Cyano in new tank

[PJPS]

27 minutes ago, BioReefed said:

this is the part that gets confusing. My nitrates and phosphates were at zero the whole time I started the tank back in December, then I removed the purigen and chemipure and started adding neonitro and neophos. After that my parameters were stable  for a couple of weeks (nitrates 10, phosphates 0.2) . But because of the damn cyano I started to dose microbacter7, but the mb7 lowers the nitrates and phosphates, and I go back to the same point, zero phosphates and zero nitrates.

 I shouldn't have added that new coral last week until I fix the cyano. It is in good flow, I just moved it and see if I can save it

I say add coral and inverts, stop dinking with things like bacteria.  Your tank supports life.  You can buy MB7 or a few snails, a frag, etc… buy life, not potions/gear.  You’ll find the more primary consumers (snails,pods,coral) the fewer primary producers (uglies) you have.  Fight biology with better biology (uglies), chemistry with better chemistry (parameters, pH), physics with better physics (light & flow dynamics).

 

 

[mcarroll]

2 hours ago, BioReefed said:

But because of the damn cyano I started to dose microbacter7, but the mb7 lowers the nitrates and phosphates,

I think there are a couple misconceptions there.

 

There's no particular reason to think that dosing nitrifying bacteria would do anything for/against cyanobacteria....so it was probably an unnecessary move, though probably harmless.

 

It's possible that the MB7 was related to bottoming out the nutrients, but IMO it was the growth of everything in the tank, especially any/all algae.....not just the MB7....perhaps mostly not the MB7.

 

This spike in demand for nutrients "should be" true of any young reef tank.  But I think it's especially true for one like yours that had been systematically deprived of major nutrients as yours was prior to the removal of your anti-nutrient media.   Sort of a rebound from pent-up demand.

 

2 hours ago, BioReefed said:

 I shouldn't have added that new coral last week until I fix the cyano. It is in good flow, I just moved it and see if I can save it

Cyano blooms are generally a sign that things aren't quite balanced in the tank.  So from that standpoint I agree.  But don't look at the cyano as the problem...just a sign.  The nutrients crashing back to zero is another sign of imbalance....and probably the real culprit.   Phosphate is to photosynthesis as oil is to your car engine – DON'T leave home without it!!

 

Clove polyps are a bit delicate, at least compared to a lot of other soft coral, IMO.  If they're in bright light (it's a reef tank!) without a nutrient source, I wouldn't expect them to hold up for long.  Algae growing on them is a definite indicator that their immune system isn't operation properly....another sign they're tweaked.

 

Good luck getting things re-balanced and back to your target levels (≥0.10 ppm PO4; ≥5 ppm NO3) quickly!!  👍

[banasophia]

In a Biocube, would move the cloves up higher for more light… I had mine near the top of my scape in my Biocube 16. When corals get some mild cyano  growing on them I try to squirt them with a turkey baster to blow the cyano off. 

[BioReefed]

7 hours ago, mcarroll said:

I think there are a couple misconceptions there.

 

There's no particular reason to think that dosing nitrifying bacteria would do anything for/against cyanobacteria....so it was probably an unnecessary move, though probably harmless.

 

It's possible that the MB7 was related to bottoming out the nutrients, but IMO it was the growth of everything in the tank, especially any/all algae.....not just the MB7....perhaps mostly not the MB7.

 

This spike in demand for nutrients "should be" true of any young reef tank.  But I think it's especially true for one like yours that had been systematically deprived of major nutrients as yours was prior to the removal of your anti-nutrient media.   Sort of a rebound from pent-up demand.

 

Cyano blooms are generally a sign that things aren't quite balanced in the tank.  So from that standpoint I agree.  But don't look at the cyano as the problem...just a sign.  The nutrients crashing back to zero is another sign of imbalance....and probably the real culprit.   Phosphate is to photosynthesis as oil is to your car engine – DON'T leave home without it!!

 

Clove polyps are a bit delicate, at least compared to a lot of other soft coral, IMO.  If they're in bright light (it's a reef tank!) without a nutrient source, I wouldn't expect them to hold up for long.  Algae growing on them is a definite indicator that their immune system isn't operation properly....another sign they're tweaked.

