omg... cyano... trying to cure, skimmer went crazy

[Innovator]

No offense, but I think you are doing too much at one time. Water changes, chemical/mechanical filtration, and extra water flow/aeration can control cyano. You can reduce the photo period or leave the lights off for several days to hault progression. Adding kalk will not make corralines appear over night and if anything unbalancing your water chemistries moreso. You just dosed the tank with E, which is a known destroyer of nitrifying bacterias and even at low concentrations could still be problematic. Stick to one thing until your cyano is under control. Elbow grease never hurt anyone By the way, you have 2 skimmers on a single tank?

 

[melosu58]

I kind of sense some panic here Mike. Even though you added the E to your tank which was bad advice by your LFS the ball game is not over. You have recieved some very good info from everyone that has posted on this thread. IMO I would follow what they have said and make sure you test your water since you most likely lost some of your beneficial bacteria. You want to make sure you are ready in case ammonia and nitrites go up. We can still win with as James said with a little hard work. I hope all goes well. BTW I would check with the folks on here before you do with your LFS. I know they might be all you have to deal with but they are not giving good advice. You`ll get good advice here.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Innovator, you beat me to it...

mike3epanda - if I remember right, you've had about 3 different tanks over the course of 2-3 months. Slow down. It takes 2-3 months to just get ONE tank up and running, let alone stable. Stop with the kalk, as if done incorrectly will screw up your alk and pH. Get your water parameters under control, one step at a time. If you're bound and determined to put additives in your tank, do them only one at a time until you understand how each one individually is effecting your tank. Throwing multiple things into your tank, and then trying to figure out why your water parameter are out of whack are a recipe for frustration and never figuring out why things are happening. Your coraline algae will wait for you! Right now, you've got other things to deal with.

By the way, in researching a little about Chemi-clean on Fenner's website (www.wetwebmedia.com - check it out if you haven't already) it kind of sounds like it probably has some variety of erythromyicin in it to start with. Not sure though, as obviously the manufacturer isn't going to tell you exactly what's in it.

 

[mike3epanda]

ok ty everyone for responses.. ok.. will never listen to my lfs now. I'm just gonna get something there when I get approval here

btw kurt I only have one tank...

Innovator.. yes I have 2 skimmers in one tank.. (seaclone 150 & red sea prizm) bad idea?


now my plan is:

will stop kalk for now.
check my water daily.
LFS told me to put E 2 times (very low dose)but I'm stopping that
and I guess turn my lights off for a day and about 10 gal. PWC next day.
(I have 75 gal. tank)
did I miss anything?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

btw kurt I only have one tank...

Oops. Sorry... got you confused with another person here!

Regarding your LFS - it's not that you shouldn't listen to what they're telling you. You should just take it in as one piece of information, and not necessarily "the truth." One thing I've learned in this hobby very quickly is that there are few things where there is only one "correct" answer. What may have worked with one person, may cause disaster for others. There's just so many parameters about a tank, that you can't really make blanket statements about how to deal with certain issues. Take all the information in you can - from your LFS, from here, from other websites - and you'll probably see some common themes in all the information. Use all that to make your own decisions, understanding WHY it is you're doing what you're doing. While there are some people at LFSs that would truly rather help people versus making a sale, there are plenty that would not.

 

[mike3epanda]

k.. will do... now ima look up on some RO/DI system. I think I really need one at this point.. I live in WA where I think there's good water but It seems that its part of my problems right now

 

[Innovator]

By the way, in researching a little about Chemi-clean on Fenner's website (www.wetwebmedia.com - check it out if you haven't already) it kind of sounds like it probably has some variety of erythromyicin in it to start with. Not sure though, as obviously the manufacturer isn't going to tell you exactly what's in it.

From what I understand, Chemi-Clean is a polyoxidant and does not use any sort of E.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Y'know... that's what I'd thought too. My understanding of the problem people had with it was if they had marginal oxygen levels in their tank to start with, or didn't have proper oxygination while they treated, and the stuff basically ate all the oxygen in the tank.

But after reading around a little, I found several references to the possibility that it may contain some form of E. That's the only reason I mentioned it - just to raise the possibility.