Lights out and proxide

[TanksEveryWhere]

So I currently am running 3 tanks in my home w/ a forth going up, and am sick and tired :cryin: of not having a solid plan of attack for the cyno and algae issues that have been plaguing each system in it's own way.

Well I did some research and than followed it w/ some more and came up w/ this plan :smash:.

Each system will go through the same treatment, though I will be starting the proses for each system at different time so as not to overwhelm myself.

First a 50% WC will be done to prep for 3 days of lights out. Now I have heard different things about how effective this is and what algae is not effected by it. We will see as I have more than one type to try it on.

After the 3 days of lights out, the systems will get another 50% WC to rid it of as much extra nutrients as possible.

The final part of this plan will be the peroxide. I will use a syringe and about .2ml per gal and start directly treating any patches remaining after the lights out. This will be done daily for a week and than I will reassess each system and go from there.

Wish me luck :snorkel:

[Manoj's Reef]

My suggestion would be not to do any water changes untill the cyno has gone. The cyno uses nutrients from the water column and light to grow, everytime you change water you are proving fresh nutrients for it to grow.

[Manoj's Reef]

Also when you do the lights out , make sure you cover the tank with a blanket or couple of bed sheets so that light cannot penitrate. The first 1.5 days you will not see any effect , the main effect comes after the second day.

[TanksEveryWhere]

My suggestion would be not to do any water changes untill the cyno has gone. The cyno uses nutrients from the water column and light to grow, everytime you change water you are proving fresh nutrients for it to grow.

Okay, make sense, and I have a special black sheet that is only for this purpose. Doubled up it keeps light away. Will I be feeding any left over cyno, by doing a WC after the lights out?

[Manoj's Reef]

Okay, make sense, and I have a special black sheet that is only for this purpose. Doubled up it keeps light away. Will I be feeding any left over cyno, by doing a WC after the lights out?

You should not change water untill all the cyno is elminiated from the tank. So to answer your question you should not change water after lights out. The process of elimination of cyno is pains taking. You might have to repeat this again after 3 weeks. Also you can speed up the process by adding good bacteria in the system like microbacter this will also help with the cyno problem. I am not sure what kind of corals you have in there so you have to be careful before you get the lights back up to full strenght. The process should be gradual.

[TanksEveryWhere]

3 systems I almost have just about everything. I have a screen like fabric I am going to use to dim the lighting when they go back on as well as reducing the cycle by half for the fist day. Only one of the systems is suffering w/ bad cyno and that system has only now hit the year mark. I think I can blame this for the cyno. At least in part, the other 2 systems are dealing more w/ brypsis so would the attack plan alter any for the other 2 systems or would you recommend the same plan, no WC until gone?

[ReefTech]

how are the three tanks set up? are they running as one system or are they all seperate? everything thats been listed will help rid cyano but the more important thing would be to try and find the reason why your getting so much of it and having algae issues in all three tanks. the bryopsis can usually be taken care of by dosing magnesium.get your water tested to see what the mag level is at. i believe that running the mag between 1500-1600 (double check these numbers) will get rid of the bryopsis. i started getting it in my frag tank and bumped the mag up and havent seen it since. but for the rest of the issues, I would go back to square one. check the flow of every tank make sure the current is strong, check your lighting, maybe the bulbs need replacing (if using bulbs) or maybe cut them back a couple hours. are you running a skimmer at all? make sure you have a skimmer that is rated for the total water volume you have. if you have an ro filter make sure the filters dont need to be replaced and check how long its been since the membrane was changed. cut back on feedings well. especially if the food your using is very rich, this will pollute the water more. and if my memory serves me correct, wernt you carbon dosing using mb7? ive heard from many people that were using that to carbon dose that even though there levels were near 0 or 0 that they were still having algae problems which comes from having to small of a skimmer running on there system to begin with and trying to carbon dose. sorry that was long. bottom line is until you find the source of your problems your going to be spending all your time fighting algae then getting to enjoy your reefs. good luck and hopefully you can get a handle on the algae.

