sen5241b February 18, 2015 Share February 18, 2015 Been in this hobby since 2007 and whenever I saw Red Cyano I got rid of it in 2 or 3 days. The red cyano I have now has persisted for weeks! Its all down on the sand and some of the sand is free of it . My biggest question is what is fueling it? Whatever is fueling it killed my birdsnest. I have 2 clowns, a purple dottyback and a tiny green goby. Also, a 3G HOB fuge stuffed with cheato that grows like crazy. What I have tried: 3 day black out + Red slime remover followed by 50% water change Deep blue Phosphate pads in HOB filter API Phosphate adsorption pillow in HOB filter (according to directions it is overkill for my 20G long) A second blackout followed by 50% water change Skip feeding 2 days a week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds February 18, 2015 Share February 18, 2015 I had an issue with it for the last month or so. I did mostly everything above to include a phosban 150 reactor filled to the top with GFO. I finally limited my lights to 4 hours a day and after about 1,5 weeks it has finally gone away. I am slowly brining up my lighting times too. I am hoping it won't come back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08can-am February 18, 2015 Share February 18, 2015 Im going to try cutting my lighting too. Im dealing with it also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b February 18, 2015 Author Share February 18, 2015 In the areas where it grows, I stirred the sand and noticed it was saturated with lots of fine gray detritus. Could stirring the sand help? Cyano does tend to favor sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds February 18, 2015 Share February 18, 2015 I just sucked it off the top of the sand and rocks. I would not stir the sand. You could use a be gravel vac and vac it. But stirring would put a bunch of trapped nasties in your water column Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals February 18, 2015 Share February 18, 2015 Coral snow and kz bacteria helps once you have it under control and its about gone. But if its everywhere clean the sand good and get it in check, then try and use the snow and bacteria mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl February 18, 2015 Share February 18, 2015 I just sucked it off the top of the sand and rocks. I would not stir the sand. You could use a be gravel vac and vac it. But stirring would put a bunch of trapped nasties in your water column Trapped nasties? I run 3" sand beds and have never had problems disturbing the sand (vac'd 2-3 times a year to remove any detritus that may have accumulated). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainRon February 18, 2015 Share February 18, 2015 Had some of the red nasty a year or so ago. I increased my waterflow a good amount and that got rid of it all rather quickly. Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds February 18, 2015 Share February 18, 2015 Vacumn is different then stirring it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl February 19, 2015 Share February 19, 2015 Vacumn is different then stirring it up. Not just vacing, I disturb it often with my hands. You arent going to hurt a thing with that much sand. If deeper, perhaps. Not sure how deep the OP's sand bed is but I wouldnt hesitate at 3" or less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thakki February 19, 2015 Share February 19, 2015 I used to have a goby which used to clean up my sand bed...I never had to worry about cyano...but the only problem was it used to dig tunnels under the rocks and sometimes move the corals placed on the sand. Got rid of it...and now back to siphoning cyano out manually whenever it gets worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 February 19, 2015 Share February 19, 2015 GFO really does help. It just takes a really long time to deplete the nutrients this pest feeds on. A lot of the lights out and meds I think just put a bandaid on it. Sounds like you are on the right track upgrade skimmer if possible. WC really helped me more than I thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM February 19, 2015 Share February 19, 2015 I was getting a lot on the sand of the childcare tank. An unintentional lights out for a couple of days seemed to knock it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b February 19, 2015 Author Share February 19, 2015 (edited) Not just vacing, I disturb it often with my hands. You arent going to hurt a thing with that much sand. If deeper, perhaps. Not sure how deep the OP's sand bed is but I wouldnt hesitate at 3" or less. I read somewhere that the actual cyano is buried in the sand and the red slime on the surface is its byproduct so vacuuming up the slime itself up would accomplish nothing. Since I've already tried more than adequate phosphate adsorption, I come back to my original question: what is the source of it? I've been using more flake than normal the last couple months. I wonder if that could be a major cause. Edited February 19, 2015 by sen5241b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 19, 2015 Share February 19, 2015 You are feeding your phosphates. I had this issue a while back and it was maddening. Here is what I did to achieve success. Vacuumed all out that I could. Big water change, black out (and by that, just no lights, tank was close to natural light) and cut my feeding down by 3/4. IMO, cutting your photo period down tremendously, and same with feeding, while performing aggressive water changes, will be the cure. I expect you're probably over feeding, or are overstocked. If it's not that, you don't have enough flow, or you're lacking sufficient nutrient export. