Cyano

[LouCiro]

Your title is algae. However you show cyano. 3weeks ago we tied to eliminate red Cyanobacteria that has been present in our 3000 gallon reef system for years.
Control was vacuum and clean the stuff mechanically. The red stuff was over everything. Purchased 100 grams of erythromycin from Fish Pharmaceuticals. Dosed 20 grams. Within 48 hours all cyano gone. No effects on fish, corals , hard and soft, or other invertebrates. Kept skimmer on shut down ozone, shut down uv.Water clearest in years. No effects on chemistry. Nitrates, phosphate etc. skimmer very active. After 2 weeks still no regrowth.
Did normal 400gallon /week water changes.
Lou

 

[PeterC99]

Welcome to R2R!

Have you tried strong UV, Phytoplankton, and Oxydator?

 

[Fred2482]

Welcome

 

[ying yang]

Welcome and hope all is good and glad you got cyano under control for now and wow 400 gallon weekly water changes is insane ^_^

 

[P-Dub]

Welcome, Lou! Sounds like you have all under control. Would love to see some photos!

 

[KevPool]

Welcome to R2R. Wowza 3000 gallons holy shhhmokes please post some pics that sounds amazing.

 

[LouCiro]

Welcome to R2R!

Have you tried strong UV, Phytoplankton, and Oxydator?

System has a commercial,pharmaceutical
Grade Uv sterilizer rated at 160 gpm. Very high intensity. Does not effect cyano. Have tried other oxidizersH2O2 and some stronger chemicals. No effect.
thanks
Lou

 

[LouCiro]

Welcome

Thank you Fred.

 

[LouCiro]

Welcome and hope all is good and glad you got cyano under control for now and wow 400 gallon weekly water changes is insane ^_^

System in operation since 1993. Was fish only until about 5 years ago. Changed to reef tank. Have @120 gallon tank on same system with soft corals . Fish in reef tank will eat these. They are kept separate.
lou

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Welcome Lou! To reef2reef!!!
“ Try a 5 gallon bucket of Chemi Clean in a high flow area” lol

 

[LouCiro]

Welcome, Lou! Sounds like you have all under control. Would love to see some photos!

 

[LouCiro]

Welcome to R2R. Wowza 3000 gallons holy shhhmokes please post some pics that sounds amazing.

Photos

 

[vetteguy53081]

A few things to keep in mind in case of reoccurrence:
Cyano blooms typically start when water nutrient concentrations go haywire. Just like when you eat too much sugar and your waistline starts to bloom, the same happens in your tank when concentrations of phosphate, nitrate and other organic compounds are too high.
Some of the most common causes include:
- Protein skimmer which fills water with tiny air bubbles. As bubbles form from the reaction chamber, dissolved organic compound molecules stick to them. Foam forms at the surface of the water and is then transferred to a collection cup, where it rests as skimmate
- Overstocking / overfeeding, your aquarium with nutrients is often the culprit of a cyano bloom
- Adding live rock that isn’t completely cured which acts like a breeding ground for red slime algae
- If you don’t change your water with enough frequency, you’ll soon have a brightly colored red slime algae bloom. Regular water changes dilute nutrients that feed cyanobacteria and keeps your tank beautifully clear
- Using a water source with nitrates or phosphates is like rolling out the welcome mat for cyano. Tap water is an example
- Inadequate water flow, or movement, is a leading cause of cyano blooms. Slow moving water combined with excess dissolved nutrients is a recipe for pervasive red slime algae development

I recommend to reduce white light intensity or even turn them off for 5-7 days. Add liquid bacteria daily for a week during the day at 1.5ml per 10 gallons. Add Hydrogen peroxide at night at 1ml per 10 gallons. Add a pouch of chemipure Elite which will balance phos and nitrate and keep them in check.

After the week, add a few snails such as cerith, margarita, astrea and nassarius plus 6-8 blue leg hermits to take control.

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[LouCiro]

Thanks vetteguy glad to be here.
Lou

 

[Jeffcb]

Welcome!

 

[PeterC99]

System has a commercial,pharmaceutical
Grade Uv sterilizer rated at 160 gpm. Very high intensity. Does not effect cyano. Have tried other oxidizersH2O2 and some stronger chemicals. No effect.
thanks
Lou

Three things got rid of my cyano naturally and I never cleaned any Cyano out of my tank.

1) Strong UV light
2) Started an Oxydator (look for threads on this site)
3) Phytoplankton every other day

Before and after pics (also have since increased the light point intensity by 15% on my Radions - up to 75%)

PO4 .05, NO3 2

 

[Adrift]

Welcome to R2R very nice tank

 

[thatone08]

Welcome!

 

[James_O]

Welcome to R2R! I must say, that’s an impressive system!