 

Good luck getting things re-balanced and back to your target levels (≥0.10 ppm PO4; ≥5 ppm NO3) quickly!!  👍

Thank you, It makes sense. Do you also think the imbalance is due to the lack of fish in my tank?  and since I don't have a feeding schedule? I only feed the corals I have once a week. And waiting to add fish, once  the brooklynella that killed my fish goes away

[BioReefed]

15 hours ago, PJPS said:

I of course, am happy to help with whatever problems you have, but if you’d like to take the reins and get a better understanding, just go to the marine science.  The living ocean foundation. Has an education section that will blow your mind.
 

❤️🧐🍻

Awesome, I will take a look at that. And thanks for all your help

[PJPS]

6 minutes ago, BioReefed said:

Awesome, I will take a look at that. And thanks for all your help

Still here for any questions, although you'll likely find your question are now shit I can't answer, and your tolerance for more reefing junkfood content is replaced by content that teaches you stuff, not just regurgitating 9, 450, 1400, 20, 0.02, 150-300. without telling you/knowing why they think each of those values are "correct".

[Tired]

Lack of feeding can result in nutrient problems, yes. The nutrients have to come from somewhere, either from feeding or dosing. 

[mcarroll]

8 hours ago, BioReefed said:

Thank you, It makes sense. Do you also think the imbalance is due to the lack of fish in my tank?  and since I don't have a feeding schedule? I only feed the corals I have once a week. And waiting to add fish, once  the brooklynella that killed my fish goes away

The rate of nutrient inputs to the tank from poo and pee will certainly go up once you have fish.

 

IMO your system is better off with you dosing liquid nutrients than trying to feed corals.   It's very iffy whether corals will actually utilize food items unless you are target feeding.  Even then there can be doubts.   There's no such doubt with dissolved nutrients.  👍

[BioReefed]

14 hours ago, mcarroll said:

The rate of nutrient inputs to the tank from poo and pee will certainly go up once you have fish.

 

IMO your system is better off with you dosing liquid nutrients than trying to feed corals.   It's very iffy whether corals will actually utilize food items unless you are target feeding.  Even then there can be doubts.   There's no such doubt with dissolved nutrients.  👍

Yes, I was target feeding small amounts, I know it is not necessary when they are photosynthetic but I enjoy doing it and watching the polyps close while I do it, not to mention seeing how fast they grow. My ricordia mushrooms have almost triple their size once the nitrates went up and when I started feeding.

[BioReefed]

I think the cyano is slowly going away, not growing as much in the sand as before. But I noticed there's a lot of green algae growing in the back of the tank only. I decided to leave it since I thought this could be a good thing since the green algae could compete with the cyano and hopefully kill it. But the cyano its growing on top of the green algae and creating relly long strings that are getting in my corals, specially in my new red finger gorgonian ( not shown in the picture, it is in the other side) it is completely coverd, and I have to clean it regularly.  The question is... should I scrape all of that stuff growing in the back? 

 

[Tired]

Cleaning the green algae off with a soft-ish brush, so as not to dislodge that growing coraline, might be a good idea. Getting rid of the cyano by maintaining reasonable levels is a more effective permanent solution, though.

[BioReefed]

2 hours ago, Tired said:

Cleaning the green algae off with a soft-ish brush, so as not to dislodge that growing coraline, might be a good idea. Getting rid of the cyano by maintaining reasonable levels is a more effective permanent solution, though.

Thank you.

And yes, I decided to wait and try to solve the problem without adding any chemicals to my tank. I'm doing water changes every two weeks, but I think I'm going to do it every week, until that cyano is gone. I'm also going to add fresh new sand. 

[Tired]

Check your parameters first, and keep an eye on them. Extra water changes can help by physically removing the cyano, but they also remove nutrients, which the cyano's competition needs.

[BioReefed]

It has been 2 and a half months since this cyano problem started in my tank. I have done everything possible to try to get rid of it, but that thing doesn't want to leave my tank. It is not as bad as before but no matter what I do it doesn't go away.

All the parameters are good and stable, except for one, and now I'm wondering if that's the reason the cyano stays in my tank.

I was able to stabilized the calcium and alkalinity, nitrates and phosphates, and salinity. All that looks good. But the only one that stays low no matter what is the PH, it is always between 7.6 and 7.8. 

