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phosphate issues (I think)


bues0022

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I'm battling a nasty scurge of cyano. Red/purple/green and nasty. Interestingly enough, it's mostly up high where I have relatively good flow (not down in the corners with low light/flow). I've usually had it before under rocks and low flow areas, but this seems to occur almost better in high flow areas. I've upped my water changed (ro/di using reef crystals) - am doing about 20% every week, and decreased feeding, but it still continues. I've never had a phosphate testing kit, as I've always mostly assumed that the cyano uses the phosphate before its available for testing. My cheato is growing really well, but it also has a film of cyano on the top of it (kinda gross). I have absolutely zero hair algae. 

 

edits: I have a diamond goby that keeps my shallow sand bed well stirred. I've started skimming quite wet to help pull more out. My BTA just started on a walkabout last week too - since it hadn't moved in the last 4 months, I'm currently attributing that to the same nutrient issue I'm seeing visibly as cyano.

 

Thoughts? 

Edited by bues0022
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Any pics?  What are your other parameters and stocking? Also, how old is your tank?

Cyano usually grows in low flow areas but maybe that goby is doing a good job keeping those areas disturbed.  The key to beating cyano is allowing something else that you can easily manage (like algae, or another bacteria) to outcompete it.  Many have success with using chemicals to rid the tank of it, but it’s easy to run into other issues.  Try to find the root cause of the outbreak and deal with that.

If you’re close to 20737, you’re welcome to use my Hanna Phosphate Checker.

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Thanks for the offer, but I’m on Bristow - almost as far away from you as possible in the DC area, haha!

 

Tank is 30 cube with 10 ga sump. Coming up in a year old. I don’t test water often - I know, I know. 

 

I have some chemi clean, but I don’t like to use it because it seems to get rid of what there, but not necessarily the root cause. 

 

A few pics to show the cyano - mostly upper left. I have very little coraline, so any purple in the rocks is the bad guy. 

DB9E2127-16E6-47BC-9113-BB1634C78C8A.jpeg

86453F0B-7B5E-41E1-9B52-8AA3C234B4E5.jpeg

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I would recommend testing for nitrate and phosphate using the inexpensive salifert tests.  They are probably the easiest tests to take and their accuracy is sufficient.  The reason being, if your N and P are low I would use a different strategy Thani if they are high.  Also, phosphate is way more important to manage from my experience.....especially for new tanks like yours.

 

Darren

 

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Test results can sometimes be deceiving and come back as very low or zero if it’s being taken up by something such as algae. Make sure your power heads are clean as they lose lots of efficiency as algae grows on them. Siphon it out of the tank during water changes. Blow off the rocks with a turkey baster prior to a water change. You’d be surprised how much crap blows off the rocks. Running activated carbon can also help to absorb organics fueling it.

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You can have that beat in no time as it’s really a small patch!  The approach I’d use is manual removal during water changes followed by a dose of some bacteria.  And I know this’ll be a pain but also clean it from your overflow box, powerhead, and chaeto during these water changes or it’ll take longer to rid yourself of it.  And even if your filter socks are clean, I’d change it out then too.

As at @lowsingle said treatment is different in high and low nutrient environment.  Looking at your stocking, age of tank, and general appearance, I’d say you more likely have low nutrients.  Salifert is also what I use for my Nitrates and Magnesium.  It’s cheap, easy, quick, and what I’d also recommend.

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