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jcoulter17 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jcoulter17 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 27 2012 at 3:54pm
I guess I have to wait but if the results are good, Im going to do the same thing
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BobC63 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 27 2012 at 10:10pm

So I removed the trash bag covers and the cyano on the sand was about 99% gone / dead

I siphoned off the sand again, this time I made it part of a 15g water change.


Checked all my parameters:


 Temp = 76 F

     SG = 1.0255

     pH =  8.1

   dKH =  10.0

     Ca =  460 ppm

     Mg = 1500 ppm

    nH3 = 0 / undetectable

    nO2 = 0 / undetectable

    nO3 = 0 / undetectable

    pO4 = 0 / undetectable


Most everything looked fine... my Pulsing Sinularias are pissed off - but they'll readjust after a few more days. I'll ramp the lighting back up over the next few days.

Here is the video... still a little hazy from the WC:
 
 
 
 


Edited by BobC63 - February 28 2012 at 10:08am
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 27 2012 at 10:38pm
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jcoulter17 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 27 2012 at 10:45pm
Thanks for the update Bob. I just covered my tank.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2012 at 10:14am
I took the video with my wife's point-and-shoot digital camera, so the quality isn't that good (alot of bluing and contrast going from top to bottom)
 
But yeah, pretty much all the cyano is gone with no real effects on the livestock... I would do it again if the problem comes back. Hoepfully it won't.
 
My Tubbs Birdsnest in the back corner is bleached out, but not from this - I put it up too high in the tank when I first got it... hopefully it comes back.
 
 
 
 
 
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2012 at 11:39am

Josh -

Let us know how it worked out for you...

So far, it looks like the cyano is staying away. A couple of very small places have popped back up, but nowhere near as much as before.

Also, not sure if it is related, but 1 of my RBTAs split again the day after I turned the lights back on.
 
The one that looks really huge inflated in the video...
 
 
 
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jcoulter17 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2012 at 11:54am
Well it's hard to wait but today is the 3rd day. I wish I would have taken some pictures before but after looking at your results I covered my tank asap. I will let you know tomorrow as I'm trying to get ready for reef tour. I would like to be apart of the tour this year but we will see.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2012 at 12:25pm
Do you have water ready for a WC?
 
You may have some dead cyano remains on your sand to vacuum out once you uncover the tank.
 
 
And you should definitely do the Reef Tour this year... you could always do the tank covering thing again like the week before the Tour if your cyano comes back.
 
 
Oh, and again I don't know if this is related to the blackout period or not or not -
 
I have a mated pair of perculas I got off the board maybe 3 months ago... they have been doign great, but no signs of mating...
 
Last night the male started doing the pre-mating "dance"...


Edited by BobC63 - March 01 2012 at 12:27pm
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jcoulter17 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2012 at 12:33pm
Well it's only in one tank the other tank is already to go. I'm just looking for more coral in put in.

Yes I will have water ready too. I plan on doing a 20% water change
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jcoulter17 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2012 at 10:55pm
Well cyano is gone but still have lot of hair algae. Next week I'm going to take all the rock out of the tank and will use a tooth brush to clean all the algae off as I do a water change. I will drain 50g into a drum and used that water to clean the rocks off. I will have new water to replace the old water ready to put back in the tank.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 21 2012 at 10:08am
Just thought I would update:
 
After the tank blackout, the cyano was gone and the tank looked great... for about 10 days.
 
Then the cyano started coming back.
 
I had been running RowaPhos in my Phosban reactor but it didn't seem to be helping at all. I got the RowaPhos for a great deal, but the can looked really old. Maybe it somehow wasn't as effective anymore?
 
Anyway, I just changed over to BRS GFO Monday and I am starting with 1/2 cup of GFO for my approx 100g of water volume. I also modified the Phosban reactor slightly to give me better seperation between the GFO and the carbon I run in there as well. I got a real nice "gentle tumble" going on, much better than before...
 
BRS actually recommends 1.75 cups of GFO in my situation; however, after reading up on the subject at various other sites (RC, R2R, RF, etc), the consensus seems to be that their recommended amount is about double what is needed - plus, you should halve that amount again when you start out, so that you don't strip the pO4 out of the water too quickly and risk shocking / bleaching your SPS.
 
So that is how I arrive at starting with 0.5 cups of GFO.
 
