Cyanobacteria how do you get ride of it

mgtesting · #1 10/17/2007, 04:01 PM

A few days ago I noticed a red slim in my tank... so I asked what it was and found out from the below posit it was Cyanobacteria. Post is at the bottom.

I have done several water tests and got the following:

no2 is 0
no3 is 0
ammonia is 0
ph is a bit low at 8.2-8.3
alk is also in range

So i guess my question is how do i get ride of it. I am ruducing the amount I am feeding my fish by 50%, at least for now. I have sucked some off and am planning to do a 20% water change tonight. Any other suggestions.

Also as of right now I am limited on space because my sump is full with an ozone reactor and carbon filter, and a skimmer, and the rest of the tank is in my office and I prefer to have everything out of view. So adding a setup with a phosphate reactor or another tank on the system to grow and harvesting a macroalga probably will not work.

Thank you for your help

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...8&goto=newpost

rigleautomotive · #2 10/17/2007, 04:06 PM

manual removal by vacuming or turkey basting and weekly 25 percent water changes with rodi(0TDS) will make it go away.it takes time .100 micron bag used to filter all water that enters the sump and a bigger skimmer are two more things that will help.

mgtesting · #3 10/17/2007, 04:10 PM

i started the other day keeping my skimmer on 24/7 before it was only 15 hrs per day...

jeffjets · #4 10/17/2007, 07:20 PM

From my short experience more flow seemed to help me. I added another powerhead to blow over the area I had the red slime in and that seemed to get rid of it. I tried all the things you said, which helped some but the extra flow is what helped me the most.

ionredline0260 · #5 10/17/2007, 07:46 PM

I battled cyano in my 40 breeder for a total of 4 months. Nothing worked, even a combonation of phosgaurd, less food, less light, wet skimming, 0 tds water and 25% water changes I still had bits and pieces of it. I was avidly aganst bandaid products liek chimiclean but I used it once, and have been cyano free for over 2 months now. If you try every thing I did and it still doesn't go away I would try the chemiclean.

uscharalph · #6 10/17/2007, 07:55 PM

Suck it out with a turkey baster.

mgtesting · #7 10/17/2007, 08:38 PM

ya i am turkey basking it now and it got rid of most of it but I think i might add 2 more power heads behind the rock.

Kannin · #8 10/17/2007, 09:55 PM

It's Po4 that causes it. And, if you have cyano... the test for phosphate probably wont show it because the cyano is using it b4 it can show up. I am told that the 2 main sources for phosphates are tap water and fish food.

I had it due to the fact that I feed frozen food thawed in tank water. Here are the 4 changes I made;

I drain off the melted water as it has leached phosphates in it that don't get eaten by the fish.

I added more flow because it grows in dead spots.

I added a phosban reactor which costs about $40 plus a pump to run it (MJ400). It is hob and now I alternate between Phosgard and carbon in it.

I shortened my MH photoperiod by an hour a day. It likes light. People might recommend Red Slime Remover but it is only a short term fix. Good luck.

capn_hylinur · #9 10/18/2007, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mgtesting
A few days ago I noticed a red slim in my tank... so I asked what it was and found out from the below posit it was Cyanobacteria. Post is at the bottom.

I have done several water tests and got the following:

no2 is 0
no3 is 0
ammonia is 0
ph is a bit low at 8.2-8.3
alk is also in range

So i guess my question is how do i get ride of it. I am ruducing the amount I am feeding my fish by 50%, at least for now. I have sucked some off and am planning to do a 20% water change tonight. Any other suggestions.

Also as of right now I am limited on space because my sump is full with an ozone reactor and carbon filter, and a skimmer, and the rest of the tank is in my office and I prefer to have everything out of view. So adding a setup with a phosphate reactor or another tank on the system to grow and harvesting a macroalga probably will not work.

Thank you for your help

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...8&goto=newpost

I hear you---I did all that--and when the cyano started up the rocks towards my coral---I used Red Slime Remover---worked like a charm--been cyano free since.

The big question for using---how long has your tank been running--it is not recommended for tanks under 6 months

mgtesting · #10 10/18/2007, 02:06 PM

tank has been up since feb..8 months

Elorian · #11 10/18/2007, 03:36 PM

I agree that eliminating phosphate is likely to be the best long term solution. Granular ferric hydroxide products like Phosban are my preference as they are non-toxic (I've heard that the aluminum based products like Phosguard can be toxic to certain leather corals), extrememly effective at removing PO4, and will not leach any back into the water once they are saturated. Just be sure to rinse it well (but gently!) before use, as the dust may cause problems if it is not rinsed. A reactor with gentle flow is probably the best way to utilize this type of product (as opposed to the 'bag in sump' approach).

