One week of Cyano growth (insane)

[Dburr1014]

Little update on my cyano situation… first picture is April 10. Second is 7 days later today on April 17th. View attachment 3113172View attachment 3113171Been slowly ramping down on lights, they’re now at: Sunrise 10:00 am Sunset 6pm 90 minute ramp time on each. Today I plan on scraping it off again during the water change but just wanted your guys input/ thoughts on this..
Also can I really shut the lights off for a couple of days with corals/fish in the tank? Everything will be fine?

Nutrient out of balance is the biggest cause.
As sixties reefer was hinting to, what are your no3/po4 numbers?
Also, tarchia and danp mentioned, gha die off = nutrient out of balance as it's dying.

To your questions, yes you can turn lights off. Up to 3 days is totally fine and all inhabitants will be fine.

 

[Mikemilly245]

I use this regularly without issues. Lights off will be your biggest friend with this battle.

Hey quick question about chemipure, would you rather use elite or blue in a 16 gallon? I bought elite to add in today but keep seeing that the blue is better for nanos…

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey quick question about chemipure, would you rather use elite or blue in a 16 gallon? I bought elite to add in today but keep seeing that the blue is better for nanos…

Elite as blue has GFO and can be aggressive for this size tank

 

[Lebowski_]

Your biggest issue may be lack of flow and due to basic filtration with these systems, your nitrate and phosphate levels are likely elevated. 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.
- 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 enough, you will have this bloom. Regular water changes dilute nutrients that feed cyano and keeps your tank clear
- Using a water source with nitrates or phosphates is a 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

I recommend to reduce white light intensity or even turn them off for 3-5 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. And mentioned was Protein skimmer. This will help your tank remove organic matter. The ice Cap k1-50 would do well with this tank. (on sale at Coralvue.com)

After the 5 days, add a few snails such as cerith, margarita, astrea and nassarius plus 6-8 blue leg hermits to take control.

I am using this method and I've gone from:

to this (day 4 of treatment, 1 more day left)

So far it's made a huge difference and my coral have not shown much in the way of being ticked off. I no longer get mats with bubbles, and each morning there is less and less of a presence. I've kept my walls "dirty" as the film algae is competing with the cyano, but tonight I am cleaning 2 of them and also using DIY Coral Snow + Microbaktor7, then doing my last hydro peroxide dose.

Right now, it's hard to argue with the results. The real challenge will be if it bounces right back once I stop and start to crank the lights back up.

As of right now, Nitrates and Phosphates are both rising, very slowly.

Good luck OP! Listen to vette, he knows his stuff!