:( I don't know where the source is coming from

[mike3epanda]

My tank is a disaster right now... I have so much cyano growing all over... I try to vacuum it out of the sand by cyphoning and filtering it out with a sock to the sump.. I get some... but It just grows back the next day... I don't know what else to do.. my last solution is putting E but I did that before and it also killed my good bacterias.. I don't know.. my fish tank is not what I want it to look like right now.. it just looks dirty with all the algae and cyano..

[melosu58]

Do these 10 steps and slowly but surely you`ll win the battle.

http://www.fantasyreef.com/database/...d=11&item_id=5

[Lance M.]

When I had a problem with cyano I used some airline tubing to suck it off the rocks. My problem was I was using tap water. So after about two weeks of siphoning the cyano off the rocks and using DI water it was completely gone. No more problems.

[pinkie]

A lot of people (including myself) have repeatedly told you how to get rid of cyano. To get rid of most of it right now, do some large water changes, get some Kent Marine Phosphate Sponge, follow the instructions, use several treatments, and keep the lights off for a week. That plus the things that people have already told you many times should cure the problem. Good luck...

[lando]

Sorry hear about your troubles Mike. Cyno is a PITA for sure. It takes a while to form and takes even longer to get rid of. It may take a couple of months of very hard work to rid yourself of this problem. The 10 steps in the link Mike gave are a great place to start. I normally do not advocate the addition of chemicals to fix problems, but in this case I can say from personal experience that I have used Chemi-Clean by Boyd Enterprises, INC. with great success in cyno removal. Keep in that this is only a band-aid solution. It does a great job a removing existing cyno from your tank, but you MUST identify and correct the source or it will just keep coming back. Hang in there...those of us that have been in the hobby for a while have faught the same fight. You can win but it will take work and time.

[mike3epanda]

[x]1. Remove Nitrates and Phosphates from the source water by using RO/DI water.

2. Do more frequent water changes. One a week is a good place to start.

[x]3.Manually remove the nuisance via pulling it out by hand, forceps or siphoning.

4. Cut back on lighting, totally blackout the tank for a week or at a bare minimum, cut the lighting time in half.

[x]5. Increase your clean up crew. More snails and crabs are normally a good idea.

[x]6. Reduce the amount and frequency of feedings. Every two or three days will not hurt the fish.

[x]7. Rinse the frozen foods (thaw, pour out water, put in tank)

8. Add a refugium, or if you can't, then consider using fresh macro in the tank.

[x]9. Quit using additives such as coral growers and filter feeding foods. Even though the bottles may say they dont add phosphates and such, they do impair water quality.

[x]10. Get a protein skimmer.



I missed 3... I do about once every two weeks, I dont think I can do the blackout since I now have bta, and I only have a sump... no lighting so I cant really have a refugium..


It started when I put a bunch of LR I bought... It had a tiny dot of cyano, then it spreaded so fast when I siphon the sanbed out at night, It looks the same the next night

[Kurt_Nelson]

Looking at the list, it's pretty much ordered by priority. It's not how many off the list you've done, but which ones you've done. #2 up there is a pretty important one. If you're fighting cyano, I'd say once a week is an absolute minimum to start with. I'd bet if you did two water changes a week (20% or so?), you'd make a sizable dent in the cyano, if not eliminate it.

[pinkie]

Try cutting back further on some things as well, like number 6, also reduce your lighting if you haven't. 8 hours a day is enough time for the things you have.

[mike3epanda]

yea I already set it to about 8 hrs a day

[Devilishturtles]

How is water flow in your tank, and do you siphon your sand bed often? Like not just the surface, but push down into the sandbed a little to disturb the top layer. I have found that lower water flow helps contribute to cyanobacteria growth, as does a sandbed harboring yuck. If you don't vaccum your sand, maybe it would be worth a shot.

Also, do you run any sort of carbon or phosphate reducing media in your tank?

HTH