HTH and good luck!

capn_hylinur · #12 10/19/2007, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mgtesting
tank has been up since feb..8 months

opinion only cause it worked for me:

eliminate the source of phosphate or decrease it by running the phospbane reactor and eliminate the current presence of it by using Red slime remover or similar product.

firefish44 · #13 10/19/2007, 09:58 AM

mgtesting....I'm tagging along here, I have the same problem in a 75g with 30g sump, which is about 8 months in age (the tank). I read on here about a month ago about shutting down all lights for 3 days and then doing a water change, followed by a slow ramping up of lighting; and it worked great! Crystal clear water, no cyno slim...........for about 3 weeks, now it is back with a vengence! I have always used RODI water, from a 4 cannister "barracuda" system, and never had any measurable phosphates. Obviously, it is getting in there at some point. My sump is also heavily "slimed" with the stuff. I run a 5500k PC light over that at night to help the cheotho (sp?) algea, but even that is covered in brown/red slim. THis is getting frustrating....

pledosophy · #14 10/19/2007, 10:00 AM

IMO running your skimmer 24/7 might have been enough of a fix, however since the cyano is such an efficent feeder it is still there. The protein skimmer will be far far more effective now.

If you feel your levels are good and the skimmer is working I would turn the lights on te tnk off for 48 hours or so. Ambient room light is O.K. but the darker the better. Put a cheap clip on light from Home Depot on the sump in the other room to keep your pH up.

When the lights come back on the cyano will be far less if not completely gone.

If it keeps coming back in force after the no light treatment, then you haven't fixed the source.

If your not keeping any SPS corals, I'd bump the lights off to 72 hours or so.

Sk8r · #15 10/19/2007, 10:04 AM

a refugium, and lights out for 3 days [4th day actinic only] every month or so has worked for me. I have a bit IN the refugium, but it gets no foothold in my display. Also---avoid lateral light from windows. It will tend to break out where that hits your tank.

mgtesting · #16 10/19/2007, 10:04 AM

Ya I am runninig SPS corals, however I have added another device for flow and I have been switching out my micron bag ever 2 days. I have also reduced my MH by an hour a day, hopefully that will help ( i did have them off for 1.5 days already).

However i think i found my sorce of why I am gettig the red slim. For the past month I have been using my ro maker and well the filters were cashed. I am doing a 60 gallon water change tonight and keeping my fingers crossed.

Thank you

firefish44 · #17 10/19/2007, 10:30 AM

MGtesting, what do you mean by " the filters cashed"? How often do you change them?

capn_hylinur · #18 10/19/2007, 11:06 AM

did you test the r/0 water for phosphates?

and TDS's

mgtesting · #19 10/19/2007, 11:23 AM

umm have not changed them since i got the unit in feb... I stopr the unit in a different location then my fishtank and never look at it... the filters were a bit yellow.

chrowski · #20 10/19/2007, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sk8r
a refugium, and lights out for 3 days [4th day actinic only] every month or so has worked for me. I have a bit IN the refugium, but it gets no foothold in my display. Also---avoid lateral light from windows. It will tend to break out where that hits your tank.

I'm not doubting what you've said, but I'm on the 2nd day of my first blackout (put a garbage bag around the tank to try to keep out lateral light) because my tank has a brown cyano-like algea problem, but my main question is:
How positive are you that lateral light affects the growth of unwanted algea? Because my tank is in the basement, but sunlight hits the tank for about 5 hours a day, through a little window. Do you think this light source, that I could easily block out could be the source of my problems? [sorry if this is viewed as an attempt to steal the thread but I'm very currious]

hyperfocal · #21 10/19/2007, 11:48 AM

One data point: If I don't close the curtains during late summer and early autumn, the angle of sunlight is such that it catches the front corner of my tank for a few hours a day. It's enough to drive a major cyano bloom in that corner, almost from the first minute.

SuAsati · #22 10/19/2007, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mgtesting
umm have not changed them since i got the unit in feb... I stopr the unit in a different location then my fishtank and never look at it... the filters were a bit yellow.

Check for silicates.... If the prefilter is yellow it is past time to change it... It is probably loading your water with silicates and destroying your membrane in the process.

mgtesting · #23 10/19/2007, 11:59 AM

no problem... any additioanl info helps.... also good game last night against number 2

gkimble · #24 10/19/2007, 01:13 PM

Just keep your lights off for a couple of days that worked for me .

rigleautomotive · #25 10/19/2007, 01:26 PM

check your rodi water and make sure it is 0 tds before you dump any snake oil in your tank.the red slime remover causes more harm than other remedies mentioned so i would use it as a very last resort.strong protein skimming,25 percent water changes with 0 tds rodi water and increase flow.thats the route i would take with manual removal often as possible.sunlight hits my tanks all the time and i really never had a cyano problem.snails and hermits also aid in the removal of the nutrients it feeds on .also many believe raising your ph with kalk to 8.3 to 8.5 will also eliminate it.you need a good ph metered that is calibrated to do this safely.