Need some advice on Cyano?

[Hop2jr]

Hi all just got new reefi lights running the lips program and now got Cyano I think, it is growing over the sand my mushroom, gso, and live rock didnt get a picture before I did my water change but will add one tomorro. My water parameters are:
amon .2
nitrite 0
nitrate 10
alk 8.9
phos .132
mag 1400
cal 460
ph 8.2

red looking slime snot that blows off rocks easy with a baste, how long should I have lights running 10-12hrs? Have them set to acclamat at 80% over 30 days.

 

[Hop2jr]

What it looks like under microscope

 

[John Smith]

I don't think there is much you can do until their food source (silicates) is depleted which is what you want to happen. Let them grow and be patient.
As often as you can, do the following:
* syphon them off the sand. You can rinse thoroughly and return the sand to the tank.
* blow them off the rocks using a turkey baster or a power head.
* increase flow to keep them suspended and catch them in filter socks.
* change filter socks often.
* continue working on reducing other nutrients nitrate, phosphates.
Good luck.

 

[lazlodawg]

That looks like dinoflagellates not cyanobacteria.

 

[skyhawkn5262y]

As mentioned above, those are Dinos not Cyano. Most likely Ostreopsis. Read the entire Dino thread, and get a quality UV sterilizer (1W per 3 gallons) ASAP, and plumb it directly into and out of your display tank. You need to get on top of this problem because Ostreopsis Dinos (if that's indeed the strain) are toxic and will kill your corals, shrimp, snails, and crabs if you don't get on top of them quickly.

Signed, someone who just got done battling with this nightmare.

Good luck.

 

[Hop2jr]

how long would you run uv Per day?

 

[JCOLE]

You can run all day but the best is at night. Ostreopsis goes into the water column at night when the lights are off. This is the best time to kill them. How old is the tank?

 

[Hop2jr]

1.5years old

 

[Hop2jr]

The tank is 75 gallons with 30gal sump what size uv should I get any recommendations on brand? I have a coralife turbo twister uv I never used it is 9watts would it be good enuff?

 

[skyhawkn5262y]

You can run all day but the best is at night. Ostreopsis goes into the water column at night when the lights are off. This is the best time to kill them. How old is the tank?

^^^ This ^^^

 

[skyhawkn5262y]

The tank is 75 gallons with 30gal sump what size uv should I get any recommendations on brand? I have a coralife turbo twister uv I never used it is 9watts would it be good enuff?

No, unfortunately, a 9W Coralife sterilizer is not adequate. You need a minimum of 1W per gallon UV plumbed directly into and out of the display tank (so in your case, a minimum of 35W or so). I've heard some people have had luck with the cheaper brands such as the Jebao.

The best, highest quality sterilizers on the market are Pentair Aquatics and Aqua Ultraviolet, but they are very expensive.

I had a cheap UV sterilizer laying around that I used for a phytoplankton bloom I had earlier this year, and ran it for the Dinos, but it did nothing. I ended up buying a 40W Pentair Aquatics ($400) and it cleared up the Dinos within 48 hours. It's a beast, 3.5 inches in diameter and over 4ft long. I plumbed it temporarily into and out of my display tank because they are most effective that way. After the Dinos were eradicated, I permanently plumbed it into my sump closed loop style.

Here are some pictures of when it was running temporarily:

 

[Hop2jr]

Well update I ran the coral life uv for 4 days and the Dino’s are almost totally gone going to keep it running a few more days until they are completely gone. Thanks for the help identify them.