Cyanobacteria

[Craigh]

Need some guidance. Been dealing with a Cyanobacteria outbreak in my Waterbox 110.4. I believe my issue is with my phosphate/nitrate levels. My latests numbers are phosphate 0.02 ppm and nitrate 0.05 ppm. These numbers are stable, the highest being phosphate 0.10 ppm and nitrate 0.20 ppm 4 weeks ago. Do I need to raise my phosphates and nitrates and what and how much of a Tropic Marin additive do I dose. It’s a mixed reef tank. 25% water change bi-weekly change. Currently dosing AFR @ 50ml daily and Fauna Marin Bacto Therapy @ 25 ml weekly.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

As I mentioned in the duplicate thread...

I do not generally think nutrient levels have a lot to do with cyano, but getting the nitrate up for other reasons is appropriate. I recommend ammonium bicarbonate (food grade) to boost N.

For cyano, I'd focus on manual removal, reducing organics, and increasing flow.

 

[stewy14]

Need some guidance. Been dealing with a Cyanobacteria outbreak in my Waterbox 110.4. I believe my issue is with my phosphate/nitrate levels. My latests numbers are phosphate 0.02 ppm and nitrate 0.05 ppm. These numbers are stable, the highest being phosphate 0.10 ppm and nitrate 0.20 ppm 4 weeks ago. Do I need to raise my phosphates and nitrates and what and how much of a Tropic Marin additive do I dose. It’s a mixed reef tank. 25% water change bi-weekly change. Currently dosing AFR @ 50ml daily and Fauna Marin Bacto Therapy @ 25 ml weekly.

get your nitrates up
lower lighting if you need to

 

[PharmrJohn]

Randy pretty much covered it. There are nuclear options for cyano but I'd avoid it. Those can create other issues you do not want. You could add something like MB7 to compete for space, but this is not proven to be effective. IMO, any success stories secondary to this method are anecdotal at best. Just do your water changes (if that is something you normally do) and practice good Husbandry.