Never ending cyano

[Docdiggy]

So I've made other threads about this, but not in this room. Tank is a 75g with 55g sump. Five fish and filled with a mix of all corals. I've had cyano for ever so I decided to get a Hanna phos checker. Came up with .055. I tested a fresh batch of sw and got .009. In the past I've had a snail explosion then die off. My old sump was under the tank and got quite neglected. Now I built my 55 and it's pretty clean. I upgraded to a larger skimmer too. I feed 1 cube of mysis a day with a piece of green sea weed. I also added a clam recently and I'm a little afraid to use gfo because in my 5 yrs of doing this I've never tried it. I've read mixed reviews on clams and gfo. Is .055 over the top? Will regular maintenance help lower it since I've upgraded things and cleaned lots of crud out?

 

[jkapit]

Hi, what are your nitrates?

 

[Docdiggy]

I was waiting for that question. I don't know because I don't have a test yet. I've tried api and it always came up 0. So didn't the api phos test though.

 

[Jl330]

I was waiting for that question. I don't know because I don't have a test yet. I've tried api and it always came up 0. So didn't the api phos test though.

My api test read zero. My nitrates are closing in on 20.

I am trying to get them down around 10.

 

[Docdiggy]

Method?

 

[Docdiggy]

I'm contemplating an algae reactor to stay away from gfo. I have a good amount of sps grown colonies and don't want to risk messing them up.

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

I had red slime for ever. Then when I’d try to clean up the tank, dino’s. I tried everything. Then I decided to quit everything and put a red led fuge bulb on and throw in some cheato. Worked well for me. What I did was create a perfect area for crap to grow, instead of the display. I’d stay away from gfo. Possibly upgrade your flow, or move your power heads around.

 

[Docdiggy]

I've read that same thing. When people tried to "cure" cyano, dinos emerged. I don't need that.

 

[Heather w]

So I've made other threads about this, but not in this room. Tank is a 75g with 55g sump. Five fish and filled with a mix of all corals. I've had cyano for ever so I decided to get a Hanna phos checker. Came up with .055. I tested a fresh batch of sw and got .009. In the past I've had a snail explosion then die off. My old sump was under the tank and got quite neglected. Now I built my 55 and it's pretty clean. I upgraded to a larger skimmer too. I feed 1 cube of mysis a day with a piece of green sea weed. I also added a clam recently and I'm a little afraid to use gfo because in my 5 yrs of doing this I've never tried it. I've read mixed reviews on clams and gfo. Is .055 over the top? Will regular maintenance help lower it since I've upgraded things and cleaned lots of crud out?

You should know nitrates right off the bat. It has always seemed to me that the nitrates tell the whole story even when everything seems “on point”. I just find them a ***** trying to get accurate numbers. I wish there was a fast sensor tester for them. One number....one TRUE value....and one place to go for the answers. (Here of course). I battled cyano in the beginning. I added and brought on line a healthy, maintained under tank refugium and soon it was gone. I didn’t add fish however until after it was gone. And once I got it gone, it stayed gone.

 

[Docdiggy]

This tank is over 4yrs old. It seems its getting worse. I'm not sure if that's due to trying to go sock less. I stopped using socks over a week ago. I got a couple new ones and I'm gonna use them tomorrow and try changing them every 3 days instead of a week.

 

[jsker]

Getting the nitrate balanced with the phosphates will help a lot.
suggestions
Running seeded bio media, gets the nitrates down and keeps them down.
GFO os great for controlling phosphates, but lanthanum chloride is great for getting phosphates down.
It all a balancing act with your system but do not get frustrated with try to keep the perfect parameters and nutrients, good by the looks of your system first.

 

[Charterreefer]

I use a Salifert NO3 test kit. It is easy to use and the indicator color is easy to read. You need to measure NO3 levels in order to be able to measure any changes you are doing to your tank. i.e filter socks, algae reactor. The look of the tank is a good indicator and a skill, being able to quantify (measure) changes puts it in black and white.

Phosphate levels are a tricky thing, too low and the coral color goes out the window. Too high and you can get unwanted algae growth.
I have had cyano in my tank for years although, there is very little of it. I would rather have a little of it instead of bubble and hair algae. It's a perpetual balancing act.

In this hobby, in particular, you can read an (anecdotal) explanation for everything that happens! Everyone's an expert/everyone has an opinion.
Don't change more than one parameter at once! You'll never know which one worked if you do. It's way too easy to start chasing your tail in this hobby. When you make a change be consistent and patient.

 

[Docdiggy]

Ya I'm not making multiple changes at once. I'm also starting to wonder if the unfinished side of my basement may have high c02 because of the heating equipment. I never test ph and haven't for years. I'm not sure if ph can play a role in cyano. My sump is on that side of the basement. I'm still waiting on my nitrate test.

 

[jsker]

Question, what kind of light are you running?

 

[Docdiggy]

6 bulb t5. 4 B+ and 2 P+. The bulbs that stay on the longest have been replaced last month. The other 4 only run for 4 hrs a day and are under 8 months.

 

[jsker]

6 bulb t5. 4 B+ and 2 P+. The bulbs that stay on the longest have been replaced last month. The other 4 only run for 4 hrs a day and are under 8 months.

I was messing around with my light setting, I have LED's. I am not running my white spectrum only for 5 hour instead of 8 hours. In the four last four days I have noticed my cayno not coming back everyday. Just a thought.

 

[Charterreefer]

Ya I'm not making multiple changes at once. I'm also starting to wonder if the unfinished side of my basement may have high c02 because of the heating equipment. I never test ph and haven't for years. I'm not sure if ph can play a role in cyano. My sump is on that side of the basement. I'm still waiting on my nitrate test.

The more parameters you can measure the more insight you will have as to what's happening to the chemistry, giving you more control of your system. Keep a log book! You can reference it (checking measured parameters) when you see something that doesn't look right...confirming your suspicions. This will help fine tune your skills at just being able to look at the tank and know if something's wrong.
I feel that anything I can actually measure will give me a better window into what is going on in my tank (at a molecular level) before nasty things happen...gives you the ability to "see" what is happening.

 

[Charterreefer]

Ya I'm not making multiple changes at once. I'm also starting to wonder if the unfinished side of my basement may have high c02 because of the heating equipment. I never test ph and haven't for years. I'm not sure if ph can play a role in cyano. My sump is on that side of the basement. I'm still waiting on my nitrate test.

As far as CO2...You can take some water out of the tank and measure the pH then put an airstone and aerate it for a few hours remeasure and see if your pH goes up. I bought a pH meter on ebay for $8.00 (free shipping) that works great. There's a bunch of yellow ones on ebay, doesn't matter which one you get, they all come from the same foundry in China, just get a liquid calibration solution (pH 7.0 and a 10.0) and you're good to go. They work just as good as the overpriced ones! Just check/calibrate before each use.