Anyone out there that can lift my spirits?

[MrNanoReef]

It seems as though the beneficial bacteria was killed with repeated doses of DinoX. This allowed the cyanobacteria to colonize. There are many ways to combat cyano, the best is to siphon it out, go lights out for a day or 2, and at the same time dose a mixture of coral snow+MB7 (which has been sitting mixed for at least a day or two).

 

The mixture above is ReHypes recipe and has worked for me anytime I have seen cyano.

The premise of this treatment is that the right bacteria is being dosed to outcompete the bad bacteria. You can do the same thing with carbon dosing but at this point between miracle mud and bio pellets and rowa phos all running, I'm not sure how carbon dosing will affect a declining tank.

 

As others have said, go back to basics. Take the sump offline and remove the miracle mud. If pockets of gas are released they won't affect your display if you take the sump offline before you do it.

 

If you are able to change salts - do so.

 

 

 

Yes he says he used MB7.

 

will light out cause any problems to SPS corals? im having a cyano outbreak as well, already sucked most of them out and did 50% wc, i also dosed API Algae Fix at the same time.

[seabass]

For a 50 gallon tank, I have to agree that you are overstocked. I've crossed off the livestock that I would consider finding a new home for:

Fish:

2x Clownfish (one fancy one isn't)

2x Banggai Cardinalfish

1x Orange Spot Goby

1x Sunburst Anthias

1x Flame Angel

1x Helfrichi Firefish

 

Inverts:

1x Fromia Starfish

1x Tuxedo Urchin

5x Hermit Crabs (Scarlet)

2x Turbo Snails

3x Cerith Snails

4x Nassarius Snails

3x Feather Dusters

1x Maxima Clam

1x Bubbletip Anemone

• The anthias would appreciate a larger tank and requires frequent feeding (something your tank isn't able to support at this time).
• The flame angel is probably fine in your tank, but they do tend to nip at coral and clam mantles. If you are looking to cut back on fish, it's not a bad choice.
• The fromia sea star will likely have a short life in your tank. Unfortunately, they often can't find adequate food in a smaller tank like yours (it's not a matter of feeding, as they don't eat prepared foods).
• The clam requires feeding, but your tank is in no position to deal with the added organics and nutrients.

So mainly, the anthias and clam (but I'd also consider the angelfish and sea star).

[metrokat]

 

will light out cause any problems to SPS corals? im having a cyano outbreak as well, already sucked most of them out and did 50% wc, i also dosed API Algae Fix at the same time.

1-2 days does not hurt corals. Everyday is not a sunny day on the natural reef

[Cencalfishguy56]

Honestly the best way to approach reefing that I have learned over my last three tanks is really, simplicity, my current tank runs off of 25% WC weekly, fuge with macros and an oversized protein skimmer, also a CUC which has provided excellent results, my very first tank I tried using reactors, skimmers, additives, ect and all I ever had were problems

[MrNanoReef]

1-2 days does not hurt corals. Everyday is not a sunny day on the natural reef

That's true, would it matter if i leave the blue on?

[John L]

Hi,

 

Im no expert but get yourself an RODI unit, ( best thing i did), it will sort half of your issues straight away.

 

Like people say, you can have the best gadgets, salts etc but if the water is not 100% clean to start with, itl cause you massive headaches.

 

As a bonus, you can tell your mum the waste water is great for filling up your water butt/ watering the garden on hot days!

 

Wish you luck my friend, don't give up!

[metrokat]

That's true, would it matter if i leave the blue on?

Yeah, that wouldn't be lights out. It could be a moonlight level blue if you really wanted it on.

[seabass]

Glitchfish, so where are you from?

 

We could really use a picture of how your reef tank currently looks like. There's nothing to be embarrassed about, but it will help us see what you are dealing with.

 

Sounds like you plan on getting a RO/DI unit. So based on the suggestions so far, what if anything else are you planning to do?

[Glitchfish]

Glitchfish, so where are you from?

