cyano keeps coming back

[boxxmann]

can someone please help me to find an answer to as of why cyano keps coming back in my display tank? any things to look for? thanks in advance!

 

[boxxmann]

by the way, still battling w/ the hair algae!

 

[Zer0]

Are you using RO water or regular tap water?

 

[mtlion]

Yes are you using RO water, and what are the parameters

 

[melosu58]

I`m not Boxxman but he is a good friend of mine. He uses a RO/DI unit. I discussed with him today about flow and he said the area is getting plenty of flow. I`m thinking since he has hair algea that somehow excessive nutrients are getting in the tank but not showing up on test results because it`s being used up by the hair algea. I found this link also matt.

How to Battle Cyanobacteria: What To Do When You Just Can't Get Rid of It | Suite101.com

 

[boxxmann]

I have done all of those things on the list....no luck.....I do a 15 gallon pwc once a week (92 gallon corner reef tank), my skimmer gets emptied every other day w/ a full cup of brownish/green stuff, and I have new lights on my tank (2-175watt 14K metal halides). Any other suggestions?

 

[CaptainAhab]

have you tried running GFO and maybe some purigen?

Did you get your ro/di water output retested for phosphates when you had the .17 readings before?

Have macro in your sump?

 

[ezy33]

IME it took a refugium packed with live plants, cutting back on lighting time and plenty of water flow to eradicate it from my system. The plants will use the excess nutrients. While a strong flow where it collects will keep the cyano in suspension. I have used Chemi-Clean and it makes the cyano disappear, but until you fix the real problem it will return. You may want to check for phosphates to make sure your RO/DI filter is working. Good luck!

 

[match55]

I heard it pain to battle with cyano.
good luck, I get too tired of the hair algae and I clean the whole tank and resetup everything OoO

 

[boxxmann]

I am running the SeaGel from Seachem (carbon and GFO). I used it b/c I just dosed my tank w/ Chemi-Clean last week and it is back already. I changed all of the DI cartridges and my prefilter. They were done. I also changed out my membrane. I had the water tested before the unit and after. Before it was .85 for PO4 and .0 after the unit. I am running two DI canisers b/c of my municipal water supply is terrible. I have way too much stuff to take it out and redo the aquascape. I have a ball of grape culerpa in my refugium about the size of a volleyball. I can see that it is growing, slowly. I do have some bio-balls in my sump acting as a baffle and a bubble trap. I was thinking of changing over to something else, maybe some live rock rubble. Any other suggestions? TIA!!

 

[CaptainAhab]

I'm confused. In January you said that your RO/DI unit was putting out .17ppm of PO4 and that you were running a PO4 reactor in your sump. In July it looks like you were changing lighting/bulbs. What did you end up with? Are you wet/dry w/ bioballs or LR sump/ref?

Looking at the Richmond Va water quality report, while it's not stellar it's certainly doesn't look that bad esp if you're running a 3 stage RO w/ 2 DI full DI cans.

.85 is a pretty big number. when is the last time the unit was changed/flushed?

 

[boxxmann]

The .85 was about 1 month ago before i got the money together to replace the cartridges. I am working on getting a TDS meter. Any ideas as to where I can get a good quality one? I am running a carbon filter, then the membrane, then 2 DI canisters. I have a 20 gallon reg refugium/sump w/ rubble and culerpa in the fuge, bio-balls for the baffle/bubble trap, then return section.

 

[CaptainAhab]

I got my latest one off ebay. Was pretty cheap , as I remember.. Like $20 shipped maybe?

 

[boxxmann]

cool

 

[melosu58]

Captain,I work for his water municipality. It`s Chesterfield county water not Richmond. Even though I think it`s better than Richmond I know we do add phosphates to the water as well as ammonia, nitrates, chlorine and flouride. Good for us humans but not so good for our reefs.

 

[boxxmann]

so, what now?

 

[CaptainAhab]

all of which a general ro or ro/di should handle quite easily no? It's coming from somewhere.. right? type of sand? food? bad filter?

at one point the OP was playing with his lights...

There's an answer somewhere, one would think

 

[melosu58]

all of which a general ro or ro/di should handle quite easily no?

Most definitely. He told me he`s feeding every 5-7 days so food cant be the problem. Remind me Matt what types of flow are in there.

 

[HN1]

This maybe a dumb, newbish question but what the heck... I'm gonna ask it.

Have the bioballs been thoroughly rinsed / cleaned recently?

Also, I have seen an individual rock that was able to somehow leech out phosphates (one rock in a spotless tank, COVERED with hair algae). That could account for it, but would be a nightmare to isolate.

 

[boxxmann]

I have a Seio 820, a Seio 1100, and a Mag 9.5 for the return. I have never rinsed the bio-balls since i changed over to this tank almost 2 yrs ago.