Cyano problems won't go away!!

[RownSurf81]

Hello,

Well I've read a lot on here about cyano and it just seems like I've been fighting it forever. I don't see any problems in my chemistry that are causing it( phosphates and silicates are both at 0), and my lights are less than a year old. Is it possible that I just don't have enough flow to keep it from thriving? I have several powerheads and returns throughout the tank.

I have some extra cash to spend on some new equipment, so if anyone can suggest some superior methods of circulation and some links for them I'd greatly appreciate it. Also, any ideas for massive cyano problems other than chemistry, lighting or circulation are also welcome!

thanks much,

Justin

[fishinchick]

what do you feed and how often?
do you have powerheads in your tank? (how many how much flow)
what is the flow on your return pump?
what do you use for topoff water?

[marcel leroux]

I had a problem with cyano and thought I could never get rid of it until I was told about this product by Ultra Life, called red slime remover, used it once and have never had a problem since. I would also suggest checking your water flow for dead spots in your tank

[RownSurf81]

I feed various frozen food every other day...Reef Plus, Emerald Entree, Brine, etc. Mix it up for variety. I have two powerheads plus the returns from my sump and a canister that I run carbon in at times. I cannot recall the flow strength in the return. Whatever lvl magpump is adequate for a 75 gallon with a single HOB overflow. Could this canister be a problem somehow perhaps..some kinda nutrient trap?

I use RO/DI for topoff and water changes.

I tried the Red Slime Remover about 5 months ago and overnight it killed every fish in my tank. Perhaps a bad batch as several others online at the same time had similar effects. Most of the corals and inverts survived the crash, but since then I'm not fond of using chemicals, not that I ever was really, but cyano is such a pain!

[fishinchick]

canister filters are well known nutrient traps. Especially if you happen to have a reef. They are fine for fish only systems with a normal bio-load (not high). Reefs clog them up quite quickly as inverts are very dirty and corals can often give off slime or other by-products.

The problem with red slime remover like many quick cure addtivies is it doesnt cure the problem, it covers it up. It is more important to find the cause of the issue than it is to cover it up. In another 5 or 6 months it will happen again if you havent fixed the cause.

Cyano is often part of the natural cycle process. If you added that red slime stuff when your tank was young you have probably slowed some balance the tank was trying to adjust for.

I swear water changes increased in amt. and frequency would likely help.

Stop feeding brine shrimp. It's not good for feeding unless they are gut loaded adults. Feed frozen mysis instead. ;)

[RownSurf81]

Hello,

Thanks for the advice! I will unhook the canister and cut the brine out of my feeding cycle. Removing the canister will also take out my second largest source of circulation. Are the Tunze Turbelle powerheads or any of the other facnier pieces any better than a normal powerhead. Or are they worth the extra $$ at all?

[gfk]

i had some and it was due to poor flow

[jacas34]

How large is your tank?
If it is over 50 gallons you could get away with a tunze stream and a single controller. That will take care of your flow problems. The 6000 puts out around 1900 gph and with the controller you can vary that flow quite a bit. They are worth it and the flow is very wide so it could cover a large area. If it is a smaller tank you have to worry about too much flow that will cause sans storms and perhaps some unhappy corals that don't need a ton of flow.

[RownSurf81]

I'm running a 75g...Been looking at the Stream...heard a lot of happy people and few that weren't happy...Guess I could go on and give it a try!

[JHReef]

Canisters being a nutrient trap is a generalization. It really depends on what you have in the cansiter. If you are just running the carbon and leave out the foam filter pad and bio-media, they're not bad at all. Just keep the carbon fresh and you're good to go, it's really just a closed loop at that point.

I have had red cyano problems and water changes do help, also trying to siphon off as much as possible when changing water keeps it in check. The ultimate cure is good flow. Try working with what you have to achieve better flow before dumping some serious coin into those expensive Tun$$e products. JMO

[Chrisgriffith25]

I know they have received some flak, but I am a fan of and run (2) seio 820s in my 55g and I couldn't be happier. Still not a tunze but a less expensive alternative.

[dirtyreefer]

I would invest in a good skimmer before adding more flow. I bet that's the culprit.

[SEAFLOWERS]

bad flow yes is not a good thing , but cyanobacteria is a nutrient problem, most peoples tanks that I have ever seen usually do not have their skimmer working efficiently, and there are alot of skimmers that I wouldn't take for free. Also you mentioned that your test kit for phosphate reads zero, well don't be fooled most test kits that you buy off the shelf are testing only inorganic phosphate. Try using limewater for your make up water, limewater will do two things,it will help your skimmer run more efficiently(saponification) and it will help precipitate phosphate. do check out articles that Randy Farley and Anthony Calfo have written on the "Kalk Slurry Method" I'm sure you can find them right here at Reef Central.

[JHReef]

That's an excellent point t.bion. I have a lousy skimmer on my small tank and since I didn't have anything but softies, I just used 2-part. But since it was so easy build a little dripper, I have had a dramaticaly reduced problem with my set-up since I started kalk dripping like my big tank. I figured that the water changes and improving the flow were the main fixes, but in retrospect, I'm quite sure the kalk was a big plus. Still looking for a better skimmer, which I'm sure would fix the problem for good.