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 19, 2015 Share February 19, 2015 If you continue to over feed after it's fixed, you will get it back again. If anybody else feeds the tank, maybe there is a heavy hand besides yours? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy February 19, 2015 Share February 19, 2015 You are feeding your phosphates. I had this issue a while back and it was maddening. Here is what I did to achieve success. Vacuumed all out that I could. Big water change, black out (and by that, just no lights, tank was close to natural light) and cut my feeding down by 3/4. IMO, cutting your photo period down tremendously, and same with feeding, while performing aggressive water changes, will be the cure. I expect you're probably over feeding, or are overstocked. If it's not that, you don't have enough flow, or you're lacking sufficient nutrient export. +1, whatever changes are made can be done one at a time and gradually, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b February 20, 2015 Author Share February 20, 2015 If you continue to over feed after it's fixed, you will get it back again. If anybody else feeds the tank, maybe there is a heavy hand besides yours? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Yep, good call. My son overfed my tank the other day. I am doing black out and 50% water change this weekend. Also checking the TDS of water in reservoir. No reason to think its high but you never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S February 20, 2015 Share February 20, 2015 (edited) red slime remover, then 3 days blackout, then 50% water change. then lights on 4hrs/day. feeding every other day just a little bit. then gradually increase lighting. this has worked for me in the past. as soon as the lights are on too long or the feeding is too much, it will return. personally, i don't think flow has anything to do with cyano (good or bad). i've had it with high flow and low flow systems. i think it's based on "feeding" the bacteria via too much food/light. Edited February 20, 2015 by Ryan S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b February 20, 2015 Author Share February 20, 2015 red slime remover, then 3 days blackout, then 50% water change. then lights on 4hrs/day. feeding every other day just a little bit. then gradually increase lighting. this has worked for me in the past. as soon as the lights are on too long or the feeding is too much, it will return. personally, i don't think flow has anything to do with cyano (good or bad). i've had it with high flow and low flow systems. i think it's based on "feeding" the bacteria via too much food/light. I've overdosed my tank on Red Slime Remover in the past. Do you use the recommended dose or more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 February 20, 2015 Share February 20, 2015 I don't think flow directly helps with the cyano either. but indirectly can help suspend pooh longer for the skimmer toremove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S February 20, 2015 Share February 20, 2015 I've overdosed my tank on Red Slime Remover in the past. Do you use the recommended dose or more? recommended, as exact as I can. I've read a few horror stories from over dosing, so I'm too scared to try more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b February 21, 2015 Author Share February 21, 2015 (edited) checked TDS in water reservoir and its off the scale. I use distilled water in 1G jugs and checked it and its all TDS 1, so how did the reservoir get like that? Sometimes I put my arm in tank, water level rises and tank water suctions back down replenishment tube into reservoir. I never paid it any attention. Wonder it this is the source of my problems. If tank water gets suctioned down into reservoir and eventually gets pumped back into tank, does it make a difference? gonna clean it out tomorrow completely. Edited February 21, 2015 by sen5241b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 21, 2015 Share February 21, 2015 I would advise deal with it naturally, but that's all opinion, I've also heard horror stories with the red slime remover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanolong February 23, 2015 Share February 23, 2015 I just recently got over a very bad case of cyano that killed my green birds nest too. I used Chemiclean's red slime remover and didn't have to cut back on the lights or feeding. I found stirring the sand and using the Chemiclean got rid of all of it. I recommend using the liquid form instead of the powder since it is easier to measure out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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