 

We could really use a picture of how your reef tank currently looks like. There's nothing to be embarrassed about, but it will help us see what you are dealing with.

 

Sounds like you plan on getting a RO/DI unit. So based on the suggestions so far, what if anything else are you planning to do?

I'm from the UK so I apologise for late responses! I think I may have persuaded my mum to allow me to buy an RO/DI Unit, just need to find a garden hose adaptor X)! and a good unit that's cheap X)! Me and my mum also had a major discussion about this as our sump is squeaky clean, not a bit of cyano X) But we also cleaned out our Bio pellet reactor and the pellets are "Rolling around at the speed of sound!" Sonic the Hedgehog Reference X)! I hope now it's working properly it may help me get it under control just until I wait to purchase my unit X)!

 

I'll post photos tommorow,

For a 50 gallon tank, I have to agree that you are overstocked. I've crossed off the livestock that I would consider finding a new home for:

• The anthias would appreciate a larger tank and requires frequent feeding (something your tank isn't able to support at this time).
• The flame angel is probably fine in your tank, but they do tend to nip at coral and clam mantles. If you are looking to cut back on fish, it's not a bad choice.
• The fromia sea star will likely have a short life in your tank. Unfortunately, they often can't find adequate food in a smaller tank like yours (it's not a matter of feeding, as they don't eat prepared foods).
• The clam requires feeding, but your tank is in no position to deal with the added organics and nutrients.

So mainly, the anthias and clam (but I'd also consider the angelfish and sea star).

Well from what I've researched the anthias species I have actually doesn't need much swimming room, they're just shy and are actually easy to keep I love that fish so much so I couldn't dare part with it, Would rather upgrade aquariums but not until i have this under control!

 

Also love my flame angel although he swims around a bit fast which i find a tad jarring but he's healthy fat and happy !

 

Clam I haven't fed for quite a while now so she will be ok

Fromia Starfish Is also fine Had him for almost a year now !

[Cencalfishguy56]

I'm from the UK so I apologise for late responses! I think I may have persuaded my mum to allow me to buy an RO/DI Unit, just need to find a garden hose adaptor X)! and a good unit that's cheap X)! Me and my mum also had a major discussion about this as our sump is squeaky clean, not a bit of cyano X) But we also cleaned out our Bio pellet reactor and the pellets are "Rolling around at the speed of sound!" Sonic the Hedgehog Reference X)! I hope now it's working properly it may help me get it under control just until I wait to purchase my unit X)!

 

I'll post photos tommorow,

 

Well from what I've researched the anthias species I have actually doesn't need much swimming room, they're just shy and are actually easy to keep I love that fish so much so I couldn't dare part with it, Would rather upgrade aquariums but not until i have this under control!

 

Also love my flame angel although he swims around a bit fast which i find a tad jarring but he's healthy fat and happy !

 

Clam I haven't fed for quite a while now so she will be ok

Fromia Starfish Is also fine Had him for almost a year now !

http://spectrapure.com/Refurbished-90-GPD-RODI-Systembooooooom!

[Veng]

I can't write a full reply right now, but I do want to add my 2 cents. I used to use store water that I trusted until I started testing it. I bought a RO/DI unit pretty much the next day. It has made a huge difference. You can install it under your sink and it will stay out of the way. The waste water is only a product when you are actively making water, so you won't notice it on your water bill. If you are dead set against an RO/DI unit, then switch to buying distilled (not purified) water from the grocery store and mixing it. It will be more expensive as the RO/DI, but will be just as good.

[seabass]

http://spectrapure.com/Refurbished-90-GPD-RODI-System booooooom!

Not sure they would ship to the UK.

[Cencalfishguy56]

Not sure they would ship to the UK.

couldnt hurt to try? Lol I'm about to get the starter package, I'm tired of driving to my LFS for water, I check it and it's quality but I'd rather have it on hand

[seabass]

I'm glad your sea star is doing well, many don't. So lessening the bio-load is out, or will you be getting rid of other livestock?

