Well this story just isn't going to end!
Cyanobacteria took over the tank while I was out of town. I came home to a mat of cyano on everything. I did a water change and sucked out a ton of it. I then dosed Chemiclean a d followed the directions. Cyano all but disappeared and tank looked much better. I knew with the cyano out of the picture something else could pop up because something always replaces whatever we get rid of. We just hope it's the good algae. Unfortunately, I didn't get the good algae...I got dinos best I can tell.
This is definitely different than the brown cyano I had earlier. The bubbles, strings reaching upwards, disappearing at night, it all fits the dino bill. SMH!
My snails are eating parts of it and not dying so far so I figure that's good news in a crappy situation. I have a Hanna phosphorus meter on the way so I can get a true reading on my P levels. I have been dosing nitrates for a few weeks now and have them between 4-8 but much closer to 4. So I'm going to up my dosage and try to get closer to 10.
For now I'm going to try a couple things after reading
@mcarroll 's thread.
First, I'm going to turn my skimmer off to try and let nutrients creep up. I'm also planning to remove some of my Matrix since I'm thinking my nutrient control methods may be too effective.
Second, I'm going to put my filter sock on and turkey baster the dinos and try to remove as many that way as I can.
Third, I'm going to let my glass get dirty! At least 3 to 4 days of no cleaning. My coraline algae has slowed on the rocks but my overflow is becoming covered. Hopefully a good sign?
Finally, I'm going to feed even more to help creep nutrients up.
And for those interested, the DIY Coral Snow is amazing if you want crystal clear water!
