Cyanobacteria I Think Aka Shxt Brown Stuff

[weathermen]

Hi all, I’m losing the battle! Over the last 5 weeks I’ve had a problem with Nitrates which has now sparked cyanobacteria?, my sand and live rock is covered in brown shxt and I have green algae pearling on the top of the live rock and around the pumps! The tank is 75 gallons UK run with a sump which is around 20 gallons, tank holding isn’t massive

Yellow Tang
Regal Tang
Cleaner Wrasse
2 Clowns
4 Yellow tailed Dams
Dottyback
Clean up crew
10 large Turbo’s
10 or more Hemits )blue and Red legs)
30 plus Nassurius Snails
Also have Green carpet and Malu Anemone, plus Mushrooms etc, the tank was set up in Dec last year from a tank of a friend who had it running for 4 years so live rock mature.

Everyone is doing fine even though the Nitrates are between 50 to 100 this is what I’ve been doing!

I notice the problem around 6th Aug so I did a water change of 46 gallons RO water on the 10th Aug, left it a few days same problem, did another 46 gallon change on 16th Aug, still a problem, bought two reactors (two little fishes phosphate reactors) added Seachem de-Nitrate in one and Active Carbon in the other, No change , did another water change on the 23rd Aug, still keep getting brown shxt! Went away for the weekend on the 6th Sept, came back still have a problem, did another change last weekend 13th 51 gallons, tested last night as I still have a problem.

Ro water in is 5 in Nitrate
Temp 26.7
Lights on at 10am off at 7pm
Food cut down to once a day 1 frozen cube, (mixed foods each day) and Nori everyday for Tangs this has been done for three weeks now

Nitrite 0
PH 8.3
Phos 0.5
Nitrate 50 -100
Ammonia <0.25

Test kits used Salifert, also tried API dip test this reads No2 = 0.5 and No3 = 20

In the sump I’m running a V2 skimmer 24/7 and Phos reactor, removed all foam, main tank has four Hydors and one seio so we have turn over! sump to main tank Ocean Runner 2500

I’m now running out of ideas, also I’m on a water meter so this is starting to cost way too much to fix! Not sure what to do to get rid of it, I’m mixing another 46 gallons ready for another change this weekend. HELP!!!!!!

 

[@ombomb]

what are you actally using as the main means of nitrate removal from the tank?

 

[weathermen]

De-nitrate and water changes? is this not right

 

[Musho3210]

mechanical filtration, clean it every other day. Suck out all the cyano you see, add more flow to the sandbed (but dont cause a sandstorm) and skim heavily. Dont let gunk accumilate on the bottom of the tank, cleaning the sand bed would help but you have the nassarius snails already.

Mechanical filtration is great in removing excess waste, but make sure you clean it regularly before that waste breaks down.


After all that, one BIG water change, something around maybe 90%. That should knock the nitrates down, then with all that extra filtration it should keep it down.

Contemplate adding a refugium somewhere, that will help too.

 

[@ombomb]

De-nitrate and water changes? is this not right

as musho has said, a fuge is a good idea, filled with macro algae it'll really help keep your nitrates / phosphates under control

if you're getting 5ppm nitrate in your RO water, you need to change the filter, do you have a tds meter?

 

[weathermen]

yeah I have a TDS which is reading 2! a fuge is the next move around xmas, I have found a source for acrylic and I'm ready to build!

 

[weathermen]

I Give UP!

I have tried black out for three days and no feeding, after three days tank looked great did a 80% water change three days later brown crap! I've added a Ehiem professinal at £200, run this for two weeks with de-nitrate and Phos, NOTHING! still brown crap! I converted my sump into a fudge and added 4kg of mirical mud at £50 and added micro algae! run this for two weeks still brown crap! changed all RO-Man filters so getting Zero TDS, still brown crap! re-duced the lights to 8 hours a day, still brown crap! nitrate are reading 40 to 60! I've just about had enough of this brown crap! seriously! if I don't get to the bottom of this I'm going to sell it! I've thrown way to much cash at this poxy tank and see it looking crap! I need help! really I do, I don't want to give in but if don't solve it then buy, buy tank hello new dry suit!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CageUK]

I had cyano which has now disappeared to be replaced by hair algae. I know that nitrates were high (nowhere near as high as yours) but I also suspect out of date bulbs (T5s in my case). Could this be a factor in your case perhaps?
Maybe the lighting spectrum has changed to such a degree as to be promoting the unwanted growth?

Oh and I've also dropped down to a 5hr light cycle for the time being, which has kept the algae in check. I know cyano can develop very quickly though.

 

[seffieuk]

Hi - complete newbie here so don't shout at me if my suggestions are daft -

How long was your rock out of the water for when you moved it - could you be having a cycle/die off?

Have you got a big enough cuc for a tank that size?

Did you get new bulbs when you got the tank?

I thought Cyno was red? Sounds like diatoms, brown stuff?

Seffie x

 

[CageUK]

I'll probably be shot at Dawn by the others for suggesting this, but would it be worth trying one of those nitrate scrubber things mentioned quite prolifically on THIS infamous thread to get your nitrates down to a sane level?

I'm sure that if I had the space and somewhere to hide it, I'd be interested in giving it a go!

 

[rabbut]

If you have the bits about already, scrubbers are realy cheap to build (in my case, FOC as I already had the bits). I opted to convert mine to a DIY skimmer though, to conform to the norm while learning the basics of marines before starting to play with any less "conventional" set-ups. As add-ons I can't see them doing any harm, but I wouldn't go with such bold claims as replacing skimmers and fuges with one just yet...

What nitrate removers are you using, and how much flow (times an hour) do you have? I know you say it is good, but no numbers have been mentioned yet. Also, what does each pump push, as the Hydors have different modles I believe? Just a thought, how is the skimmer preforming? Is the foam wet or dry, and how much skimmate are you getting?

I am fairly new to keeping marines at home, but have 2 years exprience with them in a retail environment. I have come across brown cyno in that time too. A combination of high flow, Phosban, wet skimming and a substrate clean was what eventualy killed it. How are your powerheads positioned? Are you getting lots of flow both top and bottom, with flow between both?

All the best
Rabbut

 

[SkiFletch]

Silly question but have you considered changing food types/brands? Seems simple enough, but might be part of your problem. Also, have you ever tried the magnesium solution? meaning, boost Mg up to like 1600ppm. Seems to wreak havoc with lots of simple algaes...