[TanksEveryWhere]

Lets break this all down so it's easy.

Tank 1 is simple. Set up is a 55gal standard w/ a CPR Bak-Pak Protein Skimmer rated for 60gals, plus a canister rate for the same, which I use w/ filter pads. It is sporting a 4 bulb T-5 set up which is running 12hrs at the moment.All bulbs are under six months old About 17x water flow softie/LPS tank, 50lbs LR and probably not enough sand.

Bio load is light fish wise and includes one small hippo a blue devil damsel and a skunk clown.

[dputt88]

My suggestion would be not to do any water changes untill the cyno has gone. The cyno uses nutrients from the water column and light to grow, everytime you change water you are proving fresh nutrients for it to grow.

wouldnt you want to do a water change?? the nutrients that cause cyano and mostly nitrates and partially phosphates. fresh water change water is lacking both of those, and contains nutrients such ad calcium and trace elements which are not major contributors to cyano outbreaks.

IMO do a waterchange and start trouble shooting on what is causing the parameter to stray away from desirable levels.

the water change will remove the water that has elevated nitrates and phosphates and replace it with clean water, limiting key nutrients for the cyano

---------- Post added at 01:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:19 PM ----------

also im assuming youre using RO/DI for water changes and top off?

[TanksEveryWhere]

Yes I agree, I went looking for that study and anything I could find didn't really seem solid too me. I think the nutrients that are already feeding the cyno are contributing more to the out break than some trace elements being added from clean new salt water. Unless my make up routine for new salt water is really flawed which it's not.

I think I am going to do a large WC before and after lights out as the theory that new saltwater is feeding the cyno, is a loose theory at best and while I can see where trace elements could be helping feed it I am sure any nitrates or phosphates in the system would feed it more.

Large WC have been my life lately and are doing nothing to bring the numbers down.

Yes I have RO and use that to top off, but not before the water is mixed w/ a power head to add oxygen back into it, which is meant to help keep PH stable. All filters on the unit were changed were changed less than 2 months ago to eliminate that as a contributing factor.

[TanksEveryWhere]

Tank 2 is a 40B w/ a 20 long sump holding maybe another 10gals. It has a 4 bulb T-5, bulbs under six months, plus a 250watt halide.10 hrs on the T-5s and 8 on the halide. Halide needs replacing, but this tank is in the best condition out of the three. It has 40lbs LS and 40 LR. All tanks are running skimmer, although I can't remember the model, I do know it is rated for 150, and is only being run on a 50gal system. It does produce great foam.

This system is also running GFO.

It's livestock includes 2 clown a damsel and a yellow wrasse plus 4 BTA's.

Tank is over 2 years old.

[TanksEveryWhere]

Tank 3 is mine and all mine as far as I set up I plumbed it (which scares me most), and baby it like one of my kids. It also was the most stable system out of the 3 and is the most stocked.

It is a 40B w/ 29sump, which holds 15gals.

250watt halide 9 month old bulb and 10hr light cycle

35lbs LS and 50-55lbs LR, same skimmer the other 40B has

total water flow for this system is 75x water volume.

Live stock pair of clowns, maderin, ruby red cardinal and a file fish

[TanksEveryWhere]

So I have started w/ tank 2, as it has the least amount of problem algae, and less livestock to worry about. Decided to scrub down the sump and remove the water from there which is usually done from the display on this tank. Cut cardboard to fit and wrapped w/ a black sheet. Today is the first day, and I have 15gal on hand for the WC in a few days.

[TanksEveryWhere]

Tank 2 is now on day 2 now, and I have decided that the sand beds in all three tanks is not deep enough, and am adding enough sand to give me 4" in every tank.

[TanksEveryWhere]

Tank 2 and 3 have completed their black outs, and are being treated w/ the peroxided. I am using a 100 cc needle to inject the patches up to 10ml per session at 2 sessions a day. All live stock appears to be un effected. I'll post pics some time latter today, but I cracked the LCD screen on my camera so taking pics is a *****&% right now, but need for this thread.

Oh I have also changed out both MH bulbs in these systems.