Getting rid of cyano without chemicals

[QuinnLee512]

I've used chemiclean in the past and it works. However I've got cyano again. This time I think I've managed to get my nutrients under control. Nitrates around 5 and phosphates under.1. Can I get rid of this latest outbreak without using chemiclean again?

 

[Timfish]

I wouldn't use chemiclean again, you run the risk of creating a superstrain resistiant to it. I use steel straws to siphon it out an dyou can use h2O2 in a syringe to kill cyano in a system.

 

[QuinnLee512]

Do you dilute the h202?

 

[brandon429]

I checked your post history is this a biocube 32

If so I have a method you'll be hard pressed to find working better. This has been a 6+month issue for you is that correct

No chems I'm talking no chems whatsoever and your corals will pop better than ever after we clean your tank the right way. It hasn't been cleaned the right way yet per posts and updates

 

[QuinnLee512]

No I have since upgraded to an IM 75G. It's been up for a year. I believe the tank has finally stabilized in regards to nitrates and phosphates. Unfortunately cyano had already developed.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

No I have since upgraded to an IM 75G. It's been up for a year. I believe the tank has finally stabilized in regards to nitrates and phosphates. Unfortunately cyano had already developed.

Cyano is present in every tank (it's in practically every body of water on the planet). It's just a matter of finding a balance so that it is outcompeted by other algae, bacteria, archaea, etc. A tank can take quite a while to mature and fully stabilize, so as long as it's not taking over your rock or coral, you might want to just let it be and see if it goes away on its own.

 

[QuinnLee512]

Well it's been covering 1/2 of my rocks. None on the sand yet. I just brushed it off my rocks and hope that most of it goes into the overflow. I'm wondering if I just keep on scrubbing it off the rocks if it'll eventually go away?

 

[bushdoc]

I second Erin1979Texas. It's been long time since I had cyano, but I used various methods for months until one day it disappeared forever.(or at least for few years)

 

[QuinnLee512]

I second Erin1979Texas. It's been long time since I had cyano, but I used various methods for months until one day it disappeared forever.(or at least for few years)

Do you have any recommendations on what I can do to get rid of it naturally? What bacteria, etc.. do I need in my tank to compete with it?

 

[QuinnLee512]

Cyano is present in every tank (it's in practically every body of water on the planet). It's just a matter of finding a balance so that it is outcompeted by other algae, bacteria, archaea, etc. A tank can take quite a while to mature and fully stabilize, so as long as it's not taking over your rock or coral, you might want to just let it be and see if it goes away on its own.

What do I need in my tank to compete with it? I scrub it off my rocks but it just comes right back.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I've used chemiclean in the past and it works. However I've got cyano again. This time I think I've managed to get my nutrients under control. Nitrates around 5 and phosphates under.1. Can I get rid of this latest outbreak without using chemiclean again?

I recommend to reduce white light intensity or even turn them off for 5-7 days. Add liquid bacteria daily for a week during the day at 1.5ml per 10 gallons. Add Hydrogen peroxide at night at 1ml per 10 gallons. Add a pouch of chemipure Elite which will balance phos and nitrate and keep them in check.

After the week, add a few snails such as cerith, margarita, astrea and nassarius plus 6-8 blue leg hermits to take control.

Cyano blooms typically start when water nutrient concentrations of phosphate, nitrate and other organic compounds are too high.
Some of the most common causes include:
- Protein skimmer which fills water with tiny air bubbles. As bubbles form from the reaction chamber, dissolved organic compound molecules stick to them. Foam forms at the surface of the water and is then transferred to a collection cup, where it rests as skimmate. When the protein skimmer does not output the best efficiency or you do not have the suitable protein skimmer to cover the tank, the air bubbles created by the skimmer might be insufficient. And this insufficiency of air bubbles can trigger the cyano to thrive.
- Overstocking / overfeeding, your aquarium with nutrients is often the culprit of a cyano bloom
- Adding live rock that isn’t completely cured which acts like a breeding ground for red slime algae
- If you don’t change your water with enough frequency, you’ll soon have a brightly colored red slime algae bloom. Regular water changes dilute nutrients that feed cyanobacteria and keeps your tank beautifully clear
- Using a water source with nitrates or phosphates is like rolling out the welcome mat for cyano. Tap water is an example
- Inadequate water flow, or movement, is a leading cause of cyano blooms. Slow moving water combined with excess dissolved nutrients is a recipe for pervasive red slime algae development

 

[Lavey29]

Do you have any recommendations on what I can do to get rid of it naturally? What bacteria, etc.. do I need in my tank to compete with it?

Increase flow to affected areas, manual siphon weekly. Cut lights to 6 hours with blue and uv only no whites.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

What do I need in my tank to compete with it? I scrub it off my rocks but it just comes right back.

Honestly, I'd just leave it alone and wait it out.
*When you scrub it off your rocks, is that inside the tank? If so, you're not getting rid of it, you're just rearranging it.
Do you have a refugium? Skimmer? Mechanical filtration (socks, etc) and if so, how often do you clean/change it?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Do you have any trochus or cerith snails? Some varieties have been known to consume cyano (impossible to tell which you might end up getting when you purchase these, so best to buy a few and hope for the best )

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

@QuinnLee512 - steps 1 and 2 in the article below.

