jimfish98
Active Member
Started a mixed reef system a few months ago (WB 130.4) and like most people I got tired of changing socks. My mesh one was once a week but the felt was every couple of days and that got old fast. Now while running the two, I had no issues maintaining stable numbers on the tank and no issues with algae or bacteria beyond the normal film you might get on your glass. I swapped the 200 micron felt socks for a Klir DI-4 which runs a 50 micron fleece. The system continued to test fine and I continued with my 10% weekly water changes.
My issue now is cyano. I have cut lights back, done chemi-clean twice with matching light black outs, and still not fixed. As I wrap my head around this, the only thing I can think of is that I have stripped too much of the nutrients from the water with the roller and protein skimmer both running. Prior to the roller I believe I was testing zero but still trace amounts (API tests) and that is what kept cyano at bay. This of course is an assumption as I have heard nitrate dosing (or stump killer and a variety of other options) cuts it back or eliminates it.
Going back is not an option on the fleece roller as it's great. Rather than buying a dosing system and such, can I just turn off my protein skimmer at this point? My thoughts are the two together are stripping my water of nutrients too well and by turning off the skimmer, some will make it back into the tank allowing my trace amounts to build back up and help solve the problem. Once my fish get bigger and produce more waste/nutrients I will assume I may need it again or need to run it occasionally. I am aware of the gas exchange benefits, but my returns are breaking the surface as well allowing for gas exchange too.
My issue now is cyano. I have cut lights back, done chemi-clean twice with matching light black outs, and still not fixed. As I wrap my head around this, the only thing I can think of is that I have stripped too much of the nutrients from the water with the roller and protein skimmer both running. Prior to the roller I believe I was testing zero but still trace amounts (API tests) and that is what kept cyano at bay. This of course is an assumption as I have heard nitrate dosing (or stump killer and a variety of other options) cuts it back or eliminates it.
Going back is not an option on the fleece roller as it's great. Rather than buying a dosing system and such, can I just turn off my protein skimmer at this point? My thoughts are the two together are stripping my water of nutrients too well and by turning off the skimmer, some will make it back into the tank allowing my trace amounts to build back up and help solve the problem. Once my fish get bigger and produce more waste/nutrients I will assume I may need it again or need to run it occasionally. I am aware of the gas exchange benefits, but my returns are breaking the surface as well allowing for gas exchange too.
