Cyano outbreak (ID?) troubleshooting

[Skiba]

Hey all,

Picture attached of what I believe is a cyano outbreak in my ~9MO mixed reef. Nitrates and phosphates have held stable (PO4 has even dropped .03ppm the past couple weeks) during this growth and photoperiod is unchanged. Corals all healthy, SPS thriving, wondering if this is just a minor cycle or if anyone has any tips for knocking this outbreak back a little? Alkalinity ~10.2, Salinity 35.3 ppm. Tank's in great shape and gets AlgaeBarn phyto and TropicMarine amino acid dosing as well as TropicMarine All for Reef.

Any ideas are appreciated!

 

[DDenny]

I was always under the impression cyano is usually an issue with lower flow in areas. What is your NO3 at.

 

[Formulator]

Definitely cyano. I get it from time to time if my phosphate drops too rapidly, usually after a run of GFO. So its not just elevated nutrients that lead to outbreaks of cyano. Nothing to be overly concerned about. Increase your flow and siphon off as much as you can. It comes off really easily. Hopefully it subsides on its own after a while. If not, you can try more drastic measures like chemiclean.

 

[MrGisonni]

Increase flow as mentioned above, siphon out what you can and add some cerith snails.

 

[Skiba]

I was always under the impression cyano is usually an issue with lower flow in areas. What is your NO3 at.

Funny part is it's maybe the highest flow area of the entire reef. NO3 sits at 7.5-8.5ppm on this tank.

 

[Formulator]

Increase flow as mentioned above, siphon out what you can and add some cerith snails.

Agree with the ceriths. Fighting conches are nice sand sifters also. Come to think of it, since I’ve had consistent sand turnover by these CUC members and a diamond goby I haven’t had any cyano on my sand. So this is an important element.

 

[MrGisonni]

Agree with the ceriths. Fighting conches are nice sand sifters also. Come to think of it, since I’ve had consistent sand turnover by these CUC members and a diamond goby I haven’t had any cyano on my sand. So this is an important element.

That's true but funny, cuz I run a bare bottom and have only had little outbreaks of cyano on my rocks

 

[Formulator]

I just thought of this, but is your tank near a window? My cyano and algae outbreaks are almost always at this time of year because my tank is near a window and it gets a few hours of indirect sunlight in the morning before my actual lights come on.

 

[Skiba]

I just thought of this, but is your tank near a window? My cyano and algae outbreaks are almost always at this time of year because my tank is near a window and it gets a few hours of indirect sunlight in the morning before my actual lights come on.

It's a good shout as my tank's on our main floor, which gets a ton of morning sun. About ten feet off the big window, so not like extremely direct. Probably something I'll fight a bit.

 

[Idech]

Erased.