Cyano or Sand Dunes?

[seastar]

Welp... I am having a time trying to find the balance between which I prefer more, current across my sand that is strong enough to keep the cyano bacteria at bay and created bare spots and sand dunes, or having the current less strong but full on cyano outbreaks within 2-3 hours of moving the powerheads up.

This is so frustrating. I do realize just how incredibly cool cyano is for all of us here on earth, but I could do without the buggers in my tank. Please and thanks. Not sure why Im including the photos, because this is after I've sucked out all the Cyano and re-racked the sand.

 

[CodyRVA]

If you have to literally blow sand across your tank to keep the cyano at bay, then I can only assume the issue is bigger than flow. Have you tested your parameters lately? You shouldn't need crazy flow to keep cyano at bay, you just want to eliminate the dead spots that receive little to no flow. Whats your lighting schedule?

 

[Saltine]

In my experience Cyano is a combination of issues, not just flow. What are your nitrates and phosphates normally?

Salt

 

[seastar]

This has been going on since early December. The nitrates are crazy high now, but the weren't up until two weeks ago.

Lighting schedule is LED's (Current Marine Orbit Pro) white 75%, blue 90% 9am -7pm with 15min ramp up/down on each end and then moonlights till midnight.

I run a fuge with Cheato which used to explode and needed cleaning out almost weekly but now is pretty slow to grow.

I did only recently cut back on the lights two weeks ago and remove probably 25lbs of rock work, so maybe the bacteria isn't up to the challenge yet and I've swapped my intense light problem for a few others?

Sal: 1.0265
Calc: 520
Alk 7.98
Mag 1380
Ph: 7.96
temp: 76.9
No3 15ppm (like I said, this was 0 until two weeks ago)
Po4: 0.02ppm

 

[seastar]

I should also mention that nearly all of my snails have died off at this point because there is barely anything for them to eat, and they wont touch the cyano.

 

[CodyRVA]

Did something die in the tank, like a snail or something? Could be adding nutrients... Removing the rock could have contributed to the issue.

 

[seastar]

Did something die in the tank, like a snail or something? Could be adding nutrients... Removing the rock could have contributed to the issue.

Hahaha! Well played! I must have been posting at the same time. I had the rock work out of the tank about a week too, so I think I had some decent die off going. this is like a therapy session for me, where all the truth and obvious stuff starts coming out.

Most likely I traded one cause (far too much lighting) for another source (far too many nitrates). It's just been a frustratingly long period to be dealing with it.

 

[CodyRVA]

Hahaha! Well played! I must have been posting at the same time. I had the rock work out of the tank about a week too, so I think I had some decent die off going. this is like a therapy session for me, where all the truth and obvious stuff starts coming out.

Most likely I traded one cause (far too much lighting) for another source (far too many nitrates). It's just been a frustratingly long period to be dealing with it.

haha, i'd say so. If you had the rock work out of water that long, then yes i'd say you lost the majority if not all of the bacteria on the rock. Most of the stuff probably died, if you then put that rock back into your display, you essentially added a pile of dead organisms (nutrients). Hows your skimmer running? And i dont know anything about that light, but the values do seem very high by comparison to what i've heard other folks say they run their LEDs at.

 

[seastar]

haha, i'd say so. If you had the rock work out of water that long, then yes i'd say you lost the majority if not all of the bacteria on the rock. Most of the stuff probably died, if you then put that rock back into your display, you essentially added a pile of dead organisms (nutrients). Hows your skimmer running? And i dont know anything about that light, but the values do seem very high by comparison to what i've heard other folks say they run their LEDs at.

Interesting on the light values... Im going to try going even lower on the whites and see what happens. I've been hesitant to only because I didn't want the coral to suffer in the process.

"Luckily" in the middle of the Cyano outbreak my fish got Marine Velvet so they've been in a QT recovering and still have another week or so before they are ready to come back into the DT. I've started seeding the DT with Seachem Pristine (something new I've wanted to try) for the last couple of days and I hope that will take nicely to the LR, or what's left of it.

The Protein skimmer has been more or less much the same with it needing dumped every couple of days.

 

[McMullen]

Lux meter for the lighting. I run LEDs and discovered mine were way to high. I fried everything that wasn't an acro and bleached some of them.

What codyRVA said too!

 

[seastar]

Lux meter for the lighting. I run LEDs and discovered mine were way to high. I fried everything that wasn't an acro and bleached some of them.

I'm very curious on the LUX meter... I have the software on my phone and one of the cheapies on the way... Is there a way to tell the light intensity on different depths the corals are sitting at?

(look at me potentially hijacking my own thread)

 

[CodyRVA]

Best rule of thumb with the lighting, is to start low and work your way up. You'll kill/bleach coral must faster with too strong of light, than too little. Make sure you keep your display cycled, assuming its fishless? However you seem to have an abundance of nutrients at the moment... see good in bad?

 

[GrandLotus]

Like others have said look to too much red in your lighting and high nutrient levels.

Eventually your sand will become very dense as it ages and you can turn your flow levels up a bit.

 

[McMullen]

I'm only testing at just above water surface and using what @saltyfilmfolks suggest as a guide. Your eyes will deceive you. My Lux was 120k, now it's around 80k. I see no problem from turning down if called for........meaning all at one time. Keep in mind. My tank is 30in deep and I'm still growing acros on the sand bed, at about the 27in mark.

 

[seastar]

Best rule of thumb with the lighting, is to start low and work your way up. You'll kill/bleach coral must faster with too strong of light, than too little.

That is a great rule of thumb. Me being a rookie I just blasted them all.

Make sure you keep your display cycled, assuming its fishless? However you seem to have an abundance of nutrients at the moment... see good in bad?

I never removed the CUC including 3 tiger conch and I have two shrimp in there which I give a little mysis shrimp so hopefully that's keeping it cycled.

 

[seastar]

@GrandLotus Your comments make me a happy fellow. Currently (9 months into things) the slightest bit of current per the thread title, ends up in sand storms and dunes.

@McMullen Thanks! Mine is only 20" deep which probably only enforces that I have been hitting the sand bed way to heavily with the LEDs

 

[seastar]

I think my phone's LUX meter isn't all that accurate, I got 32,767 with my whites at 100% AND at 65% :/ I guess I'll have to wait for the handheld to get in.

 

[McMullen]

As far as Lux accuracy......no idea. I'm really going off the expertise and experience of @saltyfilmfolks posts and comments, which are simply to be used as a broad guide. Depending on your phone there were a couple apps recommended, I'm using Galactica on iPhone. I think a simply search on Lux will pull up posts on the subject, it's interesting!

All that said on Lux and lighting.......not the real problem your having in the tank........just something to tweak a bit.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

As far as Lux accuracy......no idea. I'm really going off the expertise and experience of @saltyfilmfolks posts and comments, which are simply to be used as a broad guide. Depending on your phone there were a couple apps recommended, I'm using Galactica on iPhone. I think a simply search on Lux will pull up posts on the subject, it's interesting!

All that said on Lux and lighting.......not the real problem your having in the tank........just something to tweak a bit.

Yup. Light don't make cyano. Flow don't cure it.
Excess nutrients.
The hard thing about those is is not something you did yesterday usually it might be from three weeks ago.
And IMO it takes longer to get out.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

That is a great rule of thumb. Me being a rookie I just blasted them all.



I never removed the CUC including 3 tiger conch and I have two shrimp in there which I give a little mysis shrimp so hopefully that's keeping it cycled.

I have a bucket in the basement w sand n rock. Water powerhaed. Six months now only fed it old tank water twice.