[phat]

hey guys

so my tank was running really well until about a month and a half back when i was dosing iodine i took abit out the bottle with a syringe and put the bottle on my tank top support, dosed the iodine by my return and accidentally knocked the bottle in my tank,
did a 35% water change then and there, with NSW i normally use synthetic but felt because of the issue immediate care was needed as to mix about 90g of RO water would take to long.

about 4 weeks ago i started getting small patches of cyano algae popping up, i have not wiped it off just increased flow in the infected area's which has not helped at all, i do a 10% water change weekly, the bacteria for now is not spreading to quickly but is spreading hey

i need some advise on what to do?? should i decrease my photo period, should i syphon the cyano off, or should i just let it run its coarse ?? also i have stopped dosing everything except for calcium at this point and my levels of alk, ph, mg, phos etc are on spec i have ordered an iodine test kit from salifert

advice would be much appreciated
thanks
slim

[RyanG]

Decrease your photo period, and get some snails to move your sand around, nassarius snails are great for doing this! Also in the future I wouldn't dose iodine, just do your water changes and you will be alright!

[phat]

i have bare bottom

[rlcline76]

Yeah, iokdine is not altogether necessary. We haven't used it...
We had a start of cyano, but our fish store guy sold us a product called chemipure (you won't find it at PetSmart). We used it in our tank because it is reef safe. We do not have cyano anymore. However, I don't know what kind of invertebrates you have in your tank. Chemipure did not harm our corals or fish, but it did stress out our brittlestar. It has recovered fully, but will have to be moved if we ever need to do the treatment again.

[RyanG]

Originally Posted by phat

i have bare bottom

I had a slight gut feeling you were a bare bottom guy

[Reef-Daddy]

I've used ChemiClean successfully to rid my tank of the dreaded Red Slime Algae. I have several different corals and inverts and had no problems. After dosing, 20% water change and I usually try to get some of the dead algae and get some sand as well... I guess that wouldn't be a problem for you.... lol

[rlcline76]

If you do go the chemical route , "phat", I believe you have to do a filter change, as well.

[phat]

Originally Posted by RyanG

I had a slight gut feeling you were a bare bottom guy

lol so stick to just water changes then?? do think its better doing a 10 % weekly or 5% every 3rd day??

[Krazy]

Maybe run extra carbon, some sort of phosphate remover media as well..

Can you up the water flow ?

I like the idea of 5% every 3 days, if your having nitrate/phosphate issues, this will reduce it better then a larger water change, smaller water changes in spans such as the 3 days you mentioned will have a far great effect



I wish you luck, I will say I used red-slime-remover in the past with good success, Just read the label carefully and remember if you have a 90 gallon tank with say 150lbs of rock, you probably only have 75-80 gallons of water... (Easy to Overdose)

[rlcline76]

I agree. If you can avoid chemicals and your already existing livestock will tolerate a few more snails, give it a try. If it gets too out of control, spend the big bucks for chemical treatment.

[phat]

thanks guys i dont like chemicals ala natural for me hey

i will start the 5% changes ASAP!! andi could do with a few more snails

okay i cyano is not an algea but a bacteria, so i feel that phosphates would not play a role it its growth rather dissolved organics, from what i've read cyano is the best thing to get rid of dissolved organics and carbon second,

thoughts on that or am i way off the mark??

[rlcline76]

I would be surprised if someone told you that it is OK to keep it in your tank.

[phat]

no one did and i dont want it there

[barbra]

Erythromyacin will cure Cyano and not harm the reef.