Red Cyanobacteria help to make sure I'm doing correctly...!!!

JSimmons · Nov 1, 2015

I bought some Chemiclean to get rid of the Red Cyanobacteria I have growing on my back wall and rock... The direction say "must use heavy aeration or large air stone"... Guy at Petland said an air pump is needed for aeration and this should work... Seems a lil small for my 75 gallon tank... Does anybody know if this would be good for "heavy aeration" or do I need to buy something bigger or buy another one to use 2...? Thanks for the help/advice...!!!

ttabbal · Nov 1, 2015

Do you have a skimmer? If so, and if it's possible to have it overflow without issues, run it with the collection cup off. It will make lots of foam, but keep aeration up. The issue with that stuff is that it can cause low oxygen in the water. Any method of mixing air with the water should help.

I can't comment on the pump size, no idea. I suspect it would be fine, but it's a guess. The advice I read in various forums when using that was to watch the fish and if they show signs of needing air, be prepared to do something immediately to increase oxygen. I did the skimmer thing and it worked fine. It makes the skimmer go nuts, but it worked for me.

JSimmons · Nov 1, 2015

Yes I do have a skimmer...So take the collection bowl off and just let it work freely...Could it be a good idea to use the aeration pump as well...? Just keep an eye on the condition of the fish...!

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 1, 2015

Do you have a serious cyano problem and have you tried anything else first? IMO, this is close to a last resort treatment, but it does work.

I agree that a skimmer would be better. An air pump will cause salt spray and not aerate as well in most cases.

Most reef tanks are aerated enough for this purpose, but manual removal of what cyano you can before the antibiotic treatment will help reduce the need for aeration.

Also, this is not a magic bullet. You need to think about how to keep it from just coming back by altering your husbandry techniques or nutrient export methods somehow.

JSimmons · Nov 1, 2015

It's all over the back glass on the left side about 8-10 inches...mainly top but goes all the way down...I've siphoned it off the back glass before and as much of the rock as I can but it keeps growing back... It actually started growing on my red planet and killed the stalk that was finally growing and now it's spreading over the crusted part and is spreading over the entire thing...won't stop...get the little shiny bubbles growing as well...I'm at a loss and hoping this will get rid of it...!!!

JSimmons · Nov 1, 2015

Do you know how I can save the edges...so it can't spread on the good parts...?

Lesley · Nov 1, 2015

When I used chemiclean I also pointed all my 4 power-heads to the surface, breaking it vigorously. I was unable to keep skimmer going because of the foam, it actually foamed up so bad it filled the sump and bubbles were overflowing the rim. You could also run the air stone in the sump if not wanting to run in the DT.

marvelousone · Nov 1, 2015

I have a 75 also. I have been fighting cynao for 2 months. Just two weeks ago I used chemclean. I did not use an air pump. I moved the return on top of water line. In two days the cynao was gone and has stayed away.

ttabbal · Nov 1, 2015

JSimmons said:
Yes I do have a skimmer...So take the collection bowl off and just let it work freely...Could it be a good idea to use the aeration pump as well...? Just keep an eye on the condition of the fish...!

Yep. I just took it off and let the foam overflow into the sump. That should be plenty of aeration. As mentioned, consider nutrient export, flow, etc.. It will die off, but can come back. Follow the directions exactly. Overdose is a bad idea. And do the water change. With the skimmer adding air, I doubt you will have a problem with oxygen.

The skimmer may well be over active after. I just connected the drain tube to a 5 gallon bucket. A few gallons later, it was back to normal.

JSimmons · Nov 2, 2015

Ok thanks y'all...!!! Would anyone have any ideas on how I can save the good crusted part of my red planet so it doesn't die off completely...I loved that piece...was center attraction in my tank...