Vinegar Dosing & Cyano Problems!?!?

[iReefer12]

So I’m battling Cyano right now.

It is not so bad, but it grows on a few rocks and it’s worst on the sand.

I dose 50ml vinegar a day, 25ml at 11AM & 25ml at 5PM.

My last test showed:

Po4: 0.04ppm
No3: 5ppm - I’m dosing Nitrate or would be lower, I was actually going to try and raise Nitrate up to 12PPM.

I’m just concerned that with Po4 so low, I’m still growing cyano, could vinegar be my problem. I just did a 3 day lights out and within about an hour, it’s already growing in the sand again, the sand just looks like it has red specks in it.

I’m torn between increasing dosing, or stopping, not sure which to try first.

 

[Dan_P]

So I’m battling Cyano right now.

It is not so bad, but it grows on a few rocks and it’s worst on the sand.

I dose 50ml vinegar a day, 25ml at 11AM & 25ml at 5PM.

My last test showed:

Po4: 0.04ppm
No3: 5ppm - I’m dosing Nitrate or would be lower, I was actually going to try and raise Nitrate up to 12PPM.

I’m just concerned that with Po4 so low, I’m still growing cyano, could vinegar be my problem. I just did a 3 day lights out and within about an hour, it’s already growing in the sand again, the sand just looks like it has red specks in it.

I’m torn between increasing dosing, or stopping, not sure which to try first.

What is the reason for carbon dosing?

 

[iReefer12]

I’ve always done it I guess, just to aid in nutrient control.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

carbon dosing can feed cyano, so it isn’t always the best way to fight cyano.

 

[Dan_P]

I’ve always done it I guess, just to aid in nutrient control.

OK, makes sense.

@taricha demonstrated the demise of cyanobacteria with heavy carbon dosing. I suppose there are intermediate levels of carbon dosing that might have an undesirable effect. This on my list of “things to look at“ in my cyanobacteria cultures.

 

[iReefer12]

Would you suggest I raise my dosing? Or stop completely?

 

[Daddy-o]

Seems odd to carbon dose and add nitrate?
Cheers! Mark

 

[iReefer12]

I was mainly dosing because of Po4

 

[taricha]

@taricha demonstrated the demise of cyanobacteria with heavy carbon dosing

In my circumstance, I carbon over-dosed as experiment. And it was under background conditions of persistent PO4, and nearly undetectable NO3.
With carbon overdosing the nitrate became totally undetectable no matter where or how closely I looked. And the cyano showed indications of nitrate limitation before it disappeared.
(There were undesirable side effects of this experiment. E.g. patches of the sandbed just below the surface showed the gray areas with the color that we normally associate with oxygen deprivation.)

The N and P seems like the flip side to the OPs situation...

No3: 5ppm - I’m dosing Nitrate or would be lower, I was actually going to try and raise Nitrate up to 12PPM.

 

[iReefer12]

I’m leaning towards just shutting my dosing off for a few weeks, see what happens.

 

[BeejReef]

maybe dial it back instead of going cold-turkey?

 

[ctopherl]

carbon dosing can feed cyano, so it isn’t always the best way to fight cyano.

Once carbon dosing causes cyano what’s the best way to deal with it and get it to stabilize? Struggling with this right now using TM NP bacto balance