cheap bulbs

[at]

I have had a problem with cyanobacteria for about a year. I have changed water which seemed too work before, and I changed my metal halides and nothing seemed to work. A year ago I started buying 175 HQI metal halides off E-Bay for $5 apiece and was wondering if cheap bulbs can produce the wrong type of light. Thanks ,Andy

[Reef_Angel]

Anytime I have experienced Cyano out of control, I have re-evaulated my feeding practices and my light schedual. Have you tried cutting back in these areas as well as your bulb life, water parameters, etc.? Sounds like you've been checking everything, and sometimes the simplest answers are grest! You didn't mention your light schedual, but I tend to cut back to 6 hours or more for a few days. This helps the situation greatly. I try to remove any "sheets" of cyano with a spatula (good old fashioned egg flipper in plastic). This allows me to get a good amount out in one sitting without making it spread all over the tank. Cutting down your feeding will help as well if that is an issue. Without more information from you on how you actually feed, this is all I can suggest. I will do my best to follow up with you here, but if you don't get an immediate answer, please PM me for information. I'm sure others here will jump in to help as well! :D Good luck, and I will talk with you soon. ....Angel :angel1:

[at]

I run 2 96watt actinics 12-13 hours a day,then 2 96 watt 10k flourescents come on for 10 hours. My metal halides 3 175 watt run 8 hours during the middle of the day. the tank is 150 gallons, with11 fish the two largest are a yellow and a blue tang. I feed them once a day. About a cube of frozen mysis and a 1/2 cube of something different every evening.

[jojo22]

Halide bulbs (http://item.express.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ExpressItem&item=260138562814)

[Sweetpea]

I would cut the time your lights are on by half, and I would cut back the feeding to every other day, if not every third day until you see the cyano fade away. (I feed my fish every 2nd or 3rd day normally.)

Suctioning the "sheets" of cyano out is very helpful. You could also add an extra powerhead(s) to blow on the area(s) where the cyano seems to collect the most. Combined with less light and fewer nutrients, you should be fine! HTH!