My aquarium lately has just be an absolute disaster and honestly i'm at the point now where i just want to bleach everything

 

I love my aquarium so much and I hate seeing it in the state that it's in! I really hope it gets sorted as seeing it in the state that it's in is really tearing my heart apart.

[RayWhisperer]

I'm done.

[Subsea]

It seems as though the beneficial bacteria was killed with repeated doses of DinoX. This allowed the cyanobacteria to colonize. There are many ways to combat cyano, the best is to siphon it out, go lights out for a day or 2, and at the same time dose a mixture of coral snow+MB7 (which has been sitting mixed for at least a day or two).

 

The mixture above is ReHypes recipe and has worked for me anytime I have seen cyano.

The premise of this treatment is that the right bacteria is being dosed to outcompete the bad bacteria. You can do the same thing with carbon dosing but at this point between miracle mud and bio pellets and rowa phos all running, I'm not sure how carbon dosing will affect a declining tank.

 

As others have said, go back to basics. Take the sump offline and remove the miracle mud. If pockets of gas are released they won't affect your display if you take the sump offline before you do it.

 

If you are able to change salts - do so.

 

 

I say yes to microbe addittion. The bacteria are the "microbial overlords" for our reef tanks to work. Bacteria provide nitrification and denitrification chemistry. Bacteria also feed corals and macro algae. Without bacteria, life on earth could not exist. Just ask the Martians.

 

 

 

 

Yes he says he used MB7.

[Subsea]

My aquarium lately has just be an absolute disaster and honestly i'm at the point now where i just want to bleach everything This cyano has drove me round the bend for half a year, my calcium alk and magnesium levels are just so out of sync and I can't seem to get water from anywhere with 0 nitrates ! I hate my system so much right now, My corals are starting to sulk and bleach and some have even been burnt and I'm just sick of looking at my aquarium and how much it's going down hill, If i can't fix things i'm probably just going to sell up shop and just forget about marine aquariums for another 10 years like i did with my first It's all happening again and it breaks my heart

 

Sorry for this depressing message but I just need to get it off my mind

Glitch,

How old are you? It's tough seeing something that you love not do well. I can understand mixed feelings with frusrration and hope and disappointment. There are a lot of smart people on this forum and they can help you There are many differrent ways to operate a reef tank. As an old school reefer I keep it simple. I don't want for the hobby to demand much of my time. I start out with livestock that is easy to take care off and compatiable with each other. Select a biotheme for your reef tank. Limit your fish load. Sponge Bob gave you a recommended list of fish to get out. Do it. You will limit your bioload and allow ample room for your biological filtration to grow as required. Equipment does not mean good husbandry.

It a beautiful and complex word that exits in our reef tanks. I have been in this hobby for 45years. The beauty of the science that operates nature is amazing and complex. Randy Holmes Farley commented in a post on marine biology "We put a man on the moon 50 yrs ago and we don't know how to cure cancer.

 

PS: If you can't find those bacteria just do as Paul B. He gets mud from tide pools on Long Island

 

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24653399#post24653399

[Elizabeth94]

 

Well from what I've researched the anthias species I have actually doesn't need much swimming room, they're just shy and are actually easy to keep I love that fish so much so I couldn't dare part with it, Would rather upgrade aquariums but not until i have this under control!

 

Also love my flame angel although he swims around a bit fast which i find a tad jarring but he's healthy fat and happy !

 

Clam I haven't fed for quite a while now so she will be ok

Fromia Starfish Is also fine Had him for almost a year now !

 

 

I wouldn't even think about upgrading aquariums if you are having issues with your tank currently, just so you can keep a fish. Seabass is incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to reefing, and I would strongly consider that you act on his advice. I know these fish are pretty and fun to watch, but it doesn't seem like your tank is in a healthy balance right now (which is normal and everyone here has been there, including myself).

