Is this the start of cyano?

[liamelias]

Hi guys. About 2 days ago i started noticing this reddish patches in this area between my zoas. There’s another small patch in another part of the rock. Is this the start of cyano? If so what could I do?
My nutrients are very low, and I don’t know how to get them up.. i’m already over feeding and i have brown hair algae all over.

Tank is 3 months old. LPS doing well just afraid they start dying since they like slightly dirtier water

Nitrates 0-1
Phosphates 0.01
Calcium 450
Mag 1340
Alk 9 (i dose every night)
Temp 78

 

[T-J]

Yes, it does look like cyano.
Feeding more is the easiest way to get N and P up. Adding coral foods to the water will also raise nutrients.
Make sure you have good flow as well, as cyano likes dead zones. You can also do a blackout period to help get rid of it once you get some nutrients in the tank.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

What type is algaevores do you have? Adding some nerite, cerith, and/or trochus (or turbo/turban) snails will help you keep algae in check. You might try manual removal of any algae on rocks or frags you can easily remove from your tank... Zoas in particular can be dipped in hydrogen peroxide which will kill the algae.

 

[liamelias]

What type is algaevores do you have? Adding some nerite, cerith, and/or trochus (or turbo/turban) snails will help you keep algae in check. You might try manual removal of any algae on rocks or frags you can easily remove from your tank... Zoas in particular can be dipped in hydrogen peroxide which will kill the algae.

Thank you. I have margarites, cerith and a conch but neither seem to eat any algae. I keep scrubbing the algae during water changes, but the brown algae keeps coming back.

 

[liamelias]

Yes, it does look like cyano.
Feeding more is the easiest way to get N and P up. Adding coral foods to the water will also raise nutrients.
Make sure you have good flow as well, as cyano likes dead zones. You can also do a blackout period to help get rid of it once you get some nutrients in the tank.

Thank you! I have been over feeding but it doesn’t seem to get them up, if anything it’s actually fueling more algae growth that spot where the cyano seems to be growing is very low flow since i keep the zoas there. I don’t have a wave maker, so the flow has only been coming from the pump nozel.