Carbon and Cyanobacteria

[jimv]

I have been having an ongoing battle with Cyanobacteria. This week after I changed my water, GFO and carbon it came back with a vengeance the next day. I have been reading that carbon can cause algae blooms. I am using Dr Foster and Smith brand and I'm wondering if this is the cause. I was previously using Chemi Pure Elite but thought I would try and more economical alternative since I started running a separate GFO reactor. Any thoughts on this, I'm grasping at straws right now.

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[goma]

I have no idea if that is contributing to the problem but it doesn't seem likely. I have always used BRS Rox carbon which you can buy in bulk;

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-premium-rox-0-8-aquarium-carbon.html

 

[jimv]

From what I have been reading ROX is acid washed to alleviate this issue and that is partly why it's more expensive. I probably should've went with that . I'm going to try removing the carbon and see what happens. Anybody running without any carbon at all?

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[nanoreefing4fun]

Not sure about "that" carbon... it says one tablespoon per 10 gallons ??? seems a but weird to me, if it is "plain carbon" +1 ^ greg's post - BRS ROX 0.8 carbon is a good as there is in a carbon

I don't correlate you using carbon to cyano... when I think cyano & when I get some, it's almost always associated with my overfeeding i.e. excess nutrients

more water changes will help how often are you doing them & in what % ?

 

[jimv]

I replace a five gallon bucket weekly I think that works out to about 15 percent without accounting for the live rock

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[nanoreefing4fun]

That's pretty good... I would look at the excess nutrients

 

[slfcaptain]

Have you tried another blackout? Might be worth considering now that you have the reactor going. A blackout will release a lot if the nutrients tied up in the Cyrano and hopefully exported by the reactor.

steve

 

[jimv]

Have you tried another blackout? Might be worth considering now that you have the reactor going. A blackout will release a lot if the nutrients tied up in the Cyrano and hopefully exported by the reactor.

steve

Third time's a charm. How are you making out with your cyano? Were you able to resolve? I have cut back my feedings to every other day, stopped feeding flake food, done weekly water changes, change out the carbon weekly, change the gfo every three weeks, use rodi... Can't win.

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[slfcaptain]

Mine is getting better. I am following the same plan you are and its a lot better than a couple of months ago. I still have some wispy patches on the sand and some spots on the rocks but it is getting better each week and not really noticable. I watch the food, keep cleaning, regular water changes, and patience. Home life is hectic for me so that time I spend doing all those things is like therapy.

steve

 

[jimv]

I really I'm grasping at straws with the carbon. Bottom line I have something feeding the cyano and I need to figure it out. My protein skimmer hasn't been producing foam, so I think that's going to have to be my next upgrade. I have been trying to avoid this , most of the equipment I've been purchasing has the ability to be moved to another tank for when I upgrade. I'm still running the stock skimmer from the original 130.

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[goma]

You need to be skimming aggressively to removed dissolved organics from the water. If you are not removing them by skimming this is one of the things feeding the cyano.

 

[slfcaptain]

I skim on the wet side so I am getting good production. Maybe you have a skimmer problem. Red sea is supposed to release an upgrade soon. Maybe we can get an update from red sea.

steve

 

[jimv]

I hope so. Even if I open mine up all the way the bubbles stay well below the neck. I have gone through the troubleshooting guide with little success. I top up my tank daily just to make sure the water level is good. The only time I ever get any phone production is when I clean the back wall of the tank.

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[slfcaptain]

That doesn't sound right. If I scrub rock, even after feeding I get lots of foam. On days I dont do anything there isn't much foam.

Here is what I do if its any help.
I keep the rotary thing so that the inner tube is at the same height as the outer tube. I have the air valve open all the way. I clean the skimmer cup about twice a week and wipe out the inside of the tube real good.

I cut the black foam in half and just use one half. On top of it I place a piece of polyfil (white on one side, blue on the other) on top of the black sponge. When I clean the skimmer cup I thoroughly rinse out the black sponge and replace the polyfil. I buy a sheet of polyfil at petsmart for about $8 and cut it into about 24 squares. It lasts me 2-3 months. Sunce its so cheap I just always put a new one in when I mess with it.

I do like to do that maintenance several hours after I take a turkey blaster and tooth brush to the rocks. A lot of junk gets caught in the polyfil so its a real good way to export a lot if crap fast. Get it in the water column, get it in the polyfil, get it out.


steve

 

[ReefJunkie]

If on the sand bed siphon it out. I reduced my feeding and used NoPoX. Again make sure your skimmer is going when using NoPoX. Make sure you have plenty of flow as well. Good luck!

 

[goma]

Hey Jim - after reading your post about your skimmer, this is most likely one of the reasons you are still fighting cyano. One thing we always tell folks is to skim aggressively to remove organics from the water. You need to get your skimmer up and running or look into another one to help fight this battle. Good luck and let us know if you need anything else.

 

[slfcaptain]

Jim,
Does your skimmer ever look like this?



steve

 

[slfcaptain]

Next Tuesday Red Sea will be making an anouncement about new products and product upgrades. A new and improved skimmer for the 130 is expected.

steve

 

[jimv]

Great. I hope I can get my hands on one.

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[RedSeaKev]

Ok Folks, Cyano, whilst poor skimming can for sure be a contributing factor something that has been proven many times by our customers using Red Sea's No3Po4-X and highly accurate No3 test kits is the absence of No3 even with very low Po4 levels can lead to an outbreak of Cyano.

Customers who have suffered from high No3 level who have gone on to use No3Po4-X have brought their No3 under control, some who have not adjusted the No3Po4-X dosage as suggested have driven the No3 to nil, this has sometimes led them to experience an outbreak of Cyano, once the dosage has been corrected and trace No3 (at least 0.25ppm) level stabilized the Cyano has receded.

The latest research suggests the following.

Cyano are the only life forms in the Reef aquarium that can fix dissolved atmospheric nitrogen, therefore they do not need nitrate or ammonia like other algae’s, this makes them the strongest micro-organism even in low nutrient type systems.

The latest research suggests that Cyano Bacteria can survive and even flourish on sulphate which can make things difficult as there is approximately 940ppm in normal sea water, so you can see why you can still suffer this when having very low algae nutrient levels.

There appears to be a preference for No3 by the Cyano so when present the cultures are kept in check, definitely worth a try :happywalk