 

Your issue isn't just the RO/DI water. It is great that you are looking into getting a unit to make some nice clean water, but it is useless unless you attack the cyano (nutrient) problems in other ways that are causing issues.

 

I really do hope you change your mind and are finally able to get that beautiful healthy reef we ALL strive for Please don't take anything I say in a rude manner, just want to make sure you don't completely overlook your stocking as a cause.

[seabass]

Glitchfish, like most of us, I'm not always right. Plus, there are many different ways to achieve success in reef keeping. While it is certainly possible to be successful without reducing the bio-load, being over stocked is likely contributing to your problems.

 

Not feeding a maxima clam (especially when carbon dosing) might not be the best plan. I'm not a clam expert, but I wouldn't think it's a perfect fit with your Centropyge angelfish and your current tank setup.

It's alright if you don't take all of our suggestions; however, we are still interested to know what you are planning to do. As Elizabeth mentioned, your source water is just one of the contributors. While fixing it should help, it will likely take several changes before you make a lot of progress.

Have you thought about some of the other changes that you are considering? It would help us help you, if you let us know what you are thinking about doing.

Maybe we can agree on a few more things to try going forward. Pictures will definitely help us determine what's going on. Also, we are missing your current phosphate reading. Am I right that nitrate is currently only 2ppm?

I see that your tank is just over a year old. Sand beds often become an issue over time. How deep is your display tank's sand bed, and what do you do to maintain it?

I'm concerned that the bio-load, bacterial imbalances, dosing amino acids, and feeding Reef Roids have all contributed to saturating the substrate with organics and nutrients (causing the cyanobacteria). The thing about cyano blooms, is that they can consume nutrients in the water and make our test results look low, even when there might actually be a nutrient problem.

[Clown79]

As much as ro/di water is preferable, I have used ro water with no major algae issues in all my tanks. Some use tap with very little issue as well.

Your problems may not be the water but the water source with a high bioload could be the contributing factor.

Its sometimes a multitude of issues combined.

 

I think over stocking is usually the most common cause for nutrient levels increasing. I had a 55g with 2 clowns, ywg, a jawfish, and yellow tang. I reduced the bioload by removing the tang and I kept the load low after that and never had any issues. I also ran a very good skimmer on the tank. My nutrient levels were higher with the tang in the tank...which had started a few issues eaaily solved with bioload reduction.

 

Seabass brings a very good point - sandbed. This is usually another nutrient culprit. Lightly vacuuming a short sand bed helps maintain the bed and lower nutrients. Have you been vacuuming the sb?

 

I have to say, since using reef roids, my tank has been having more algae issues and I use it 1x a week and very sparingly.

I truly believe a lot of additives/foods are the cause for access nutrients.

[Glitchfish]

Well here is my tank today before a waterchange See why I'm so pissed?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was my tank a couple weeks ago, I did have cyano but not this bad!

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/374908-my-aquareef-195/

 

 

Just done a waterchange with the 10+ppm Nitrate water from my local store as i haven't got my R.O unit yet so this will be fun....

 

I couldn't dare part with my livestock, sorry it's just not in the cards, Although If i had to i'd remove my banggai cardinalfish. I used to have 10 fish at one time and never had a cyano issue so I doubt it's that, However due to an evil clown goby i fished most of them out to have 5 fish and added 3 more over a few months to make 8 ! Plus they're growing which is good, I'm planning an upgrade but I'm not doing nothing until i understand everything more, I have been fishkeeping for about 15 years and I am 20 now so I do know quite alot about fish X) But I have so much to learn, Don't worry about my Centropyge angelfish My flame angel is an angel X) However if he flips he's out end of, just like my clown goby

 

I am trying my best to clean out behind the tank but it's so deep and my hands are so big .-.

[seabass]

It's an impressive looking tank.

 

If nitrate is 10 ppm in your source water, I can guarantee that other impurities are in there too. Just what and how much is the question. I'm glad you are moving ahead with the RO/DI unit.

