Kalkwasser for cyano

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Hondatek

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I read the article here about topping of with kalkwasser / ro mix to battle cyano. Can anyone explain what this does and the correct way to do it without harming the tank inhabitants?
 
Hondatek said:
I read the article here about topping of with kalkwasser / ro mix to battle cyano. Can anyone explain what this does and the correct way to do it without harming the tank inhabitants?

Cyno is a sign of bad water quality temporary fixes wont solve the root of the problem what you need to do is water changes and more waterflow if you dont have refugium that might be something you wanna invest in the future how bad is the cyno??
 
danbstrong said:
Cyno is a sign of bad water quality temporary fixes wont solve the root of the problem what you need to do is water changes and more waterflow if you dont have refugium that might be something you wanna invest in the future how bad is the cyno??

And maybe try running some carbon
 
The cyano is gone in the morning when lights come on but pops back up by the end of the day. I had 20 -40 ppm nitrates 2 month ago and for the past month trates are at 4 ppm . I'm using an algae scrubber so it's only a matter of time until the cyano is gone for good but I just want to help it along . Carbon isn't an option for me since I don't use anything but water and salt in my tank . Thanks edit I have covered everything as far as increasing flow and water quality is concerned that's why I finally made a thread about it because I am stumped .
 
Hondatek said:
The cyano is gone in the morning when lights come on but pops back up by the end of the day. I had 20 -40 ppm nitrates 2 month ago and for the past month trates are at 4 ppm . I'm using an algae scrubber so it's only a matter of time until the cyano is gone for good but I just want to help it along . Carbon isn't an option for me since I don't use anything but water and salt in my tank . Thanks edit I have covered everything as far as increasing flow and water quality is concerned that's why I finally made a thread about it because I am stumped .

Rather than scrub it , use a turkey vaster ad suck it out , it's a bacteria so a lil bit will continue to reproduce if there is a food source. Get your nitrate s to 0.00 if you can and suck up as much as possible, the less food and the less amount of bacteria should die off , since you dont want to use carbon or GFO try adding some cheato in your tank if you dot have a refuge . It will help suck up nitrates and phosphates and will help pods grow as well . I have some in a back corner with some light getting to it , and a powerhead input basically inside the ball so it pulls water through the cheato, turning it into a filter of sorts :) . I have noticed a boom in my pod growth !
 
Ok so even if it's a fish only tank I still need 0 trates to keep cyano away? Also I cant keep cheato it will die in my tank with my algae scrubber. The scrubber produces 1-2 lbs of wet algae a week which in all honesty should have take care of the cyano by now.
 
Hondatek said:
Ok so even if it's a fish only tank I still need 0 trates to keep cyano away? Also I cant keep cheato it will die in my tank with my algae scrubber. The scrubber produces 1-2 lbs of wet algae a week which in all honesty should have take care of the cyano by now.

Algae scrubbers are not fixes.

What are your phosphates. And yes regardless of fish only or reef, algae and cyano can grow with any nitrates and phosphates.
 
I didn't say it was a fix it is one of my chosen filtration methods and by far the best thing I have done for my tank .I was just stating that I shouldn't have algae issues with an established scrubber. Phosphates are . 25
 
Hondatek said:
I didn't say it was a fix it is one of my chosen filtration methods. Phosphates are . 25

.25 is your problem. Way high as far as cyano/algae growth is concerned. Phosphate levels of .02ppm is acceptable. Which os pretty much unreadable on many kits. So 0.
 
Ok then the fix for the phosphates would be? More water changes... Carbon which I am not a fan of. ... Or waiting for the scrubber to become more established correct?
 
Hondatek said:
Ok then the fix for the phosphates would be? More water changes... Carbon which I am not a fan of. ... Or waiting for the scrubber to become more established correct?

None of the above.

You need to figure out where its coming from. Water changes will bump it down but it will return if you dont fix the source. Carbon will not rid your phosphates, and your scrubber may never be able to remove the phosphates faster then they are being introduced.

What is your maintenance, stock, tank size, and what and how much do you feed?
 
30 gallon pwc a week. 180 gallon tank . Porc puffer and emp angel and I feed every day a decent amount for the puff. Filtration is 2 1400 gph and a 1050 koralia with a 950 gph return. Reef Octo diablo skimmer 18by12 scrubber. Ok but if my scrubber is using nitrates and phosphates to grow algae on the screen how does that not affect algae growing elsewhere?
 
Hondatek said:
30 gallon pwc a week. 180 gallon tank . Porc puffer and emp angel and I feed every day a decent amount for the puff. Filtration is 2 1400 gph and a 1050 koralia with a 950 gph return. Reef Octo diablo skimmer 18by12 scrubber. Ok but if my scrubber is using nitrates and phosphates to grow algae on the screen how does that not affect algae growing elsewhere?

What is a decent amount?

Because you have .25 ppm available phosphates in the water column, along with nitrates. Its not restricted to growing in your algae scrubber by any means.

If your levels where 0 then yes you could expect most if not all algae to grow in the scrubber. Any new nitrate/phosphate import would quickly be taken up by the algae scrubber. Or at least that is the intent.
 
Nls and algae sheets for the angel in the am . For the puffer at night he gets a cube of spiralina brine or jumbo mysis about the size of a cube, cube of mussels, fresh clam, fresh table shrimp piece, or a cray. Not all that in a day lol but that's the whole weeks diet basically . What if stuff is accumulating because my ph aren't set up right ? Would that cause the phosphate issues? I ask because I just tinkered with them and I have a decent amount of particles flying off rocks now.
 
Hondatek said:
Nls and algae sheets for the angel in the am . For the puffer at night he gets a cube of spiralina brine or jumbo mysis about the size of a cube, cube of mussels, fresh clam, fresh table shrimp piece, or a cray. Not all that in a day lol but that's the whole weeks diet basically . What if stuff is accumulating because my ph aren't set up right ? Would that cause the phosphate issues? I ask because I just tinkered with them and I have a decent amount of particles flying off rocks now.

Whats your ph?

But not sure what you think ph has to do with nutrient accumulation.

Also exactly how did you 'tinker' with it?
 
Hondatek said:
Power heads lol not ph sorry shism

Lol that explains it.

But yes your skimmer will only work as efficiently as your flow. If everything is not staying suspended then it can not be removed by your nice skimmer. Instead it rotting in your display on and under the rocks as well as in your sand bed.
 
Ok cool . Could that have been my underlying problem ? Like an indirect cause of the phosphates and cyano ?
 
Hondatek said:
Ok cool . Could that have been my underlying problem ? Like an indirect cause of the phosphates and cyano ?

Indirectly yes. I would think about getting another powerhead or two. With a FoWLR there is really no limit to flow. At at less then 30x turnover you have that is lower then whats recommended for most reefs.

Im sure you have a number of low flow or dead spots that could be eliminated.
 
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