[growsomething]

That is a pretty good looking reef tank.  I wouldn't let cyano get me down too much.  I've come to accept some of it in one of my tanks and still enjoy the tank.  Dosed Nitrate like you did to balance with Po4 and ended up with green film algae even in my nuvo sump in addition to the cyano.  Am easing off dosing, doing regular maintenance, and just enjoying the things that do grow.

[Tired]

Yeah, honestly, if that's the worst of the cyano, you might just consider ignoring it. If it's not hurting anything, best let it be.

[BioReefed]

16 hours ago, Tired said:

Yeah, honestly, if that's the worst of the cyano, you might just consider ignoring it. If it's not hurting anything, best let it be.

what do you think I should do with the PH? is the only parameter that is not where it suppose to. 7.6 seems to low for me.

I read that using buffer is not ideal either. Maybe cyano thrives in lower PH? 

[Tired]

Does anything seem to mind? Upset corals or other livestock? 

[banasophia]

2 hours ago, BioReefed said:

what do you think I should do with the PH? is the only parameter that is not where it suppose to. 7.6 seems to low for me.

I read that using buffer is not ideal either. Maybe cyano thrives in lower PH? 

Not sure if there’s a relationship between the pH and cyano, but with the lid on the Biocubes my pH and oxygenation always ran low so I ran/run an airline/bubbler in the back chambers to keep my oxygen and pH levels up. 
 

Since I’ve been in the hobby (5 years) everyone has always said not to “chase pH”, but recently BRS and others have been suggesting it actually may be a good idea to adjust pH, so you may want to research that. 

[BioReefed]

3 hours ago, Tired said:

Does anything seem to mind? Upset corals or other livestock? 

Not really, everything seems to be ok in the tank,. Maybe the birdnests is the only thing that doesn't look the best, and one of my ricordea mushrooms seems to be upset, no wonder why because the other two next to it are looking better and better.

Everything else looks good and healthy.

[BioReefed]

2 hours ago, banasophia said:

Not sure if there’s a relationship between the pH and cyano, but with the lid on the Biocubes my pH and oxygenation always ran low so I ran/run an airline/bubbler in the back chambers to keep my oxygen and pH levels up. 
 

Since I’ve been in the hobby (5 years) everyone has always said not to “chase pH”, but recently BRS and others have been suggesting it actually may be a good idea to adjust pH, so you may want to research that. 

Hmm, I will look into it.

And with the airline/bubbler don't you have a lot of splashing in the back? Should I add a protein skimmer? I heard it is good also to help gas exchange in the tank and help with oxygenation

[Tired]

A protein skimmer will remove a lot of the stuff your corals want to eat. 

 

I would personally not bother with trying to change the pH. You might wind up causing more problems, or going through a load of trouble to change something that doesn't seem to be an issue. I'd also take any advice from salespeople with a grain of salt, particularly if that advice says "yes, actually, you should be using our products to change this thing in your tank". 

(not saying that's the case here, I haven't looked into it myself.)

 

That said, it's up to you. It's your tank. 

[BioReefed]

19 minutes ago, Tired said:

A protein skimmer will remove a lot of the stuff your corals want to eat. 

 

I would personally not bother with trying to change the pH. You might wind up causing more problems, or going through a load of trouble to change something that doesn't seem to be an issue. I'd also take any advice from salespeople with a grain of salt, particularly if that advice says "yes, actually, you should be using our products to change this thing in your tank". 

(not saying that's the case here, I haven't looked into it myself.)

 

That said, it's up to you. It's your tank. 

I'm just listening and  learning. Thank you!  I will leave it alone and continue with the routine, let it mature more and see what happens. Maybe I will just add an airline like @banasophia had in her tank and see if that moves the PH.

And one more thing, I also read that the water used on the ATO sometimes affects the PH. I have an ATO and just put RODI water in the reservoir. Is there something I need to be adding in the top off water?  

[Tired]

I've never heard of that being done. I'm sure people do it sometimes, but I don't think it's needed in ordinary cases. Ordinarily all you want your ATO to do is replace the evaporated water with pure water, nothing else. Not least because additives may settle and be dosed unevenly. 

[growsomething]

Give the latest reefbum podcast a listen.  He has on Julian Sprung talking about algae control.  He seems to focus on Calcium and alkalinity  for both coral care and algal prevention.

 

https://www.youtube.com/live/2M6T9XpofgE?feature=share