cyano algae please help

Tangency

Tangency

New member
Hello everyone. Hopefully someone else can offer some advice. Like many others, I am also having a problem with cyano. So far it has confined itself to the sand bed.

I have a relatively new setup 90 gallon with 2 false percs (have been added for about a week) and 125 lbs of established live rock. My tests show 0 or very low levels of ammonia, phos, nitrate, nitrites. I haven't started feeding my tank until I added the clowns and even then I feed lightly and once a day. I am diligent with my WC's. Additionally, I am running carbon and a skimmer. I have a phos reactor but have not set it up yet because my phos is 0.

Is this a new tank thing? Any ideas to get rid of it? I have slowly started vacuuming areas of the sand bed.
 
scotty

scotty

Member
phosphate reading is suspect, the liquid testers in the kit, people voice that they aren't accurate. Cyano likes phosphates, but also silicates like any algae, which from what I'm reading online goes away as the tank matures unless you dump silicates back into the tank with poor water.

also a reading of 0 just means the algea in the tank is eating it up, not necessarily that you have no phosphates in the water. the way cyano works is it expells nutrients at night, which is why it "goes away" at night, and gets worse during the day. take a reading mid-night if you can and see if you have phosphates in the water column then.

we need more info.
are you using ro/di, ro, or distilled water?
- important because just because you are diligent about nutrient exporting, you are still dumping phosphates back into the tank if you are using tap water.
whats lightly feeding?
- a pinch that mostly hits the sand isn't light feeding for example.
- my false clowns eat every other day, not necessary for them to get fed every day. but im sure ill get yelled at for that comment.
is the spots growing to your rock, or staying the same?


side note, carbon 100% of the time with that bioload really isn't necessary, doesn't hurt but one more thing you don't have to change. i use chemi-pure which is carbon on steroids, look into it, it's 12 bucks and lasts 6 months.


*edit*
ways i got rid of my cyano issue:
Limpets love the stuff.
moved to distilled water, my ro water from the tap still has measurable phosphates.
got as much of it out and off the rock as i could, every single day.

i would start the reactor, if the cyano is getting worse, you have a definite phosphates in the water.
 
poidog

poidog

Active member
i have red slime remover if you need it. I had to use it once a few years ago when my tank was just under a year old... never came back (knock on wood)
 
Tangency

Tangency

New member
thanks for the replies... to answer some of the questions:

I use RO/DI water only for both WC and top offs. 0 TDS. +/- a few depending on whatever previously mixed salt water salts were left in the bucket. I have a API test. I might try the Salifert test kit to see if the Phos reading is different. I will also try taking a reading late night to see if I get different results.

Light feeding is whatever the little guys will eat in a few min. I stop feeding if the Mysis/Flake start hitting the sand. Although my crabs run over there to grab it if it does. I have only been feeding for a less than a week and the cyano has been around for a month +/- a few days. I could be wrong but I don't think my feeding habits are to blame (yet)

The spots are only on the sand bed currently. There are 3 main areas. The spots slowly get bigger through the week (maybe ~1 inch+ growth over the week) .

I understand carbon probably is not needed at this stage. The carbon was used to remove the FlatwormExit I had previously dosed. I have since continued to use it. That should not effect water params though correct? (unless its old and needs changed?)

will limpets need a steady diet of cyano? I dont want to add anything only to have it starve if I get a hold of cyano.

Could this be light quality related? just a new tank thing?
 
scotty

scotty

Member
Issue with chemicals like that if I'm not mistaken you need to pump oxygen somehow.

Limpets aren't like nudis, they are indistcriminate grazers, mine we're HHers and lived through a cycle. Cyano eaters are hit or miss. Before you go straight to chemicals, you gotta get to the root of the problem, or you are throwing stressful chemicals into the tank for it to just have it come back.

You would be getting an overall outbreak not just cyano if light was the issue.

Followup questions.
There are nutrients coming from somewhere, when's the last time you changed the carbon? And no its beneficial as a stopgap to just in case a spike happens. You aren't hurting anything unless its old.
Have you tested the salt mix prior to putting in the tank, some of the mixes have silicates from the synthetic salt process, even phosphates in cases?

Have you considered a fuge?
 
jcarlilesiu

jcarlilesiu

Active member
The problem with chemical removers is that you aren't really addressing the problem.

If you want a long term solution you have to fix the particular out of balance factor of the tank.
 
Tangency

Tangency

New member
Scotty - I agree with you about the chemicals. I would like to try a more natural approach to this algae problem before I use chemicals. I believe it will only reinforce good husbandry practice.

Regarding your followup questions, I have not changed the carbon yet. I added it on April 14th (for the Flatworm treatment). I assume reef crystals salt mix I have is just like any other and wouldn't be adding tons of silicates or I would guess other reefers would have the same problem.

I was out of town this weekend so I still have some additional testing to do before I ask for more help but, I appreciate all the feedback from everyone thus far. Thanks.
 
Piscinarii

Piscinarii

New member
When it comes to Cyano I prefer to just address it without chemicals.

Water changes, adjust what/when you are feeding, lighting cycles, checking for dead creatures in the tank, skimmer not working well, carbon & GFO not working properly, reduced flow for some reason, etc.
 
Tangency

Tangency

New member
The Cyano seems to be reducing... slowly but steadily.

After testing phosphate levels multiple times throughout the day my results never showed elevated levels. Stumped, I took your other recommendations and over the course of the last few weeks and have remained consistent with partial water changes and siphoning out sections of the covered sand bed. I also swapped out 2 of my 10K bulbs (although the bulbs didn't appear yellow or dim I had nothing to compare them to as I bought the fixture used and didn't remember to ask how old the bulbs were... live and learn)
The battle is not over yet but I appear to be on the right track.

Thanks Jake, Scott, Eric, Peter, Victor, and Jeff.
 
Tangency

Tangency

New member
Just an update for anyone else that might need help.

After about a month of weekly water changes my cyano problem seems to be on its way out. There are still a few little silver dollar sized patches here and there but they don't spread nearly as rapidly as before (covering the sand in a few days).

I have stayed on top of the water changes including vacuuming the cyano off the sand bed each time.

I changed the protein skimmer to run more 'wet'. I opened the gate valve to remove about a skimmer cup full a week and increased flow in my sump. Before it was 'dry' skim.

I added more snails and a shrimp to the CUC to help eat any food my fish missed. Additionally, I rinse the mysis in RODI water to remove the binders (algae fuel) and have changed my feedings to every other day.

I am running Phosban in the meantime to help keep phosphates in check so my husbandry habits will be more effective.
 
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