Cyano Bacteria
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Reef Chemistry
Forum Description: A place to discuss reef chemistry.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=44278
Printed Date: July 27 2026 at 5:52am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Cyano Bacteria
Posted By: Haley'sfish
Subject: Cyano Bacteria
Date Posted: October 26 2010 at 11:11pm
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It seems like about every month or so I go through cyano blooms. I've got it down so they aren't that big of a deal, but what can I do to prevent them? I feed about 1/8 cube frozen food per day. I have a koralia nano (240 gph) and just added another 160 gph powerhead. The lights are on for about 8 hours/day. Any ideas? This isn't a big deal, I would just like to learn to do it better.  |
Replies:
Posted By: SGH360
Date Posted: October 26 2010 at 11:27pm
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how many fishes do you have? do you direct the flow into the cyano, are you running any Macro Algae or AC?
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Posted By: Haley'sfish
Date Posted: October 27 2010 at 12:14am
| 2 fish, one clown and one goby. One head is heading up from the side, and the other is directed towards the front, so no not directed at the sand bed where the cyano is. I do have macro, but what is AC? |
Posted By: SGH360
Date Posted: October 27 2010 at 12:41am
| Activated Carbon |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: October 27 2010 at 9:41am
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Do you make sure the fish eat every morsel of food? Do you ever skip a days feeding? Is the top of the tank covered? What type of Macro and how much? What type and how deep is the sand? What are the Alk and Ca? Can you post a pic of the tank? ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: Haley'sfish
Date Posted: October 27 2010 at 11:56pm
| KH/ALK 3.9 meq/L. Calcium is 400 ppm. No the fish do not usually eat every morsel of food, but they do eat most of it, and I rarely skip days. The top is covered. I do have macro, but I cannot remember the name, its green and stringy(thats probably the scientific name now that I think about it). Sand type is unknown, depth is unknown as well, I haven't probed it lately(I will if you would like). And I updated with a picture. Any other suggestions would be great as well, I would love to know how to do better. Thanks for all your help already. |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: October 28 2010 at 7:53am
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The tank looks nice. Appears to be good open space, but the bottom of the reefscape looks a little closed with too many small rocks. Open up some channels across the sand underneath the reefscape by moving some of those small rocks up. The tank is being overfed. When I feed, especially just a couple fish, I drop in a few morsels and watch the fish eat them. I watch them gobble those pieces up in about 15 seconds before dropping in a few more pieces. Then I stop and maybe on occasion do it one more time, always making sure they eat every decent sized piece of food. On feedings, I skip at least one day per week, but some days I make it "Sunday dinner" and feed them almost double the amount of other days. The top of a tank should not be covered or if it is covered should have plenty of places for air exchange. Always remove glass covers. Fans which may cool the lights during the day can help but at night when gas exchange is just as important, the lack of air movement can be unhealthy. Simply placce a small block under the tank lid to open up space for air to move in and out. Lack of oxygen and too much CO2 in the water because of poor gas exchange is another cause for lowered pH (especially at night  ) and Cyano growth.In the pic, I cannot see the Macroalgae. From your description, it's probably Chaetomorpha (kate-o-morfa). The Alk and Ca are good. The pic appears cropped above the tank bottom so I can't tell for sure but I'm assuming it's 1-2"of sand in front and a little more in back. Assuming the sand is the common Caribsea Special Grade Reef Sand, it would be helpful to add some Oolitic sand. This will enhance the biofiltration by provided a ton more surface for bacterial growth. Oolitic sand is the best for this. I'll give you some free Oolitic sand, if you want to call and come get it.  This is unwashed Oolitic Sand:  Below is CaribSea Special Grade Reef Sand. I reduced the size of the CaribSea pic so the actual size comparison between the two sands is pretty close. Because bacteria are so microscopically tiny and because they like to live on surfaces, many times more bacteria can live in the same amount of Oolitic Sand because the smaller size means a huge increase of surface area. Does this make sense?  ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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