day 2 of black out....

[D.J.]

well im on day 2 for the tank blackout to "TRY" and knock out the cyano that formed after the tank crash.....


and let me tell ya....sittin here lookin at a dark tank full of corals...SUCKS A BIG TOE.......

but what lil bit you can into the tank it looks like it might be workin....the stuff is turning a dark color and i can tell its starving for light since its now out ALL the time and not just when the lights are on......

so hopefully when i bring light back to the tank on saturday.....ill have it whipped.....if not....i guess im gona give chemi-clean..i think is what its called...a shot.....heard alot of people using it and kicked cyano in the butt with just a few treatments and its invert safe.....


i could probably get by with "KILLING" the couple of rocks its on but they ave some nice colony dusters on them and some "spaghetti" worms...i guess is what they are....on them.....so i dont really want to do that....

ive noticed the turbos munchin on it and its gone in the places where they are but they dont concentrate on the rocks too long....

[OLDETOWNENORTHPETS]

Chemi clean works really well. I've used it and sold it many times so if you have any questions let me know.

[hansmatt]

I actually used an old window blind (the roller type) wrapped around the tank to ensure black out, except over the top. It's worthwhile blowing off the cyano from rocks, sandbed etc using turkey baster...more dislodged, less likely to live.

[pogodzib]

The best method for getting rid of it is water changes and good tank husbandry. But, if that isn't working and since you know why it showed up in the first place, either of the ways previously listed will work. Matt (hansmatt) has done the blackout method in the past with good results and Chemiclean is the ONLY CHEMICAL that I would recommend ever using for treating cyano. Glad to see that you are carrying it now Matt.

[Timmy]

Agreed chemiclean is the best way to go I uesed it once and it never came back.

[D.J.]

i may try the chemi clean if this doesnt work......once i flip the lights on if it starts to rear its ugly head again ill blow some off and suck it out while i wait on the $$ to buy the chemi clean......

but hopefully the blackout is working.....gona suck if i sat here looking at a dark glass box for 3 days for nothing!!! LOL

[hansmatt]

The chemiclean is like $10-$15, It does work, but you have to take your skimmer offline for a few days & aerate your tank with an airstone. It's a type of antibiotic that kills the bacteria. There have been concerns about killing off strains of the beneficial bacteria and creating a monoclonal setup. I've used it a few times and it does work/help. You have to do a big 30% wterchange or two after several days. Make sure you have enough oxygenation in your tank, as the death of the bad bacteria messes up the balance. You can search for more detail if interested n RC, but it might scare you.

[D.J.]

yeah that why me using CC is a "might" .....i read up on it before...and just dont know......

i mean its not like i gota worry about losing fish....the tank took care of that already!!! very bad humor........lol



but i dont want to risk another crash.........

im leaning more and more to recurring the rocks that have it but then ill loose what i have growing on them.....which isnt a big deal...but i would be redoing about 40lbs worth of rock......


so this is gona be a battle to the death i guess.....ill either kill it or the wife will kill ME for griping about it all the time!!!! LOL

[firsthesitation]

CC is a good product but its really only covering up an underlying issue. Have you tested your phosphates recently? I know in my tank the ugly red stuff usually comes back when I need to replace the media in my two little fishies reactor.

Had a friend of mine who got a terrible algae bloom to and the only way to fix it for him after trying everythign else was to lock his rock up in bins for a month or so do water changes and let it all die off.

[D.J.]

the only reason i have is from the recent tank crash.........never had it before.....

[OLDETOWNENORTHPETS]

When I've used ChemiClean this way worked best for me. Did a 15% water change. Used CC at about 90% of recomended. After about a week if I dont see at least a 50% loss on cyano I add 20% CC dose. After 1 more week I do a 20% water change. Has worked very well for me and I've not seen any problems with fish or corals. I would rather have the slower loss then to really shock the system.

[D.J.]

what exactally is the air stone for?? does it cause a reaction in the tank and removes O2 ?? or does the CC just need the air to work right??? ive always been told to keep bubbles ouuta the tank that some SW fish will die from them if they get the bubbles into their gills.....just wondering...i dont have any fish to kill so it dont matter in my tank!!!

[hansmatt]

just to keep enough oxygen in for tank inhabitants, as it is consumed in the breakdown of bacteria from CC.

[taminate]

Electric Blue Hermit Crab are expensive..but they eat cyanobacteria

[D.J.]

yeah ive looked at them before....and really want a couple but geeze..9 bucks each is pricey for a small hermit.....