killing cyano on sandbed question

E

erock

Hi,

I've been battling sand cyano for close to 3 months now. I've tried everything from reduced lighting, increased flow, adding different types of clean up crew and using phosphate removing media. My water param's are where they should be (although I do not have a phosphate test kit and I'm pretty sure that's the problem) so not sure what else to do.

The sand is going on 6 years old and has never been a problem until recently. I'm thinking the best solution now is to remove as much of it as I can and replace it with fresh live sand. One option that I'm also considering is to place it in my saltwater mixing container in my garage where it will get absolutely no light at all for a period of time to kill off the cyano. I have concerns that doing this may create die-off which will pollute the sand even further and I've never read of anyone ever trying this technique.

Any thoughts or suggestions from the board on this technique or others I may have not thought about. I do not want to dose with chemicals as I simply do not want to risk killing anything else in the process.
 
Do you have a refugium? If you're starving it of phosphates, maybe doing the same with nitrates could help.

Additionally, what are you feeding and how much / how? The packing juice that some frozen foods come in are said to contain phosphates as preservatives. A brine net / rotifer screen / tea strainer used to rinse the juices away leaving just solids seems to work.
 
Thanks for the quick response Ashlar. Here's some more info...

I do not have a refugium. I have a 72 gallon oceanic bowfront with no real method to hang on a fuge and my filter is one of those huge fluval FX5's which does not leave room under the tank for one either.

I did try the in the tank fuge that CPR makes which basically was an in tank chaeto farm which worked well for a while. It was shortly after adding that to my tank when my cyano issue began. I personally believe the cyano was imported on the chaeto I was using in this little fuge so it has since been removed.

I don't really feel I overfeed. I feed cube food either every other day or once every 3 days. On the off days I either do not feed at all or just sprinkle in a little dry food as a snack. My tank is pretty full of life and my fish have plenty to graze on. I'm also lucky to have some live rock that grows its own red macroalgae on it that the fish snack on.

I'll try the suggestion for straining my cube food before I feed to see if that helps. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
I have close to the exact same set up, and went through the exact same thing. My wife purrchased the ultra life red slime remover. It worked with no ill effects to my tank. It has not returned since. I feel like mine was due to over feeding.
http://www.petsolutions.com/Red+Slime+Remover-I-90810010-I-C-10252-C-.aspx
 
@erock wrote:
...my filter is one of those huge fluval FX5's... said:
What is the filter media in that filter? Sponges, filter pads, ?
How often do you clean/change the media?

Most people don't use canister filters because they're notorious for contributing to high nitrates. If they are used, they need to be cleaned often. Some people remove most if not all of the filter media and replace with live rock rubble. They are also useful for running carbon in your system.
Click to expand...
 
Ironbird456-thanks, I'll look into that product as a solution.

The FX5 is a pretty standard canister filter, sponges, bio-filters, etc. The great thing about the filter is the 900gph flow rate. I run carbon in it when I need to, but for the most part my tanks parameters are very stable. I've used canister filters on my reef tanks for years, in conjunction with good skimmers and a decent amount of live rock and while I agree they require a good amount of routine cleaning, I feel they do a great job of detrius removal and denitrification when properly maintained.

I want to clarify that nitrates are not a problem in my tank. If anything, I feel it is phosphates either leaching into the tank from the sand or being introduced during water changes.

Thanks for all of the advice, keep it coming!
 
What salt are you using?

If your using Instant Ocean thats your problem. I fought cynao for about 3 months. I found out that Instant Ocean causes cynao break out.

I switched to reef crystals and all is good. No more problems! :D
 
I buy my water from a LFS and I've purchased my water from them for years. I occassionaly buy from other LFS if I'm in their area but for the most part I always buy from the same place. I'm not sure what type of salt they use.

I've considered going back to making my own water as a possible solution to this problem as well. A while back I read the thread on MARSH that detailed the controlled test on all of the brands and I seem recall Instant Ocean didn't go over well. I'll have to go check that out again to see which salt had the best result.
 
You got it right! Marsh test was where the data came from.

Instant ocean = WOREST salt

Reef Crystals = BEST salt

same manufacture thats the funny part. :shock:

I would make your own water and saltwater. Thats the only way to know for sure what your TDS is and quality is in saltwater.

I have a huntch thats the root of your problem :wink:
 
If your sandbed it 6 years old, it would be best to just replace it with a new one. Save a couple of cups if you must to add some life to the new sand, or get a couple of cups from your LFS's display or from a local MAS member.

The idea of scooping it out, putting it in a trashcan and trying to kill it in darkness for a five days would work in theory, if it wasn't for the vile stuff you'd unearth in the layers that is highly toxic.

It is better at this point to get new sand. You won't need a ton for your tank size.
 
Is there any danger in removing the old sand from my tank, such as releasing toxins into my tank during the removal process? Also, any suggestions on how to get as many of my cerith and nassaurius snails out of the sand prior to me pulling it out? I witnessed a LFS using a liquid food of some kind that drives these snails out of the sand almost immediately but I have no idea what it was they were using.
 
yeah red slime works it turned my sand WHITE :shock: .....didnt hurt my corals or fish.


but i think this is a temporary fix, i changed my salt from instant ocean and have not had any since too.
 
Erik, if you put any food in the water, your sand dwelling critters should come out to the surface within a couple of minutes. You could then pluck them out of the tank.

To remove the sandbed, you could use a large diameter hose/tubing to siphon the sand and toxins out of the tank. I would turn off the powerheads and return pump (if you have a sump) while doing this. It would be preferable to remove all LR and corals / fish before you do this. They'll be fine in a large rubbermaid or clean trashcan filled with tank water.

You can sift through the sand before disposing of it to find any additional creatures you may have missed prior to the clean out.
 
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