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Flow/cyano question

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Kylie, Oct 6, 2011.

  1. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    What is the best way to fight cyano? I've been running my skimmer pretty wet and did a big water change the other day. Planning on one more before the tour. Unfortunate that I have gone for months without it and a week before the tour it shows up. I've heard flow is an important factor but I am always uncertain what is too much or too little.
    I currently have a 65g display with two old Koralia 3's running. They are positioned one on each end facing toward the center of the tank, slightly more forward to make the most current in front of my rock. With this, my anemone moves quite a bit and I can see my hammer and frogspawns moving decently. I also have a Mag 7 as my return pump that gets split into four lock line returns at the top of the tank. It may require people seeing it in person to help me judge. If I need more flow, I'm probably overdue to upgrade my powerheads.
    So, I guess I'm asking, what would you do for powerheads in a 65g?
    Thanks,Kylie
     
  2. Andy The Reef Guy

    Andy The Reef Guy Inactive User

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    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.
     
  3. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    I've been considering loosing the lock lines like you suggested. They make some pretty big shadows across my rock.
     
  4. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    How do I know if I have too much flow? Keep in mind I have my beloved clam front and center on my sand bed
     
  5. mthomp

    mthomp Inactive User

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    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.
     
  6. Guest

    Guest Guest

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    gfo should last longer than a week
     
  7. Andy The Reef Guy

    Andy The Reef Guy Inactive User

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    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.
     
  8. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    Im trying to figure out how to get my dual reactor hooked back up. It wont fit in my stand and its too wobby to just sit behind the tank. So no, I havent been doing either gfo or carbon for about 2 months
     
  9. Andy The Reef Guy

    Andy The Reef Guy Inactive User

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    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)
     
  10. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    That is really interesting that PO4s need to be low given what we just learned in endocrinology Andy. Quite the contrast to human skeleton formation. Ill get on setting up the reactor again. Anywhere nearby that has the hard 1/4" tubing?
     
  11. Andy The Reef Guy

    Andy The Reef Guy Inactive User

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    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.
     
  12. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    Hmm... well looks like that will be another answer to my problems /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif Hoping to get that rigged up again tonight. How soon should I see results do you think?
     
  13. Nemesis

    Nemesis Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    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
     
  14. Nemesis

    Nemesis Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    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
     
  15. B-Rad

    B-Rad Inactive User

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    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?
     
  16. blackx-runner Administrator Website Team Leadership Team

    Cedar Rapids, IA
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    I would start out with real small amounts of GFO, and take it slow. Like Andy said, GFO could pull out phosphates too fast and cause other problems as a result. I think that's what happened in my tank when I started running GFO.
     
  17. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    Not sure what my PO4 levels are at the moment. I will take everyone's advice and start the GFO slowly. Unfortunately, I got distracted with various things and haven't gotten my reactor running yet. The cyano is growing in some high/medium flow areas, like on my clam's shell. That's what bothers me the most. But, now that you all mention it, I have been seeing some slow TN in my corals. I was worried it was from not enough light with the 150's compared to what they were use to at their previous tanks with the sellers. I have not seen the cyano bloom with the LEDs, its just becoming more prominent in the past week or so. It had started right about the week after MACNA.
     
  18. Andy The Reef Guy

    Andy The Reef Guy Inactive User

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    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!
     
  19. Sponge Expert Reefkeeper Vendor

    Marshalltown, IA
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    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?
     
  20. B-Rad

    B-Rad Inactive User

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    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.
     

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