Flow/cyano question

That's one of the things the tank tour can be really useful for too Kylie! No shame, algae happens! I would add a pump that produces a more laminar flow like a tunze that produces ~2000gph and just stick it in a top hand corner near the front of the tank to create a rolling water flow, then I'd stick one or both of those k3's in some pockets or hide them in the rocks where they are needed to remove detritus. I would also loose 2 or 3 of the locklines, they're not doing a whole lot as far as directing useful volumes of water flow.

 

something I found durring my cyano battle is flow can also oxygenate the algae and help it to grow quicker. Kylie are you running gfo and carbon? those 2 things will help alot just need to change the gfo every week or other week till you get a handle on things.

 

gfo should last longer than a week

 

Not if you're playing catchup. On a regular and routine basis, yes, GFO should last 4-6 weeks, or more. It has an excellent binding affinity for PO4 and won't leach it back out. However you can only absorb so much PO4 per gram of GFO used, and GFO will bind it quickly and exhaust itself almost right away given the opportunity. This is one of the largest criticizems of GFO, is that it drives PO4 levels down too quickly and that in itself can be a source of stress to corals.
It's a point worth noting. I just assumed Kylie was already running GFO and carbon, but I'm not certain that is the case. Water changes can fuel it too Kylie. I don't know how KH effects it but it's a parameter worth checking, the root of many problems are due to low KH.

 

Yea that is reef keepers rule numeral uno! Control your phosphates!!! They've gotta be ultra low, or you'll have algae outbreaks and/or corals dying (especially scleractinians)

 

That's because we form our skeleton from apatite not calcite. scleractinian cells poorly secrete PO4, it prohibits the formation of normal concentration gradients and leads to cell death! They will tolerate it for some time, and in higher concentrations than you might expect, however, long term exposure to PO4 will be toxic.

 

I always thought that letting the tank go dark for a couple days helped as well. Cyno is a product of to much waste and poor flow. Once it gets going light helps it keep going. I shut down the lights in my tank for two days and siphoned all the cyno I could out of the tank. Just my two cents

 

I always thought that letting the tank go dark for a couple days helped as well. Cyno is a product of to much waste and poor flow. Once it gets going light helps it keep going. I shut down the lights in my tank for two days and siphoned all the cyno I could out of the tank. Just my two cents

 

Kylie whats your phos readings? You just swithced over to Leds right! The change in the lighting could have trigered the cyno. I have had cyno for a time now, I have a 120g with two mp40s cranked, my phos is .03, nitates 0, so I'm betting that since my bulbs are older that they have shifted spectrum and it is favored by the cyno. Is the cyno growing anywere close to good water movment?

 

STn and RTN are viral conditions I believe, I haven't had the misfortune of dealing with these issues myself (with the exception of a few isolated specimens (which may have been due to chronic stress)). I'll consult some literature when I get home. STN and RTN can be used to describe a physiological change in the condition of coral tissue, but in the pathological sense, it has more to do with a specfic disease condition. If I remember correctly a human virus was implicated in RTN in some carribean species of coral, I'm not sure that the same virus or types of viruses apply to all species of corals. Anyways, more later, I'm just gettin off work!

 

It doesn't seem to be flow related Kylie. IMO cyano is rarely caused by low flow. Nutrients and/or lighting are the usual culprits. Some reefers have had luck getting rid of it by increasing the Mag... have you checked the Mag lately? Lights out usually helps besides getting the 'trates and 'phates down '-0) Aren't you running your ozone?

 

I don't think mag will help with cyano, I'm running super high mag at the moment (1900ppm) to kill bryopsis and it is not haveing any effect on the cyano thats in my tank.