Help (again) on cyano

[msuburg]

Hello,

I had posted a message and gotten replies about going to liveaquaria.com to find help on fighting cyanobacteria, and mainly by fighting the PO4. I went there, and also did a manufacturer lookup of Seachem (someone recommended a product by them, but couldn't remember the actual product name). Does anyone have some product names out there?

Thanks!

Matt

 

[ClamKnuckle]

If you are looking for a name of a specific PO4 sponge I can't help you, if you are looking for a name of a product that people use to battle cyano, then I know a few people on here have used and recommended Chemi-Clean. Either way it wont address the problem, only mask it. You need to find the source of the PO4 IMO and battle that.

What and how often do you feed your fish?
Do you use ro/di water?

Over feeding and tap water seem to be the two most common forms of PO4 introduction into a tank.

 

[ellisz]

The Seachem PO4 sponge is called Phosguard. I tried it with no changes. I have also tried the Kent PO4 stuff. Verdict is still out but we will see.

I use blender mush, RO/DI water and have good water movement. I feed every other day and I have gone as much as once every 3 days.

 

[msuburg]

I use RO water when I do water changes if needed. I feed my Royal Gramma and Clownfish every other day, and I don't think I overfeed. I know that's a big beginner's mistake, so I've been real careful to watch that. They seem to eat up the entire amount during each feeding.

Thanks for the quick replies,

Matt

 

[Biggen]

How is the circulation in your tank, msuburg? Poor water flow can also lead to cyano problems.

 

[lando]

I have used SeaChem's Phosguard and had good results. Remember, items like this are only a band-aid. they will lower PO4 but you need to identify the source to eliminate it. It can be introduced to your tank in foods and water...Lando

 

[ellisz]

If it is in my RO/DI water, than I will be upset. I got it to avoid the "bad" tap water.

 

[msuburg]

I have a 12g Nanocube, so it just has the built in pump. It seems to do a decent job with the water flow. I've seen a few Nanos (at my LFS) that have been up and running there for a while, and don't seem to have the cynao. Of course, they could just be treating I suppose, couldn't they!? When I add buffers as needed when my kDH gets low, I can see the liquid of the "part B" buffer (as it becomes white when hitting the water) encircle the entire tank relatively quickly, kind of illustrating the flow. What's a general guideline for water flow? Is there a standard formula to figure out what you should have? Oh, and the tank has been up and running since mid-July, so it's relatively new, if that makes a difference.

-Matt

 

[quarryshark]

I have use kent's with pretty good results, but like others are saying, need to find the underlying cause.