is cc causing my problem

[willray]

everything was fine and then one day Bam! Cyno problem.I have replaced my lights b4 the problem showed (mmmm!something to do with it?),to coralife 10,k my r/o was outputing 240tds.I have replaced filters and r/o added di now at 1-2.I have replaced 50% water since over 5 week period.mostly is in my live sand/cc bed and have cought a few notes on cc being a possible source.HELP! can't keep up with it. btw HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

[Ray]

How long ago did you replace the lights? If you JUST replaced them and your ro was not up to par I would guess that had to do with it. I sometimes get a little algea when replacing my bulbs and I was told it is because the new bulbs, even if they are the same, are a little stronger and might cause a little bacteria die off and cause the algea bloom. It has always gone away fairly quick for me. Also have you thought about replacing the cc with southdown? You could do it 1/4 at a time so you dont screw up your bio filtration. Syphon out alittle at a time and replace it with sand then 1-2 weels later do another 1/4 of it until you have replace it all. You should have little to no problems if you do it this way.
HTH

 

[willray]

They are stronger? much whiter that the ge lamps that i replaced.like the idea of replaceing with southdown little at a time.originallyhad several bags of it.But package deal included the live sand as well.Would a fuge help?do you have an overflow handy.
thanks for the input Ray

B.P.

 

[wrassefan]

the reason the cc might be adding to your issues is that it traps alot of nutrients...eventually breaking down and going into the water and over time...becomes a nutrient sink....been there...

 

[Ray]

A fuge would help a little but not solve the problem. You could clean the CC 1/4 to 1/3 at a time with one of those python syphons every 2-4 weeks to help keep it from building up.
I might have a used overflow kicking around, I will check for you.

 

[willray]

I do have 3 donkey dongs/tiger tails whatever you want to call them and many others in clean up/sand crew.got home 3:ish and low and behold alot less of it today.Yeh! alright! oops don't want to jinx myself.

 

[clamm]

willray...i had the same problem strangely cause by a bad mh bulb and bad topoff water.

Im not says its solved yet, but things already look better. Here is what we did:

Upgraded the return from 650gph to about 1200. Rebuilt flow bars using no 90 degree angles to allow as much flow as possible.

Did a 90% water change but before we did, made up all 90% make up water and got the chemisty to match what was in the tank and had all the make up water up to temp with the tank.

Good luck, let us know how it goes, but I think its time for a big water change.

 

[willray]

I understand the chemistry part but you were not concerned anout not being seasoned water.wow! 90% wow!

 

[Marc]

I had CC in my 29g for 7 years. I siphoned all that I could get to about 4 times a year, moving some of the LR where possible.

Cyano bacteria is bacteria, not algae. It can die off on its own, or grow in the refugium (for some reason if you have it there, it won't appear in the display (ime,ymmv)). Boyd Enterprises ChemiClean will kill this stuff in 24 hours flat.

I've used it in my tank per the directions and all my livestock was fine. So if you can't stand it any longer or if it gets out of control, that product fixes it.

 

[Owen22]

I battled the CC in my tank for several months, and used Chem Clean and other products to try and defeat it. The chemicals never worked. They would clear it out for a few days, and then it would come back. I found that it was just a matter of time and flow rate. No mater how much water I changed or how often I syphoned the CC out of the tank the stuff came back. After replacing two of my powerheads though and adding a third one into the tank, I was able to increase the flow rate and it slowly went away. I would suggest carefully accessing the amount of water movment in your tank and maybee making some changes.

Then again it might have just been during one of those newbee algee blooms. I got the CC at around 6-7 months into the tank. From what I hear this is a rather common time to get it.

 

[Matt L.]

...my r/o was outputing 240tds.I have replaced filters and r/o added di now at 1-2....

It may take some time for the nutrients added to your system via an old R/O filter to be processed. In other words, the damage from the old R/O filter was already done by the time you saw the first symptoms. It is impossible to predict how long it will take for the tank to fully process those nutrients, if it ever will (don't panic, nutrients can be gotten rid of through water changes).

...I have replaced 50% water since over 5 week period.

This is good progress. If nutrients were added by the R/O filter, and you replaced the culprit filter, you will eventually export those nutrients via water changes. You might want to increase to 20% per week if the outbreak is particularly bad.

...mostly is in my live sand/cc bed and have cought a few notes on cc being a possible source.HELP! can't keep up with it.

Cyano tends to appear on the sand bed and rocks, but that doesn't mean that is where the nutrients are coming from. The nutrients are in the tank water -- the sandbed is just where the cyano likes to grow.

Have you tested for phosphate and nitrate?

When people say CC "causes" cyanobacteria, what they are refering to is the old CC beds trapping detritus, and upon decomposition of that detritus, nutrients are released into the water that can cause a cyanobacteria outbreak. CC per se doesn't cause cyano; it simply creates the conditions where detritus can accumulate and thereby cause a cyanobacteria outbreak. Therefore, having some CC pebbles mixed in with your live sand really isn't the most likely cause in my mind.

I guess it all depends on how much CC is in the sand... Does your substrate look like mostly sand or mostly CC pebbles?

Regardless, I am not sure of the reasoning for putting CC pebbles in the sand bed. Many people get by with just plain Southdown sand, such as myself. Therefore, if you feel that the substrate looks like mostly pebbles, I would slowly over time vacuum the old substrate out and replace it with just sand,

Matt

 

[willray]

Love this club!
Thanks for the great advice/info everbody.It is now under contro almost gone.It was live sand i got in package deal from gulf of mexico.No I havn't tested for Phos or nitrate.Need to get those tests this week.Although all tested fine 3 wks ago at a Local store they didn't give results just said all was O.K.

Bill P.