Is it possible to get rid of cyano without using chemicals like Chemiclean? I haven't had much luck with weekly water changes, siphoning sand, with and without carbon/phos, with and without chaeto. My parameters are consistent with nitrates around 4 - 6, pho 0.4-0.5, temp 78, alk 7.6-7.8. Lighting is 2x 175W MH (bulbs less than 6 months old). It is an old tank (13+ years). I did let my tank maintenance wane for a few years (trouble with GHA and bubble algae) but during the last year, decided to get seriously back into maintaining my tank. Hair algae almost non-existent with just a few strands on the return pipe, bubble algae is about 50% left (it was terrible but getting better slowly) with manual removal. However, the cyano won't go away. I would try to remove as much of it as possible during each water change but it comes back. I want to beat it without having to use any chemicals. Thanks.
Red slime (cyano) removal possible?
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NeptuneRjo
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Have you looked into expanding your cleanup crew? I've heard Mexican redlegged hermit crabs and some urchins will clean it up.
xxkenny90xx
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Ebisan my tank (8+ yrs old) and has never seen a chemical, I've never used any type of bottled bacteria, prime, Dr Tim's, nothing like that at all (except the occasional use of gfo). That being said I battled red cyano for so long and never made any progress with it. I hated the idea of adding a chemical band aid but I finally broke down and tried chemiclean. Only one dose and I havent seen a spec of cyano in the year since.
Just my 2¢. Oh and get those phosphates down!
Just my 2¢. Oh and get those phosphates down!
Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread
If you are reading this thread to cure a tank invasion from a link I sent you, we do not need to identify your type of invasion here we do not need you to test anything at anytime regarding nitrate, phosphate etc Above all, we do not need to see a microscope slide picture of your invasion at...
www.reef2reef.com
30 pages of fix, by rinsing sand no chems. If your tank isn’t so huge it can’t be accessed we can fix that cyano
we show it not returning in nearly every case. Check out the work, detritus in the sand or rocks is the food for cyano, we take that food away
not once did we ask for param measures, we find they don’t matter.
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Fourstars
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Need to know your phosphate and nitrate levels. I would siphon it off, use mechanical filtration like a diatomaceous filter, or UV if you must. But it will keep returning unless you get your P:N ratios correct.
NeptuneRjo
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Parameters are in original post.
sarcophytonIndy
Well-Known Member
Cyano is a nutrient issue and a low flow issue. I have never seen cyano in high flow area, so increasing flow will be helpful. That leaves nutrient export. I use a good skimmer (Reef Octopus 150sss) and a fuge with macro algae (chaeto and ulva) under a 600W horticulture led light. The macro algae growth is phenomenal and it must be harvested regularly, but I have no nuisance algae in the display tank.
sarcophytonIndy
Well-Known Member
speaking P:N ratios, I noticed that at times my chaeto will outgrow my ulva, and at other times the ulva seems to have the upper hand. I guessing that it has something to do with the P:N ratio, and possibly other ions in the nutrient mix??
Thanks everyone. I will try your suggestions (e.g., clean the sand, add more CUC, increase the flow, etc) and stay the course. But may end up using Chemiclean if it doesn't improve in the next few months. Fingers crossed.
