cyanobacteria aquarium

[jmc1024]

Hello,

I have a 65 gallon reef tank 5 years old and very healthy. My water chemistry is good Alk 8.8, Cal 450, Mag 1425, Nitrate and Phosphate both test at 0. I do weekly water changes, 10 % of tank. I try to clean sand monthly but do sometimes skip a month. Water changes are mostly done though sump. I also vodka dose and dose two part. I have a lot of red algae/bacteria. I'm thinking that this is cyanobacteria? I did use Chemi-Clean Red Cyanobacteria a month ago. it helped but didn't really fix problem. Since it's gotten worse I've been doing daily water changes, cleaning sand about 5% of tank. Any thoughts from experienced reefers would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jay

 

[Jamesmost]

Get your nitrates up to 8 phosphate up to .o4
Should help

 

[jmc1024]

Hi thanks for the reply Get them UP? Trying to understand the science behind that? I always worked hard to keep them down?

 

[Jamesmost]

Zero is ng,,, opens the door for bacteria to grow...
I used chemi clean as well in past,,, sometimes 2 x in a row....
But if u keep po4 ans no3 at zero, keeps the door open

 

[homegrowncichlid]

If you want a quick fix, Red Slime Remover, works well. Since your tank is so "clean" it probably wont return.

 

[jmc1024]

I'm dosing vodka and using some phosphate guard - think I should stop both? Would prob raise levels a bit.

 

[jmc1024]

If you want a quick fix, Red Slime Remover, works well. Since your tank is so "clean" it probably wont return.

Hey Thanks- I've tried that - didn't help too much.

 

[Rebels23]

You might have to lay off the vodka dosing. Cyano issues can happen from Vodka dosing. Not as much with vinegar dosing but can happen with vinegar too.

 

[jmc1024]

Yeah I was kind of that too. Going to stop vodka dosing and see how that goes. Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[BYU]

why are you vodka dosing?
usually that’s to bring nitrates and phosphates down
if they are zero it’s no good
to keep you tank balanced you need some carbon,nitrates, and phosphates
look up red field ratio it will explain this better
good luck
stop the carbon dosing (vodka) unless the nitrates go too high
good luck

 

[jayver]

Chemiclean. I just had the same problem. Dosed it yesterday and it’s all gone. I saw it disappearing slowly throughout the day. I will never use another product ever again. This **** is amazing.

 

[jayver]

Chemiclean. I just had the same problem. Dosed it yesterday and it’s all gone. I saw it disappearing slowly throughout the day. I will never use another product ever again. This **** is amazing.

First pic was before dosing. Second pic is this morning (lights were still coming on) but It’s all gone. In the first pic, I did a water change two days prior. It came back overnight. Chemiclean got rid of it completely. I’ll be doing another water change tomorrow.

 

[homegrowncichlid]

FYI, once you get rid of the cyano, you have to prevent it's return with bacterial products, which will out compete and replace the cyano's niche.
I personally use Dr Tims Refresh and Waste Away products, since they include detailed dosing instructions. Any of the other products such as microbacter 7 will also work if you want to free style.

 

[vio]

Stop , dosing Vodka , 99% got Cyno, use 100 micro or less , berlin sucks ,blow gentile the red slime, increase the water flow, add bacteria , keep Nitrate 2.5 to 4 ppm. PO4 0.06 max. Then you good.
Try to keep low Alkalinity , max 8.5 ppm.