Reduce PO4 and remove cyano

[usaco]

I heard that if you lower the PH to about 7.9 (or was it raise to 8.4), this will help reduce the PO4 levels??!!

Can someone clarify this..

I have read every thread regarding cyano probs and techniques on how to rid it.. Other than finding the culprit, most state that having the lights off for a week will rid all cyano, but will it help reduce the phosphate levels that causes the cyano to appear in the first place? When algae dies, doesn't it release phosphate back into the water?

To sum things up when reducing phosphate & removing cyano, do the following:

1. Reduce light cycle
2. reduce feeding (rinse frozen foods)
3. Use RO/DI water (if N/A, use distilled water)
3. More frequent 10-15% water changes (weekly)
4. Clean filters and change all filter media regularly
5. Scrape off as many algae as possible
6. Add cleaning crews
7. Most importantly, find the culprit.

If you are getting desperate use Phosphate sponges, but this is only a temporary fix.

Have I missed out on anything?

If you are really frustrated with algae & ridiculous PO4 levels.. I feel your pain! My PO4 reading is at 3ppm and not moving..

 

[greenmaji]

6.5. turning off filtration durring feeding (so food doesnt get traped in your filtration system or ground up in your pumps)
6.6 only feed what the inhabitants can eat qickly, usually within 1 min.
6.7 test your typical water sorce for PO4..

raising or lowering PH levels should have no effect on PO4.. exess food or your water sorce is the likely culprit..

 

[greenmaji]

Your filtration system design can cause problems as well.. If you have a DSB and its been running for a long time they have a tendency to reach a nutrent overload state at wich time they start relecing nutrients back into the water colom..
If your LR has become overloaded with nutrents it can also have a similar effect. it can also relice PO4 durring the curring process.. Do you have a good sized skimmer on this system? If you have a old DSB you might consider cleaning the sand (this is a bad idea if its not the problem so please avoid this at all cost if possible, it resets the DSB wich will take another 6 months to restablish itself)
give us an idea what your system setup is like and there might be something you can do to help beyond what you have listed..
like.. do you have bio-balls? sponges? UGF? other sorces of incomplete biological filtration?
HTH

 

[usaco]

Okay..

I've got a 115gal tank which consists of 2 nemo's (rest of my fish died) 50lbs LR and couple of soft corals and an anemone. I have a mini reef with bio-balls and a canister filter which were both recently cleaned out (I didn't clean the bio-balls - just cleaned/replaced the filter media inside). I placed phosphate sponges in one of the canister tray and also placed a mesh bag in the mini reef.

I also have a Queen turbo skimmer with a powerful enough pump for my size tank. I connected a small air pump to the air inlet so that it will produce more bubbles.

A UV filter is also installed and connected to the canister filter.

Lighting consists of 4 fluro 48" (2xwhite & 2xactinic). Duration is 10hrs daily but sometimes it's only 6-7hrs.

Water flow is running at approx 1600gal/hr total.

I do 10% water changes every 2 weeks - I tend to use 1 of the powerheads to blow off all cyano from the LR when changing the water.

parameters:
alk 160
cal 500
ph 8.0-8.1
PO4 3
NO3 15-20
sal 1.021

hope this is enough info..

 

[Guest]

When algae dies, doesn't it release phosphate back into the water?

Yes it does. That's why it's important to do a water change after you clean all of the algae off your tank during your maintenance. I usually clean my tank in the morning, mix the salt water, and then do the water change in the afternoon. Light has no effect on phosphate levels.

KG

 

[seaham358]

What type of water are you using and have you tested the top off water for PO4.
Blowing the cyno around may only spread it. When doing a WC you need to siphon out the cyno, suck out as much as you can out of the tank.
I prefer phosban over the use of a sponge.
Having an anemone shutting the lights down for a week IMO is out of the question.
I had it bad in my reef and there was no way I was shutting my lights off for a week or 2. So I first changed out my old bulbs and then when doing WC I siphoned out all the cyno I could find. I also replaced all my filters in my ro/di unit and started to do my WC on a regular monthly basis again. (I would skip a month every once in a while)
After about 2 months the cyno was on the retreat and is now gone.. My source of PO4 was my water, I tried Kold Steril water for 6-7 months.
Finding the fuel is a must...

 

[usaco]

I use filtered tap water for my top off.. I've tested for PO4 & NO3 and both turned out NIL

I haven't tried siphoning the cyano so I'll do that weekly from now on.

 

[greenmaji]

How old are your bulbs?
your in the mist of things right now but I would consider more LR as a filtration upgrade in the future.. and is it possible to convert your wet/dry to a fuge (more to reduce NO3 but the fuge would help with your PO4 problem) ? HTH

 

[hcuellart]

I would make 10% WC weekly not bi-weekly, slowly change your bioballs for LR rubble in a 3 to 5 week period, add a little macro and a light to that "filter/sump" to lower your NO4 ah wait you have 15-20 NITRITES? Well you have something really wrong with your biological filter. Urgently change at least 50% of the water and do 10-20% weekly water changes and try doing the LR rubble change. I would also suggest raising your SG to 1.025 if you are going with the reef setup...