red legged hermit crabs

[PufferGuy]

So i still have a cyano algae problem... i tried to keep the lights off and do water changes but it didnt help at all, not even a dent. I read online that red legged hermit crabs eat cyano.. true??

Im planning an anti-cyano nuke... im gonna change a bunch of water, run phosban, add red legged hermits, add some macro algae and keep the lights off for like 4 days... hopefully it works.

On a side note.. my cyano basically disappears every night and grows back up within an hour of the lights being back on, so could this just be an old bulb problem?? (ive only had the fixture for about 6-8 months and it came with new bulbs)

Also, anything else I should do to help this??

 

[XxKnuckleheadxX]

how new is your tank?

 

[Bifferwine]

Hermit crabs will rarely touch the stuff. Don't count on them being your "cure".

 

[AdeptMrSniffles]

Could he use Ultra Life Red Slime remover? I used that stuff before I had coral in my 10G and it knocked it out. However, I think it may be unhealthy for corals. You should try to siphon as much out as you can, do another lights out, change your bulbs and do a water change.

 

[yote]

Heres the method I used the last time I had a fight with cyano.
I did a decent sized water change,roughly 30%.Siphoning out all the cyano I could see.Then I cut the lights completely off for 3 days.The day I turned the lights back on,I did another 30% water change,siphoning out any cyano that was left.
It'll also help to get more flow in the area of the cyano.
It'll be hit or miss with the hermits,say a 50/50 shot.

 

[PufferGuy]

tank is a little over a year old

is it normal that the cyano completely disappears during the night and regrows the next day??

and yeah Yote i was gonna combine every possible aspect of fighting cyano to try to get rid of it.. flow doesnt seem to make a difference because it grows in the areas where my poweheads hit directly

 

[project5k]

is it normal that the cyano completely disappears during the night and regrows the next day??

Thats what mine did till i got that tiny little vial of white powder, and i do mean tiny, for like $20.. i put in the recomended # of scoops, and it really knocked it out of my tank, but then again i dont have anything really all that sensitive, so i dont know if it would hurt anything in the tank(other than the red crap)

 

[hibye]

What are your parameters? I also noticed you have a lot of fish in the tank. If you you could reduce that it may help. I reduced my lighting in my tank and my algae is going away. It isn't cyano but was hard to get rid of. In my old nano tank the reason I had it was because I left the lights on and you have to have a great filtration system which I didn't.

 

[Melosu58]

How to Battle Cyanobacteria: What To Do When You Just Can't Get Rid of It | Suite101.com

FantasyReef Databases-Viewing item "Cyanobacteria aka Red Slime"

 

[PufferGuy]

thanks all for the help... i FINALLY got my sump running today, which will help when i add cheato (whenever my LFS gets some in...!!) and i also started to run some carbon for a few days.

project5k, what did you buy? and from where? thanks!!

oh and hibye, my load is a lot less, that list is from a while ago, i lost 1 of the fish and traded the other back in to cut back bio load/prepare to move the tank. All i have in there now is a clown and a cardinal.

 

[ltljokersbetterhalf]

when we have that problem we go to our lfs and get chemiclean red slime remover and it doesnt hurt out coral or any of the invertibrate we have in the tank it cost out $20 or maybe a little more but that is what the hubby and i use

 

[ltljokersbetterhalf]

and just as an after thought it doesnt change our water quality in anyway either

 

[dcantucson]

Some have had some bad experiences with that stuff!

 

[Rcpilot]

I think I'd siphon it out and do water changes like Yote did. Run some carbon in a canister. You'd be amazed how well carbon polishes your water in just 24hrs.

I'm against adding chemicals to my tank. I don't know what they are and I can't test for them.

My biggest friend anytime I have nuisance algae, cyano, poor alkalinity, low pH, high nitrates etc.. is WATER CHANGES. 2 times a week. 10% - 15% of the tank volume. Yeah, it's a lot of work. But it seams to cure my problems.

 

[PufferGuy]

About running carbon, im using one of those HOB filter bags filled with carbon and its sitting in a high flow area of my sump... is this enough for it to actually do its job?? Also, how long can i leave the carbon in there?

 

[yote]

When it comes to running carbon,I dont think it does no where near what it should,unless your using something like a reactor or canister.When the bags just laying in the sump,about thats getting used is just whats on the outside.
It still works,but nowhere near what it should.

 

[Rcpilot]

When I run carbon, it is inside a mini-canister. It's the Rapids Mini-Canister.
Canister Filters: Rapids Mini Canister Filter at Drs. Foster and Smith

I use fine mesh media bags. The 3x4 size fits this canister perfectly.
Aquarium Filtration & Filter Media: Drs. Foster & Smith Fine Filter Media Bag

It takes about 2 cups of carbon to fill the bag. Tie the bag shut and rinse it in RO/DI water to remove the dust from the carbon. Stuff the bag in the chamber. Prime the canister and plug it in.

I run it for about 3 days and then dump it. Dump the carbon right down the kitchen sink. The garbage disposal chops it up pretty easily. Wash the media bag and set it out to dry. Wash the canister with hot tap water and dry it with a paper towel.

If you want to run the carbon all the time, just dump the bag, wash it under the tap and then refill it with new carbon. Rinse the carbon in RO/DI water to remove dust. Stuff it back in the canister and run it for another 3 days.

Rinse and repeat.

I dump it every 3 days because the bags get slimy. Thats organic waste that collects on the bags. If you leave it in there, eventually you'll start growing aerobic bacteria and converting the organic waste into nitrates. Nitrates go up - algae blooms, corals suffer -- big doo-doo - bad joo-joo.

So dump it every 3 days and wash all the goop off the bag. Rinse the canister in hot water. It goes without saying - DON'T PUT SOAP IN YOUR CANISTER TO WASH IT OUT!!! Hot water will work fine. This will stop the growth of aerobic bacteria and therefore inhibit nitrates.

The canister filter isn't really a filter IMO. It's a water pump with a reservoir. You can use that reservoir for mechanical filtration or chemical filtration. But if you don't clean it OFTEN it'll turn into a biological filter. Thats BAD. You want your live rocks and DSB to take care of your biological filtration. The live rock and DSB will handle the nitrates naturally. They will eat and convert the nitrates into harmless nitrogen gas that bubbles out at the water surface. A canister being used as a biological filter will only produce nitrates. Thats all it can do. There are no anaerobic (low oxygen) areas inside a canister. There is no way to grow the anaerobic bacteria needed to reduce the nitrates into nitrogen gas. So it just makes nitrates that put an extra load on the rest of your biological filter.

One of the WORSE "filters" in the aquarium industry IMO. Use it for what it CAN do. Mechanical and chemical filtration. Do not allow it to grow bacteria.

 

[dcantucson]

A canister filter works best. You can get a Mag one fairly cheap.

Eco Aqualizer - Revolutionary fresh and salt water aquarium filter

They also have ones which aren't HOT models.

 

[PufferGuy]

wow what a site, haha, the first line i read is not spelled right.

 

[PufferGuy]

hey RCpilot, you think that mini canister would be ok to run PhosBan?? I will probably get a reactor at some point but i dont have the money for it now..