Blue-Green Cyano

[Devilishturtles]

I know I already mentioned this, but after adding Phosban and increasing flow my cyano problems all but went away. If you have the money to spend on some, I'd would definitley consider adding some of the Phosban or some rowaPhos or something similar.

I hope this method works as well for you as it did for me.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

...Any advice would be great!

You've got several folks here offering advice, but lack of water parameters seem to be a sticking point. I have a feeling the numbers aren't posted because the tests haven't been done, because... well... like you said - you know you have a problem. But until the extent of the problem is known, you're just taking a shotgun to the problem hoping you hit something in the process.

If I'm wrong, then I apologize - but it just seems a lot easier to post simple nitrate/phosphate/pH numbers than argue why you shouldn't have to!

Oh... and I'm another one that hasn't had any issues with Marineland's Black Diamond AC. Good stuff - just change it out every couple weeks or so.

 

[JessicaK]

I'm not arguing, I just didn't appreciate being talked down to - being told that I dont understand.

For the sake of argument, though,
nitrates are 0
phosphates are 0

From my understanding, the cyano feeds off of the nitrates and phosphates so they would read zero unless the nitrates or phosphates were way out of control in which I would be seeing other problems.

 

[Hara]

You were not being talked down to. It looked to me, and still does, that you do not understand the importance of giving real numbers. There is more to water chemistry than nitrates and phosphates that would affect your situation. What is the alk? The ph?

We can only help you in a limited fashion because you give us limited information to work with.

 

[JessicaK]

Wow can't beleive you're a moderator...

Why don't you ask questions directly?
There are ways of being helpful w/o being condescending about it. You don't know me and you don't know what level of knowledge that I have about the hobby.

You could've brought up the ph/alk suggestion in your first response - I would have understood where you were coming from b/c I have been trying to raise my ph to battle this issue with my tank. I've been adding ca and buffer already.

If you reread my original post I wanted to know who's had experience with the blue-geen cyano. I've never dealt with it so I wanted to know if it was different in any way from the red slime.

 

[Hara]

You insist on seeing insult where there is none..maybe someone else will be able to put the information to you in a manner you find more acceptable...good luck with your problem.

 

[melosu58]

Why are you being upset with Lisa. She is one of the best we have on this site. She is only asking you to post certain numbers so we can find out what is going on. Without these numbers we are only guessing. I think Lisa is doing a great job to acommadate your wanting to know what is going on. No one is talking down to you but we have to have answers to help you out. I guess what I`m asking is help us to help you out. I hope you understand.

 

[JessicaK]

I guess it's just a misunderstanding....
I just wish the questions were asked directly in the beginning instead I was told I was giving erroneous info that wan't useful.
Maybe I was, but from where I was coming from the specific numbers aren't necessary. My no3 and phosphates were 0 and I was already trying to raise my ph and alk. KWIM?
Misunderstandings happen on msg boards I just want you all to see where I'm coming from on this

 

[roka64]

I understand completely and tones are sometime hard to read when they are in writing.
How is the algae coming along?
One question, why are you raising your pH and alk?

 

[JessicaK]

My ph ranges from 7.8 to 8.0. I know it should be higher. From what I've read, problem algae is less likely in a tank w/ higher ph.

 

[roka64]

You can raise pH by causing more surface ripple. More importantly, stability is key. Also measure your pH at the same time every day, as it will swing between lights on/off, higher before off and lower before on.

 

[seaham358]

I skipped a lot of the post...

How old are your bulbs and how much flow in the tank?

I battled cyno and DINOFLAGELLATES for years on and off and after a long battle I nuked it with blue life Red slime control. I don't like to give advice about chems in the tank but this stuff was great. Killed it all off in 3-4 days.......

Try the hard way first and then after that nuke it......

 

[lando]

Wow can't beleive you're a moderator...

I can. Hara is an experienced aquarist and had helped countless folks.

There are ways of being helpful w/o being a *I'm a potty mouth* about it.

Totally unacceptable. Anymore outbursts like this fromyou and you will kicked from your own thread. If you are not happy with the good advice given...I suggest you leave.

 

[JessicaK]

um Lando, I think the issue was settled and I agreed that it was a misunderstanding. Thanks for the public scolding, though. This isn't an outburst, just me sticking up for myself. Hopefully, that's acceptable.

I've been thinking about my lights as a possible cause. They are about 6 months old...but it's possible that the might be older since I bought the lights used from a LFS. They told me that the fixture was only a couple of weeks old, but you never really know.

So far after a couple of days wiht the lights off the slime seems to be receding. Actually, quite a bit better. Still planning on a water change and scrubbing all of my rock tomorrow.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

...I have been trying to raise my ph to battle this issue with my tank. I've been adding ca and buffer already.

What brand Calcium additive are you using? Just curious as I remember hearing about algae issues from some folks that used the Ca additives that contained the polygluconate form of calcium. Don't know if it's true or not... maybe someone here has had experience with that?

 

[JessicaK]

I'm using C-Balance, it's a 2 part product. Main ingedient is calcium chloride, but it has magnesium and strontium in there too along with some other trace minerals

 

[melosu58]

I've been thinking about my lights as a possible cause.

This could be the cause as the spectrum changes could help nuisance algea. A longer blackout will not hurt as well as new lights if you think they are older than 6 months. JMO

 

[JessicaK]

Yeah, as I've been mulling this over they are just about due for a change. It's only been 5 months actually since I bought that fixture but I think I'll be picking some new bulbs up when I go get my water this weekend.

 

[lando]

um Lando, I think the issue was settled and I agreed that it was a misunderstanding. Thanks for the public scolding, though. This isn't an outburst, just me sticking up for myself. Hopefully, that's acceptable.

"misunderstandings" do not permit you to personally attack other members of this board. This is a family-friendly site and we treat others with respect.

That said, I hope you are finding a resolution to your cyno issue with help from the good folks here.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I'm using C-Balance, it's a 2 part product. Main ingedient is calcium chloride, but it has magnesium and strontium in there too along with some other trace minerals

OK... rule that out as that one doesn't have any of the polygluconate in it. I use C-balance also, and have no issues.

Even 6 month old "new" lights can really have a shift. I just replaced my 6 month old new "out of the box" bulbs (not 2nd hand), and could not believe how much brighter the new ones were over the old ones. Somewhere I read (and I wish I remembered where) that the bulbs that come with the fixtures when they're new don't have as much "uumph" as new-new bulbs.

I'm guessing that since you're dosing with C-balance your alkalinity is pretty good, eh? What are you running... about 8-10 dKh or so? Also out of curiousity, what brand salt mix are you using? Some seem to have more "issues" with cyano than others.