Cyano & diatoms - would phosphate reactor help?

[NanoBiscuit]

I don't know if anyone asked yet, but have you tested your phosphate levels to see where they are at? What do you use for source water? Is it RO/DI? What is your skimmer rated at? Forgive me if I missed an earlier post.

[agoutihead]

Yes, RO/DI, filters have been changed in the last couple of months.

 

It's a Tunze Nano Skimmer

 

Not sure on phosphate levels, but I assume they're there & they're not really low based on feeding spectrum, rods reef & fish poop lol

[agoutihead]

Anyone have an idea after my picture I posted?

[agoutihead]

bump...

[Nano sapiens]

Fighting Cyano is best accomplished on multiple fronts. Nutrient reduction and cyano/detritus removal are the 'number ones' in my book, but increasing flow to suspend detritus is somewhat helpful if one uses filtration devices to catch the additonal particulates. I don't use mechanical filtration, so removal of detritus via sand bed vacuuming is my method of choice.

 

Couple things I've noticed in your long battle:

 

Everyone loves plump rolly-polly fish, but the reality is that only around 10-20% of the food they consume is actually metabolized. The rest is excreted back into the environment and much of that is then available for algae and cyanobacteria to utilize. The tendency is to overfeed since we don't want to be 'mean', but most of us feed way too much. I've cut my feeding down by about half recently and fish look slimmer, but more active and healthy. Just this single step has made a noticeable difference in regards to a mild red cyano outbreak I've been dealing with (used to be coca-cola colored algae, but that disappeared a month ago). The only reason I have had to deal with this stuff is from a pellet feeder that added too many for two weeks while I was on vacation.

 

Daily removal of the cyano is excellent in that the sequestered nutrients are being removed from the system. As long as you aren't putting in more nutrients than you are taking out, in time the cyano bloom must crash.

[agoutihead]

I usually feed once a day, either a couple of small pinches of small Spectrum pellets of a pinky finger nail size piece of Rod's Reef maybe 1-2 times a week. I don't feed the sectrum the same day I feed Rod's.

 

I have an Anthias & they liked to be multiple times a day, but mine seems to be doing fine with just daily feedings. Once in a while I will skip a day from feeding for one reason or another.

 

I like to keep the fish well fed so there's no aggression towards each other and therefore no ich or any other disease outbreak.

 

It's been a battle of cyano, diatoms & not once in a while looks like dynoflaggets.

 

I realize increased flow & cutting back on feedings would help, but I can't do the one any more than I already am & I really don't know if I want to go down to less than daily feedings.

 

I'd really just prefer to add additional mechanical filtration.

 

SO, If I wanted to - would adding a phosphate reactor in place of the skimmer be beneficial to help clear up my problems?