GFO has been running about 24 hrs now and it looks like the amount of cyano may already be receding Thumbs Up
 
If it ends up working, I figure I'll wait until it has been running a week, then change the GFO out (the intiail 'dose' will get exhausted fairly quickly) and then up it to 1 cup... and then only change it monthly after that...
 
 
 
 
 


Edited by BobC63 - March 21 2012 at 11:30am
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bur01014 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 21 2012 at 10:35am
BobC63- Please test your Alk daily if not twice daily for the next few days....GFO has a tendency to cause a sudden alk drop, which is one reason why many people see their corals suddenly decline.

Yes, GFO can strip the nutrients to fast, causing corals to bleach, but it also can cause your alk to initially drop, thus also bleaching out your corals. 

Just wanted to share as I experienced a significant alk drop when adding GFO at first....you can read more further on reef central or others sites about this issue, but trust me- it is real!  Good luck!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 21 2012 at 11:44am
Thanks bur01014, I have heard about the alk drop potential and have been checking.
 
I like to run my alk at around 10 - 10.5; the 'natural' alk level for my tank - where it would be if I did not dose - is only around 7 dKH... so I have to dose every day to keep the alk where I want it.
 
This morning I checked and the alk was at 9.5 before dosing - so down a little, but not a tremendous drop so far.
 
I'll check again tonight, and keep checking 2X day for the rest of the week...
 
 
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bur01014 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 21 2012 at 11:47am
Good to hear, I figured you already knew about the issue, but wanted to make sure.  I think if you haven't noticed it yet, you should be fine.  It usually drops (from my experience) within the first day of adding GFO....I would also check it a few times throughout the day when you change it out and increase the dose...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 21 2012 at 12:00pm
Bob, Recapping what I hear you saying, the N and P levels were zero after the lights out treatment but 10 days later the Cyanobacteria is returning. What were the N and P levels before the lights out treatment?

We have seen a multitude of frustrated hobbyists come here totally perplexed that their N and P testing results showed very low to zero levels.

We know that Cyano is actually eating those nutrients as fast as they are available and that's why they are close to zero in the water.

We know that something in the system is feeding nutrients to the Cyanobacteria.

We know that the balance of nutrients to biofiltration got out of whack. The available nutrients exceeded the ability of the LS, LR, Algae and LW to eat the N and P compounds so Cyanobacteria took up the slack.

When the light energy was suspended, the Cyanobacteria died back. Unfortunately many other things died as well. Now that the light is back on again, something is still feeding nutrients to the Cyanobacteria because the biofiltration capacity of the LS, LR, Algae and LW still remains insufficient.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 21 2012 at 12:10pm
N and P are reading 0 and have been for awhile, even before the blackout treatment.
 
In my case the excess nutrients are coming from my feeding the sponges in the tank with liquid foods (Oyster Feast, Roti Feast, etc).
 
I have cut way down on the amount of feeding and they do not seem to have been adversely affected. In hindsight, I was probably feeding too much.
 
I also just removed and gave away the majority of my cheato in the sump, as it had pretty much grown to capacity and stopped growing. With room to grow now, I would think that the nutrient uptake will increase to fuel that growth.
 
So, between the recent reduction in nutrients via feeding, and an increase in nutrient uptake via growing cheato, I am hoping the GFO will just starve out the cyano and then I can just use a 'maintenance' dose of GFO to keep things looking good.
 
 
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 21 2012 at 12:18pm
(<Edit>Sorry, I was writing this as you posted. I'd say you have it figured out. Thumbs Up)

At this point and often before taking the trouble to use the lights out method, many hobbyists take the easy route and nuke the tank with a Cyanobacteria killing chemical. Most hobbyists later come back here saying that it eliminated the problem temporarily but a few moths later when Cyanobacteria returned, it returned with a vengeance. Angry

In the long term and for our own peace of mind may we consider the root of the problem? Let's consider how to improve system filtration so that we can keep all the organisms we like and at the same time avoid having a marauder like Cyanobacteria or even worse, Hair or Bryopsis algae come in and take up the slack of extra, unprocessed N and P compounds.

The basic question each of us can ask about our aquarium filtration system is, "How can the four living components of biofiltration be enhanced, or in other words, made more efficient?
LS - ?
LR - ?
Algae - ?
LW - ?


Edited by Mark Peterson - March 21 2012 at 12:21pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 21 2012 at 12:20pm
Yeah, i actually have both Chemi-clean and Cyano-solution but have not tried either because i would rather investigate the underlying issue and hopefully resolve it than just medicate it...
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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