Red Cyanobacteria

[eartaker]

Well after having to leave my tank for 30 days, mu buddy who was looking after it did not clean the inside of the tank once and over feed the tank. Now I have a start of a cyanobacteria problem. I would like to get it taken care of before it takes over. I replaced the carbon and GFO in my reactor and stopeed the over feeding. Im hoping as the excess nutirent levels drop in the tank so will the amount of red slime. I have a cucumber who goes to town on the sand bed but the red slime is growing faster than he can eat. Any suggestions?

 

[mojoreef]

Well if your pretty sure that the outbreak was from a lack of maintenance and over feeding I would say get a syphon and suck out the cyano and maybe do a little shallow digging (1 inch ) into the sandbed in order to remove as much of the bioload (detritus/waste/extra food)that is sitting in it. This will give the pressure you have on it a bit of a break, doing a decent blowing off of the LR will also help if you can get that out to.

From their I would just allow the cyano to bind up the excess/left over nutrients and then suck it out with the same syphoning. Cyano binds nutrient like no other.


Mike

 

[eartaker]

Sounds like a plan. Right now they Cyano hasnt made it to the rocks, only the sand bed but I will blow them off anyway.

 

[mojoreef]

Yea you always have to remember that a sand bed works very slow and can never really keep up with what we feed, so giving it a break now and then by sucking out some of the detritus is always a good plan. As per the rocks, they will shed more detritus then they will ever reduce, so blowing them off is a good idea to. What I do with mine is to put a thick felt sock on the drain into the sump and then blow both the rocks and then stir the top 1 inch of the sand trying to keep in in the water column and then directing down the overflow.


mojo

 

[eartaker]

Got ya, Im already running a filtersock so I have that covered. =]

 

[mercenary-grunt]

can you do a lights off period? that will help what you cant pick up to die.

 

[steeldoc]

Got ya, Im already running a filtersock so I have that covered. =]

how often do you have to wash/change your sock? how do you clean it? i have to change mine out about once a week or it will plug the sock and flow over the top. i just put mine in the wash with out any soap.

 

[eartaker]

Wow I have been busy... ill suck it out tonight but I can already see that it is starting to remove itself.

mercenary-grunt, I do a lights off period every night =] I would do a few days of lights off if I didn't have coral in the tank but I would rather keep it on the scheduled it is on now. While I was gone my buddy also had messed with my lights so they were on 24/7 =[, thats fixed now.

steeldoc, I change out my filtersock when I see it start to overflow usually about every 5-7 days depending. I also throw mine in the washer with all of the others once they are all dirty and add a little bleach, I have 3 socks. I then run it through an additional rinse cycle with some prime in the washer water just in case all of the bleach isn't gone. I then let them air dry and use them when the next is dirty. I have been thinking I should stop using the bleach though.

 

[Peppie]

Wow I have been busy... ill suck it out tonight but I can already see that it is starting to remove itself.

mercenary-grunt, I do a lights off period every night =] I would do a few days of lights off if I didn't have coral in the tank but I would rather keep it on the scheduled it is on now. While I was gone my buddy also had messed with my lights so they were on 24/7 =[, thats fixed now.

steeldoc, I change out my filtersock when I see it start to overflow usually about every 5-7 days depending. I also throw mine in the washer with all of the others once they are all dirty and add a little bleach, I have 3 socks. I then run it through an additional rinse cycle with some prime in the washer water just in case all of the bleach isn't gone. I then let them air dry and use them when the next is dirty. I have been thinking I should stop using the bleach though.[/QUOT

Your corals will be just fine without lights for 3 days. Just think of it as really cloudy days on the reef . The lights out will help a bunch. What type of flow do you have in the tank??

 

[mercenary-grunt]

make sure that you pull in the morning. that is when the cyno is the most condenced. you can pull more out and less of it tearing. you can really feel the differance.