hey everyone how is everything, i have a quick question.....

[richiero]

i have a slight cyano outbreak going on and i want to nip it in the but quick.... i was think about doing a lights out for 3-5 days, as of now i have 7 fish, 2 anemones and one colony of zoas.... will they be ok if i cut the light for 3-5 days? thanks for the help.....

 

[spznm]

I actually have done that and it work but it will always come back. You have to find the source of the problem. You might be over feeding. Try getting a clean up crew like some emerald crabs and Mexican turbo snails to help you with that.

 

[kcb1123]

I find that all of my cyano problems are phospates, if you run GFO it is probably time to change, if not you could always picks some up and put a small amount in a filter sock in your overflow.

 

[richiero]

i have zero p04 according to my salifert test kite 2.0 ppm nitrate zero n02 zero ammonia, 460 cal, 1400 mag,8.6 alk ph 8.3 temp 78, salinity 1.026.. i don't overfeed what they can eat in 1 1/2- 2 min.... i will change out my gfo and see if that helps... i think i am going to do the light out thing, so my coral and anemones will be fine for 3-5 days w/o light? never got a straight answer on that......

 

[RalphsReef]

I would not recommend going that long without lights, or going without lights at all for that matter. Ultimately, your corals will suffer, only for a strong likelihood of the cyano returning. I would recommend better water flow in the areas you see a cyano outbreak.

 

[NanaReefer]

Ditto on 3-5 days being to long. Especially if your keeping nems which are light demanding. You asked if its ok, no! You need to find the root of the real issue, which is Cyanobacteria. Not algae.
Remove as much as possible during a WC, gently so as not to disturb the SB. Then add extra flow to the affected area. Could be a build up of detritus in that area, coupled with poor flow which is causing the issue.

 

[fragmatic]

I keep hearing the cut back of food thing. I can not agree less. I solved my algae and Cyano problems by going "heavy feeding" and less light and lights on time in my display than in my refugium. Not feeding your tank can cause loads of problems. You must feed the tank to build up a strong population of LR bacteria. Feeding just enough for only your fish so they eat it all in x amount of minutes is IMO a fresh water method. If you have a reef tank you are not feeding fish, you are feeding a host of life forms including your fish. By feeding heavy you build up lots of healthy life forms to compete with that darned algae. My reef system is proof. .. but build up that heavy feeding concept in tiny increments so your LR bacteria count can grow with the increases.

In fact I am now wondering if underfeeding is an underlying reason for Cyano and algae problems. Under feeding & poor nutriment levels absolutely place your tank life forms in a stressful situation. Perhaps a high turn over in LR bacteria death could be a source of PO4 for Cyano and algae growth??? I don't know if that makes sense, but it is looking like a highly possible reason.

 

[NanaReefer]

I keep hearing the cut back of food thing. I can not agree less. I solved my algae and Cyano problems by going "heavy feeding" and less light and lights on time in my display than in my refugium. Not feeding your tank can cause loads of problems. You must feed the tank to build up a strong population of bacteria. Feeding just enough for only your fish so they eat it all in x amount of minutes is IMO a fresh water method. If you have a reef tank you are not feeding fish, you are feeding a host of life forms including your fish. By feeding heavy you build up lots of healthy life forms to compete with that darned algae. My reef system is proof. .. but build up that heavy feeding concept in tiny increments so your bacteria count can grow with the increases.

In fact I am now wondering if underfeeding is an underlying reason for Cyano and algae problems. Under feeding & poor nutriment levels absolutely place your tank life forms in a stressful situation.

Please read: http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/diatomandslimemicroalgae/a/redslimealgae.htm

 

[fragmatic]

I read it. I do not see any conflict in what I said. I think building a large heavy population of LR bacteria (I edited in "LR" and a later sentence, apparently while you were posting too) does wonders in cutting down on PO4. I have a large population of Cyano in one of my refugiums, and do not have a problem with it in my display tank. I am using it as a friend to my system, and harvest it out of my under tank refugium.

Perhaps.... it is the Cyano in my refugium that is controlling my PO4... if so, it is doing a great job of it.

another EDIT: My thinking was this.. if I am getting an algae / Cnano problem then it must be there because of a chemistry in it's favor. So in effect it needs to be there. We (reefers) keep having on going repeated problems with these life forms.... maybe they belong and we just don't like the looks of them in our display tanks (true). So.. me thinking.. why not make it a friend.. so, I made it a better place for it live in my under tank refugium by adjusting lighting and light timing and feeding heavy. ..... It worked!!!!

It is way easier to work with mother nature that to fight her.

 

[bobssecrtsn]

Doing a blackout for 3-4 days is only a temperary fix. finding the problem and fixing it will be better, then you can do the black out. hope this helps out

 

[richiero]

All my numbers check out, I do 10% w/c on my tank every week but it still comes back maybe b/c my tank is young only 6 months.. It's not overstocked everything gets fed with Cyclopes ease. I and my flow is more that enough for a 75 g tank one mp 40 and one mp10 . I am so confused.. Thanks for all the help guys and girls