Get Rid Of Cyanobacteria Or Red Slime Algae Forever!

Just like our previous episode all about eradicating algae, many of you landed here because you have a frustrating outbreak of red, brown, purple or even green slimy stuff in your tank. Our plan is to help you identify the problem, bust the myths and give you a solid foundation for

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[MexiReefer]

Second Erin1971 comment of waiting it our. Can take several months, but eventually the system will reach an equilibriums. I have done more mess in my tank trying to figh GHA or Cyano, at the end, leaving the tank alone and have a good maintenance routine does the trick. Be patient several several months.

 

[bushdoc]

Do you have any recommendations on what I can do to get rid of it naturally? What bacteria, etc.. do I need in my tank to compete with it?

I am believer of biodiversity created natural way. I got so called "Treasure chest" from Tampa Bay Saltwater, basically 5-8 lbs of live rock with some growth, sponges, tunicates, coralline algae and of course lots of bacteria. I added live pods from different source and live sand from Florida. I keep live sand in sump only, as my tank is bare bottom, so I can have high flow. I usually create "storm" once or twice a day for 10 min, or so to stir sediment and send it to filter sock. I have some dry, Marco Rock, but so called ugly stage was very short and didn't include cyanobacteria, only diatoms and GHA. My light spectrum is skewed towards actinic, with no red and only 6-8% of white.
It is a bit unfortunate, but it is easier to prevent outbreaks of unwanted stuff, than fight it. I attached typical algae sequence in reef aquarium from Angel Cegarra book.
According to that picture, you are almost in the middle of the road.

 

[BurgerFish]

I was able to beat cyano only by red slime remover. After it I always got dinos.

 

[brandon429]

That’s a good insight, tradeoff invasions weren’t listed or mentioned until you relayed what happened in your tank

neither was coral bleaching posts after using chemiclean


When Quinn was sampling the posters for ways to fix cyano, I noticed nobody posted links of them fixing cyano in let’s say ten people‘s reef tanks

This is why work threads are the way to gain insight vs polling us forum posters for what worked in our tanks


getting others tanks to comply without killing them, without leaving a searchable trail of losses, with a high rate of target kill is the unspoken hard thing to do



Jay from the fish disease forum and Humblefish deal nearly exclusively in work thread activity for example…they’re accountable in threads on others reef tanks if their fish advice doesn’t gain the maximum known lifespan ability for the fish at hand. Jay and HF don’t tell us about their home reefs and hardly use them as examples
but they run forums and do work threads in other people’s tanks all day long.

I can’t wait to see an author of a better way to run disease preps in fish open up a new reef board for it as a big test in other people’s reefs, Humblefish makes it look easy.

 

[brandon429]

A case in point= exercise on vetting reef procedural information.

@Eric Cohen

you offered red slime remover to someone here recently in a post from the perspective of the originator who sells to retail, which is the ultimate first hand experience. That lineage inherits you the powerful responsibility to speak in work threads that you ran as proof of your control over cyano in my opinion

I’m not saying this to be mean, it’s a legit request to see use of chemi clean or any related product, red slime remover as well, by the maker on several of today’s reef tank challenges. Started on or after 1/8/23

In my opinion you should have already wanted to start the work thread vs me having to ask for it, you’d want to show near total command over outbound reef tank cyano jobs

I don’t mean ones from the website page, testimonies

I’m meaning start a thread rn that asks for posters to give you their cyano challenges and work it live time. Type to them the doses, expected outcome, % retained they can expect live time it’s the ultimate claims filter. It’s a fair request, peroxide endures such a request without pause.

requesting work thread proof isn’t mean, it’s asking someone to show the discovery of the next element.

Tank dying after chemiclean

We have a standard 125 with a 45 gallon sump. Our tank was doing beautifully (was about 9 months running at the time) with the exception of a very bad outbreak of red cyano that was starting to cover and kill corals. I went into the hospital on December 14th and came home January 28th to a cyano...

www.reef2reef.com

is someones potential ten thousand dollar sps reef completely safe with that omission above

at what point are buyers or reef owners in forums told they need to evaluate safety and outcome data themselves, from work threads vs product relays and personal testimony

this is not being mean, asking for a work thread on peroxide wouldn’t be considered controversial / someone would just link us to one in six seconds or make a new one. We know if you dose peroxide, the algae probably dies (Initially)

work threads brought peroxide use into reefing, past gatekeeping to try and keep it out based on how the reaction looks as a balanced equation.

Work threads showed the masses the utility of peroxide in a reef tank, work thread patterning made peroxide commandable by anyone in reefing using a product they already owned for another matter.

Work threads get a bad rap as conjecture but they’re secret pattern gold...a person can’t align 500 reef tanks unless they can do it on demand. The market for help is there, posting every day for cyano help requests. Don’t help people in their threads, those fall down over time to no pattern


have a live time work thread running and direct invaded tanks to post there, then advise on all treatment doses and have them post after pics, thats a work thread.