BornToHula Posted September 25, 2014 Author Share Posted September 25, 2014 Well this is confusing... I received my Hanna Low Range Phosphate Checker today and have done 3 tests tonight. All came back 0.00. I followed the directions and even watched videos on how to perform the testing so I believe my procedures were correct. Is it even possible to have 0.00 phosphate and still have cyanobacteria growing? Is there a way to check the Hanna Checker to make sure it is reading correctly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenver Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 The reason you have 0 reading is because the cyano us eating it. Get the chemiclean it will help you to start battling it, it has no effect on coral or fish, make sure you dial down the skimmers and take out or disable any carbon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 A possibility is the cyano are uptaking the available phosphate so that your meter will read zero. I have a reference standard for the hanna meter if you want to test your meter. I will be bringing it to the frag swap if you just want to bring your meter to the swap to test. If you aren't going, just PM me and we can find a time for you to swing by to test it. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted September 25, 2014 Author Share Posted September 25, 2014 Hmm okay, so it I still have phosphate, just the cyano is likely eating all of it. Does that mean it is just a matter of time until it will eat all the available phosphate and starve itself out (assuming I am not adding excess phosphates back into system with feeding)? I am trying to avoid using Chemiclean or similar products, for the time being. I may end up using it eventually but I am going to give it more time before I resort to it. Thanks for the offer Ty, I plan on being at the frag swap - if I am still having issues then I may take you up on using the reference standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Hmm okay, so it I still have phosphate, just the cyano is likely eating all of it. Does that mean it is just a matter of time until it will eat all the available phosphate and starve itself out (assuming I am not adding excess phosphates back into system with ... Bingo. Provided you aren't loading phosphates back into the water excessively, cyano will go the way of diatoms, consume all their favorite food, and eventually be gone. It's one of those things that is aggravating because it can cover EVERYTHING early on, but once things balance out it fades. Hard to be patient until you've been through it though so I completely understand the frustration. A way to get a phosphate reading is immediately after a 3 day black out period before turning the lights back on. I still get small patches of cyano here and there but if you're diligent in husbandry it'll just pass or at worse not be a nuisance. It's just part of the tank maturation process. Nearly unavoidable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Keep in mind that when a "plant" dies it will release all of its nutrients back into the water over time (yes I know cyano is a bacteria but it functions similarly to a plant). So as the cyano is dimenishing continue to check your p04 & n03. Cyano "eats" p04 but it has the ability to fix its own nitrogen (N03). So if it dies in the tank it can release the stored nutrients back into the water. That is why it's a good idea to manually remove all that you can to avoid a nutrient spike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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