly the same.
If you turn off the lights for a day or 2 corals will not be effected. Think clouds in a 2 day storm event.
I have both green and red cyano. It comes and goes. I dont worry about it. In the winter when the sun is not as strong and its not light as long, the cyano disappears.
Here its is full bore green thanks to morning sun light this summer.

GreenSand.jpg
 
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mike550

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I only run GFO so I cant say much about Nopox.
I do dose vodka and vinegar. Pretty much the same but its not exactly the same.
If you turn off the lights for a day or 2 corals will not be effected. Think clouds in a 2 day storm event.
I have both green and red cyano. It comes and goes. I dont worry about it. In the winter when the sun is not as strong and its not light as long, the cyano disappears.
Here its is full bore green thanks to morning sun light this summer.

GreenSand.jpg
Thanks @lapin I appreciate your thoughts, and clarifying the lighting situation. What are your target nitrate and phosphates levels?

On phosphate folks have told me “zero” — basically undetectable of barely blue on Salifert. And others say 0.1
 

JGT

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Hello All,

So I've read the cyano threads, and honestly am more confused as to what a good path forward is. So please excuse my newbie questions and perhaps some are repetitive.

Background: I have a 120G mixed reef tank that's been up and running around 14 months. Nice mix of fish along with BTA, shrimp, urchin, snails, and crab. And I'm just starting to add corals -- although I have a really nice patch of Green Star Polyp and a softball sized Frogspawn. Interestingly, my kenya tree has pulled back a bit over the past month or so. Skimmer, no refugium, but I also added Seachem Matrix media six months ago to help manage nitrates. I also dose ESV B-Ionic. Current parameters are:

Salinity: 1.025
NO3: 8
Alk: 8.5
Ca: 470
Mg: 1380
Phosphates: 0.03-0.1 (averaging 0.1 over past 30 days)

A couple of months ago, I noticed Cyano starting when I was dosing RedSea Coral AB+ (50% dosage) so now only dose 25% once a week. Around the same time, my phosphate levels started increasing so I started to dose NoPox (25% recommended). It's not making any visual impact but phosphates are starting to decline but nitrates staying level. I do 15% weekly water changes and brush / siphon the cyano off about 1/3 of the rock each time.

The threads have so many different suggestions and advice, I'm having a hard time organizing my thoughts. So here are my questions -- and open to all suggestions.

1. Is NoPox helping or hurting the situation (and why?)
2. Should I replace NoPox with GFO?
3. When people turn "off" their lighting what happens to the coral? Or is this just turning down (or off) the "white" light. I have AI Primes so I can turn down / off the white channel
4. I'd really like to avoid chemicals like Chemi-Clean or Vibrant as it seems that it can stress / kill marine life.
5. What should my plan be for reducing cyano and then keeping it out?

Thanks in advance, and I know this is a huge ask for help.
Comes in all colors. Check your NO3and PO4. Suction it out, reduce lighting, feed less. Be patient. Will take time to eradicate.
 

richarddeweerd

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I have to agree with JGT here. If your nitrate and Po4 are so high even with nopox then your skimmer probably can't keep up with the amount of food that you throw in. A mixed reef tank this size should be able to run on a skimmer alone without all other filter media.

What skimmer do you have?
What do you feed, frozen or dry? Frozen has lower nutrients and therefore is less prone to overfeeding.

Never brush cyano of, just siphon it of, brushing spreads it even more.
Use de acclimatization mode on your primes set it for 30 days and start with 50%
Soft corals are good in using nitrates an po4
 

lapin

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Thanks @lapin I appreciate your thoughts, and clarifying the lighting situation. What are your target nitrate and phosphates levels?

On phosphate folks have told me “zero” — basically undetectable of barely blue on Salifert. And others say 0.1
Right now my P04 is 48 on the ul checker = .147
Red Sea Pro Nitrate at last check was around 25

I do have a NPS tank plumbed to the main tank and it gets fed a lot.
I have mostly soft corals, LPS and a few SPS
I dose 12ml vodka daily
I dose 50 ml vinegar daily
600 gallon main tank
 
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mike550

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@JGT @lapin and @richarddeweerd thanks for your thoughts and tips.

For mechanical filtration I'm using a KLIR-7 fleece roller filter and a Bubble Magus Curve 7 skimmer. I tend to skim dry. In terms of foods, I've only been feeding frozen for the fish, and reduced any coral foods to once / week.

My bad on brushing cyano. I was brushing it while trying to siphoning for my water changes. I'll just try to siphon.

Turned my lights off for two days, then will run acclimate mode for 30. I'll also bring down my white channel while acclimating.

Thanks again for your help!
 
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mike550

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Okay here’s my update.

A little bit late but learned a lot along the way. I did a three day blackout which seemed to clear things up quite a bit and then slowly ramped my lights back over four weeks. I have also reduced the amount of fish food (frozen) and cut way back on any coral food (BRS reef chili / reef roids). Basic parameters are about the same

Salinity: 1.025
NO3: 5-8
Phosphate: 0.03
Mag: 1370
Ca: 460

That said the cyano came back over time. Still doing 15-20% water changes and siphoning the cyano each time. I have two questions / thoughts.

First — the winter sun is giving the tank a lot more light than summer / fall.
Second — I’m wondering if NoPox might be creating the issue.

@lapin @richarddeweerd @Jet any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.
 

lapin

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I have a cyano outbreak when the sun hits my tank for about 3 months out of the year. One side turns green on the sand and the other turns red on the sand. Weird the 2 different colors. I believe in my case its the sun. It has happened 2 years in a row now
 
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mike550

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@lapin I’m wondering if mine is seasonal too. My tank was started a bit more than a year ago, and I’m not sure if I had an algae outbreak last winter. Back then it was pretty much a FOWLR tank so my parameters we’re quite different.
 

Siberwulf

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Hopping in here since I too have a Red and Green cyano problem. My question: Is the ambient sunlight hitting the tank really more than what's being cast from the lights we're using? Is it a spectrum problem?
 

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