Hi, I've read a lot of the suggestions on the internet regarding containing cyanobacteria. I'd like to give more specifics about my tank so that I can choose the right treatment, because I have been unable to get it under control.
What I have:
- marine tank, 32g biocube (given to me by a friend)
- live rock, unsure if it's been cured, i think not.
- nitrates/nitrites near 0ppm
- ammonia at 0ppm
- ph ~8.1
- lights on from 11:30am - 9:15pm
- tank temp is usually ~80F
- have used ultralife red slime product 2 times over a month.
- running a protein skimmer and carbon? filter's meant for the biocube
- carbon filter is ~3 weeks old.
- Have tried a 3 day 'brown out' (did not black out the tank, but did not turn on the light for 3 days, then used ultralife).
- Livestock: 1 choco chip starfish, 1 turbo snail, 1 Green spotted puffer
- Likely not overfeeding. I feed the green spotted puffer a little bit of frozen krill every other day, from tongs. Barely any waste other than from what he spits out of his mouth (very little).
- Phosphates at >= 10ppm
Red slime accumulates in areas that get light. On top of rocks, on substrate. Does not accumulate on substrate under rocks. This stuff will come back in 2-3 days after cleaning out the tank and scrubbing it off or taking it out with a turkey baster.
I've narrowed my problem down to the following:
- phosphates from rocks/substrate? I haven't checked levels, don't have a means to test.
- probably not overfeeding/nitrates/nitrates (3 tests at different times, all near 0).
Is phosphates likely my problem? If so, what should I do to reduce the amount? I'd rather not take the rocks out at this point if possible, I've read about phosphate-depleting mixes I could use, but I'd like to get this cyanobacteria out for good so want to make sure I choose the best solution. Thanks for helping out!
Images:
https://ibb.co/Tvh4kTm
https://ibb.co/MhPTkVK
What I have:
- marine tank, 32g biocube (given to me by a friend)
- live rock, unsure if it's been cured, i think not.
- nitrates/nitrites near 0ppm
- ammonia at 0ppm
- ph ~8.1
- lights on from 11:30am - 9:15pm
- tank temp is usually ~80F
- have used ultralife red slime product 2 times over a month.
- running a protein skimmer and carbon? filter's meant for the biocube
- carbon filter is ~3 weeks old.
- Have tried a 3 day 'brown out' (did not black out the tank, but did not turn on the light for 3 days, then used ultralife).
- Livestock: 1 choco chip starfish, 1 turbo snail, 1 Green spotted puffer
- Likely not overfeeding. I feed the green spotted puffer a little bit of frozen krill every other day, from tongs. Barely any waste other than from what he spits out of his mouth (very little).
- Phosphates at >= 10ppm
Red slime accumulates in areas that get light. On top of rocks, on substrate. Does not accumulate on substrate under rocks. This stuff will come back in 2-3 days after cleaning out the tank and scrubbing it off or taking it out with a turkey baster.
I've narrowed my problem down to the following:
- phosphates from rocks/substrate? I haven't checked levels, don't have a means to test.
- probably not overfeeding/nitrates/nitrates (3 tests at different times, all near 0).
Is phosphates likely my problem? If so, what should I do to reduce the amount? I'd rather not take the rocks out at this point if possible, I've read about phosphate-depleting mixes I could use, but I'd like to get this cyanobacteria out for good so want to make sure I choose the best solution. Thanks for helping out!
Images:
https://ibb.co/Tvh4kTm
https://ibb.co/MhPTkVK
Last edited: