Cyano how do I get rid of it completely

scapone · Jul 9, 2012

I keep getting cyno in my sump I have live rock, sand, cheato, even pods in there. I had some in my tank before but increased flow and used the Dr Tim treatments. How do I get it completly out of my sump? Btw I run my sump light 24/7

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

Loki · Jul 9, 2012

I also have cyano in my sump. I like it there because that means it isnt in my display. If you wanted to get rid of it I did three days lights out in a dark room with a heavy black photography sheet over my tank. That got rid of almost everything algae wise. first you must figure out where it is getting its food from and elimanate the source or no matter what it will keep coming back

My advice is leave it in the sump.

Henry C · Jul 9, 2012

Try running your sump light when your tank lights go off for the night. Have it only run for 8-10 hrs. a day. This should help.

Sasquatch · Jul 9, 2012

sorry but you cannot, cyano is in everything from drinking water to dirt, you only see it when its mass has grown to a visable amount, try increasing flow

scapone · Jul 9, 2012

Ok will try that

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

scapone · Jul 9, 2012

Increase the flow even though its the sump

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

Dowtish · Jul 9, 2012

I know lots of folks that like their sump to be as nasty as possible with various algaes, as long as it's not in their display. I on the other hand, dont like the site of it anywhere. Knowing that cyano is a bacteria, and that it typically arises when their is not enough nutrient export in your tank. whether it be from mechanical filtration or biological.

I look at cyano as being a bacteria that shows up when there is an imbalance of bacteria as a whole in the system. You need to add some beneficial nitrifying bacteria to the system to even things out. Microbe Lift 'Special Blend' is what you need. dose this in your tank, and the good bacteria will eventually out compete the bad(cyano).

Loki · Jul 9, 2012

Dowtish said:
I know lots of folks that like their sump to be as nasty as possible with various algaes, as long as it's not in their display. I on the other hand, dont like the site of it anywhere. Knowing that cyano is a bacteria, and that it typically arises when their is not enough nutrient export in your tank. whether it be from mechanical filtration or biological.

I look at cyano as being a bacteria that shows up when there is an imbalance of bacteria as a whole in the system. You need to add some beneficial nitrifying bacteria to the system to even things out. Microbe Lift 'Special Blend' is what you need. dose this in your tank, and the good bacteria will eventually out compete the bad(cyano).

Good info. I will look into this more. Thanks Chris!

scapone · Jul 10, 2012

Ok where do I find that and do I add flow?

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

Scott S · Jul 10, 2012

You don't need to add "FLOW" you need to add circulation .... In addition to the previous posts...

wysiwyg · Jul 10, 2012

you can get the bacteria additive from most lfs

mcarroll · Jul 10, 2012

An oxidizer like Chemi Clean will get rid of it completely, but as has been said it is only a temporary victory. Spores are everywhere and there's almost nothing else on the planet better at surviving than cyano.

You have to eliminate the root, which is most likely the sandbed in the sump - I'd never have one of those. Never. But if I did it would be in a container or basket that would make it really easy to remove and throw away once I discovered what a dirt magnet it was. ;-)

Increasing your flow in the fuge with something like a maxijet pro to keep crud from settling as easy will help - but prefiltering your sump water with at least a 100+ micron mechanical filter (sock, pad, whatever you can do) that you clean whenever it gets dirty might be your long term answer if you must have sand there. I might even try 50 microns just try and preserve the sandbed for a bit longer (than 100 would), but that can clog up pretty fast if there's a lot of particulate waste. Might still be worth a try. If you choose to prefilter - by whatever metod - you've got to keep that filter clean. More than likely it'll need weekly cleanings, but possibly as much as daily.

As long as you have somewhere close to 1 pound per gallon of live rock in the tank I would lose the rock in the sump as well - just making more settling zones for detritus without really adding anything.

Your chaeto should also appreciate any extra flow you put in there by way of a powerhead - you'll have to be creative to keep it out of the powerhead though.

Good luck!

-Matt