Cyano mystery

[billburroughs]

Okay, so I had a minor cyano outbreak this week. I found the source, which is good. My DI filter had gone south, but I had used the system for my last water change without knowing. That, and the other parameter that has changed in the last couple weeks is I upgraded from a crap 30W fluorescent to a coralife lunar 196W. So, the cyano came out and I did a 50 pct water change today using distilled water from the store which tested 0 for phosphates. After the WC, my water tests 0 for nitrates and 0 for phosphates (sera tests, I trust them with my life now). Where is this crap coming from? I have good water flow, 200+ gph over the affected area and 200+ gph over the back of the tank with another PH. I ordered the nassarius snails from ebay, but they'll take two weeks. I also siphon cleaned my DSB today (I know, a possible no-no), but it was a mess. I only siphoned it down to about 3" of the total 7". What am I missing here? As of 8:00pm it's already back in that part of the tank. Oh, and the other param change is that I put a chemi-pure bag in my emperor about two weeks ago (when I got the lights). Any help is, as always, appreciated.

 

[Brad]

For me...it was my skimmer. My previous skimmer seemed to work adequately for a year, then suddenly I had cyano that I couldn't get rid of. I tried absolutely everything. Purchasing a newer, larger skimmer was my last option and it cleaned up the cyano in 48 hours.

You might be underskimming. See if you can borrow a bigger, or 2nd skimmer for a few days to see.

 

[JPloman]

The problem with cyanobacteria is that it lives in ALL water. The second it has a chance to thrive it takes it.

Okay, so you wanna see something cool? Take a glass of water and put it outside in the sun for about two weeks. Then take a look at it again, it will be growing cyanobacteria. The lack of water movement and the food from the sun will allow it to grow without any other additives.

My take on it is that cyanobacteria is the devil.

 

[Fluff]

"Regular testing will help you keep your level in check but, keep in mind that test kits can only measure inorganic phosphorus. If any phosphates show in your testing, this means there is a higher amount of organic phosphates." I copied this from an article I wrote on cyanobacteria.
If the cyano is still thriving, then there are still phosphates in your water. They aren't showing because they are being used up by the cyano and/or the test kit isn't showing the organic phosphates. Keep doing extra water changes, that's really the only way to get ahead of it.

Here is a link to the article, hopefully this will help.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=48

 

[melosu58]

Are you overfeeding by any chance . try feeding every other day. excessive organics are feeding this stuff.

 

[billburroughs]

Thanks all for the input. I'll keep doing the water changes. My skimmer is really overbuilt for the tank, so I'm sure it's keeping up (Remora Pro in a 45g). I was overfeeding and have since cut back to every two/three days and feeding less. I'm sure that will help considerably, but until the water changes get it back in shape I'm just going to have to be diligent. Would it be wise to let the cyano grow just a little to help burn some of it off, or is this just going to let the problem grow? It's really not that bad, just some in about a 4" X 2" area on the sand, but I've been trying to be really fussy about this tank.

 

[melosu58]

I doubt it I would siphon all of it out. Be careful not to stir it up to much.