Cyano algae troubles

I have the same size tank and my nitrates seem to hover around that range too. I had some algae problems and seem to be getting a better grasp on them now. Lowered my temp to 74 (in 1 degree increments a day), shortened my light cycle each day, and siphoned out as much as possible during water changes. Seems a lot better now. I've also used a little bit of Algaefix and it seems to work well.

 

flow, flow, flow

 

Flow, Flow,Flow then Light. Cyano feed off light. If you turn your light off for 48 hours it will kill your Cyano,but it will come right back if you don't change what is wrong in your system. Shortening your light cycle may not help at all. Going lights out as I have done twice killed it both times,but it comes back if you have food for it to eat.

So check water Flow,Nitrates,phosphates and Lighting. If you don't have good flow then get better flow to the area its in. If your Nitrates or Phosphates are high then get them lower. Bad bulbs or bulbs needing replace are both causes in Bactria bloom of any kind.


Good luck and keep us posted!

 

I don't know how old your tank is, but many newer tanks go through a stage with some Cyano. Keep up on your water changes, make sure your using RO/DI or distilled water with 0 TDS.....you can remove the cyano with the siphon when you remove water. I don't favor using chemicals because I feel that opens the door for problems, aside from the fact that whatever the Cyano is feeding on now will still be present, so it will come back. I've also observed that it seems to like warmer temps., so getting you temp. down may help - ever heard of "red tides"? I've always let it run it's course and once it's food supply is gone, it just seems to disappear. You can also try a passive use of phosguard or some other type of phosphate adsorber, to keep phosphate low. Best wishes!