 

Do you test for phosphate? If so, what was the value prior to the cyano? What is it now?

 

If it were me, I'd start by temporarily disconnecting the sump (like Kat suggested), while you remove the Miracle Mud from your sump. A bare bottom chaeto fuge should be more effective at removing nutrients from the system.

 

I'm thinking that a good deal of your problems stem from the sand bed in your display. For shallow sand beds, some people work small sections at a time (a little each week). This limits the detritus which is released into the water and allows the fauna to resettle as you work on other areas. However, I would continue to siphon out as much cyano as possible every day. If you have a sand bed that is over 3 inches, you might not want to disturb it (but you could still siphon stuff off of the surface).

 

After you have dealt with the excess organics and nutrients in your system, I'm not opposed to using ChemiClean to knock out cyano. However, it is not a good solution if you haven't first solved the underlying problem.

 

Are you still dosing amino acids (Reef Energy)? If so, I would discontinue this (at least until the cyano issue has been resolved).

[seabass]

I used to have 10 fish at one time and never had a cyano issue so I doubt it's that

You might be surprised how much crap livestock can produce. Most sand beds don't have adequate fauna to maintain a pristine sand bed. If your substrate is like many of ours, detritus will build up. You can think of a sand bed as kitty litter. If you don't ever clean it, it will eventually become a problem. This is why bare bottom tanks have become so popular (it's not because people don't like the look of sand). Even having 10 fish in the past has probably contributed to this problem.

[Glitchfish]

It's an impressive looking tank.

 

If nitrate is 10 ppm in your source water, I can guarantee that other impurities are in there too. Just what and how much is the question. I'm glad you are moving ahead with the RO/DI unit.

 

Do you test for phosphate? If so, what was the value prior to the cyano? What is it now?

 

If it were me, I'd start by temporarily disconnecting the sump (like Kat suggested), while you remove the Miracle Mud from your sump. A bare bottom chaeto fuge should be more effective at removing nutrients from the system.

 

I'm thinking that a good deal of your problems stem from the sand bed in your display. For shallow sand beds, some people work small sections at a time (a little each week). This limits the detritus which is released into the water and allows the fauna to resettle as you work on other areas. However, I would continue to siphon out as much cyano as possible every day. If you have a sand bed that is over 3 inches, you might not want to disturb it (but you could still siphon stuff off of the surface).

 

After you have dealt with the excess organics and nutrients in your system, I'm not opposed to using ChemiClean to knock out cyano. However, it is not a good solution if you haven't first solved the underlying problem.

 

Are you still dosing amino acids (Reef Energy)? If so, I would discontinue this (at least until the cyano issue has been resolved).

 

I now just need to find a garden tap adaptor that fits X)! Then I can go on the hunt for R.O ! My aquarium means more to me than anything ._. I had a seriously bad day once and broke down crying as my phosphate reactor just burst open onto my mums carpet, (Sounds lame but it was like the worst day ever, The reactor was fine but it just imploded.

 

I'd rather not use chemicals, I like to find the source the natural way as there aren't chemicals in the ocean to eliminate it, Unless it's dinoflaggellates then chemicals away X)! Also Cyano is a natural bacterium and I respect that, It's just ugly and invasive! So yeah X)!

 

I guess I went a tad overboard with fish, I sadly have an addiction for them... I'm somewhat of a fish hoarder X)! Thankfully i've also purchased a new siphon for the sand so I'll be working on that ! I believe everyone saying I should, I was following a youtuber named NewYorkSteelo, he said to never siphon the sand.

 

I'll be removing the miracle mud, just hope it won't cause a swing in minor trace elements! But i hate it anyways, seen no benefits

 

Oh also I sadly have to dose the Reef Energy A-B for my feather dusters, I stopped dosing and they started to shrink, but now they're growing and thriving again !

[seabass]

Water changes and feeding should provide the necessary trace elements.

 

Do you test for phosphate???