Good cyano removing advice on a budget?

[kdogg85]

One of my friends has had his 55g fowlr tank running for 3 mos now. Has 10g sump with 400gph pump, 5lbs of rubble and 60 lbs lr in the tank. He has 2 45w 10000k t5ho lighting, 2 300gph powerheads, eggcrate hood. His params are 0 amm,0 trite,20 trate, don't know the phosphate.

He called and asked me to look at something pink on the sand and I sucked some out with a hose and the sand was clumped together.

I am assuming this is cyano because it had the color and somewhat of the feel. It is in this one 5in section only(we searched the tank)

He is lite on cash and I want to help but don't really know how on a budget.

He does 20g weekly changes with ro/di water an Instant Ocean salt mix.

Do you guys have any help?

 

[melosu58]

We have a good article about it in our article section.

 

[nxb161]

I had cyano a couple weeks ago in my 29G biocube realized it was time to switch to RO/DI. I told my LFS guy and he said he could give me something to get rid of it in 48hours (took out my carbon, i added the chemicals he gave me, then did a 5G PWC, and then added new carbon) )and since I already made the switch to RO/DI and realized I had my lights on too long, that it should stay away. That was two weeks ago and its still gone. So using RO/DI water instead of my well water, I've been feeding less, and have the lights on a timer. All these combined have helped keep it away )

 

[thincat]

Also add more flow to that area should help. I would do the things nx says in his post, but I would stay away from that product that your LFS rec. If you don't correct the problem and use that product the cyano will come back double.

 

[kdogg85]

Well we tested the phosphate levels and whoa!!!!!! 2ppm

I came over at feeding time and he had a blanket of flakes in there. I told him there is your root cause. I showed him how much I feed mine and he said I was starving them. I told him, "look at those fish, they are not fat but festivley plump and happy.) We went to lowes and got a sheet of eggcrate and I had some plastic mesh. We threw the rubble in the tank and I made a chamber out of the crate and mesh for the return pump and filled the rest with chaeto. I told him to leave the lights out and only turn them on 2hrs every other day to feed then cut them back off. I told him to do this for a month and leave the light in the sump on all the time to help the chaeto grow. And we will work on how much to feed tomorrow. That is the best way I knew what to do on a budget.

 

[AMDPhenomX4]

I personally think his flow is on the low side. See about a phosphate binding media as theirs probably now phosphate in the rock. Running Phospure is a cheap option aslong as it is in flow.