Chemi Clean And Cyanobateria

BlackiceClowns · May 22, 2024

Hi Everyone
Ive got a massive red cyano bacteria problem in my sump underneath my refugium light and I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to get rid of it. All my base parameters are within the normal range so I believe that an excess of nutrients isn't the issue. Any Recommendations? Should I just use chemi clean and finish it off?
Thanks

ryanjohn1 · May 22, 2024

What are the nutrients at and couldn’t you just do a black out for a few days

BlackiceClowns · May 22, 2024

Alk 3.5 dkh
ammonia 0.1-0.3
nitrate 5-10
nitrite 0-0.1
ph 8.4-8.6
I will check phosphate, magnesium and calcium when I get home from work.
Ill give a blackout a go. How long should I do them for before my cheato begins to suffer

Lavey29 · May 22, 2024

Just turn the light off for 3 or 4 days and increase flow in the affected area.

BlackiceClowns · May 22, 2024

This issue is inside of my sump and I don't have a way to increase flow by putting in a wave maker. I might try using a small filter. Do you think that could work.

Lavey29 · May 22, 2024

BlackiceClowns said:
This issue is inside of my sump and I don't have a way to increase flow by putting in a wave maker. I might try using a small filter. Do you think that could work.

Just buy one of those little 20 dollar micro pumps

Dan_P · May 22, 2024

BlackiceClowns said:
Hi Everyone
Ive got a massive red cyano bacteria problem in my sump underneath my refugium light and I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to get rid of it. All my base parameters are within the normal range so I believe that an excess of nutrients isn't the issue. Any Recommendations? Should I just use chemi clean and finish it off?
Thanks

This could be a recurring growth. Can you vacuum it out?

BlackiceClowns · May 22, 2024

Dan_P said:
This could be a recurring growth. Can you vacuum it out?

Yeah, i can. So then vacuum as much out and then blackout plus moving water?
any other recommendations. Anything helps as this has been a recurring issue for a while. There also seems to be red algae in the sand bed in my display tank. How do I extract that?

BubblesandSqueak · May 22, 2024

BlackiceClowns said:
Alk 3.5 dkh
ammonia 0.1-0.3
nitrate 5-10
nitrite 0-0.1
ph 8.4-8.6
I will check phosphate, magnesium and calcium when I get home from work.
Ill give a blackout a go. How long should I do them for before my cheato begins to suffer

Alk seems really low.

BlackiceClowns · May 22, 2024

I currently don't dose and have recently added some new hard corals and a coco worm which creates its own shell so my alk is a bit low. I will begin dosing soon.

BubblesandSqueak said:
Alk seems really low

Dan_P · May 22, 2024

BlackiceClowns said:
Yeah, i can. So then vacuum as much out and then blackout plus moving water?
any other recommendations. Anything helps as this has been a recurring issue for a while. There also seems to be red algae in the sand bed in my display tank. How do I extract that?

The reason for the cyanobacteria growing in the refugium might be different from why it is growing in the display tank. You might treat the refugium cyanobacteria as something that might always be there and just vacuum it out when it gets obnoxious, but in the display tank it is a temporary nuisance to get rid of. This might sound weird but it will save your sanity. I don’t have any ideas for treating the cyanobacteria in the sand.

BlackiceClowns · May 22, 2024

Dan_P said:
The reason for the cyanobacteria growing in the refugium might be different from why it is growing in the display tank. You might treat the refugium cyanobacteria as something that might always be there and just vacuum it out when it gets obnoxious, but in the display tank it is a temporary nuisance to get rid of. This might sound weird but it will save your sanity. I don’t have any ideas for treating the cyanobacteria in the sand.

Yeah thats a good way to think about it. My refugium light is just a normal led bulb.

JoeyBagadonuts · May 22, 2024

Clean your sump really well and manually remove any cyano. That should take care of it. Might have to do that every now and then anyways. Maybe get a light with a different kelvin or one specifically for a refugium.

For the display tank that can take more time and more work. Manually remove any algae/cyano. Make sure your skimmer or other nutrient export system is working as it should. Try to eliminate any dead spots with more flow. Don’t over feed. Reduce your light cycle time. Blackout for a few days. Knock it down with ChemiClean or something similar. The list goes on and on for potential fixes. I fought with cyano for years on an established tank. I got it knocked down with a couple of the above mentioned techniques and added a couple of fighting conch’s. I haven’t seen it since. Those conch’s are awesome. They clean/eat the algae like a vacuum with their big snout and their moving around is like a Zamboni on the sand. Wish I got them years ago.