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Purple Slime - Cyno?


renman303

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Not sure if this is Cyno (sp) or what? I have a purple colored slime that appears on the sandbed and some of the rocks. Emerald and Scarlet Crabs will not go for it nor will any Sand Sifter or Snail?

Any ideas? How do you get rid of this? What causes this?

I'll try and take a pic if I can figure out how to get a crisp shot? Any digital picture wizards out there?

Best Regards,

Dave

renman303

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You can syphon out as much as possible with airline. It is a common problem. I am currently fighting some myself. I know of people that have used Chemi-clean with some success, but you have to watch your oxygen levels right after dosing. Marc Levenson discussed this in a reefcast not too long ago. Might be worth listening to. Episode 13 at www.reefcast.com

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Thanks Gabriel,

I just Googled Cyano Algae and found this site: http://reefsources.itgo.com/features/artic...es/cyanora.html

This synopsis has a lot of checks and balances. Perhaps this can help a few people out. I think in my case it's the amount of food that I'm feeding as well as the Iodide and Iodine that I've added.

"In summary, there are several things that you can do to rid your tank of nuisance algae, and most of them are probably good ideas anyway. Listed below is a recap of those items:

Protein skimming

Maintenance animals

Increased flow

Feed lightly

Vacuum substrate or bottom

Harvest algae

Stop adding supplements

Regular water changes

Use RO/DI water

Top-off with Kalkwasser

Regular bulb changes

If you implement these things, you can say cyano-ra to nuisance algae."

Best Regards,

Dave

renman303

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IME flow is most critical in eliminating cyano as well as reduced nutrient.

I agree. The one thing that seems to keep it at bay in my tank is flow. When I forget to restart my return pump from my sump after a feeding cycle I come home to a few small patches. All of my pumps running, no cyano.

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I have my Rio 2100 that I think pumps about ~300 gal per hour from the sump as well as a MaxiJet running 160 gal per hour and a MaxiJet running 295 GPH. So, I'm pushing over 700 GPH. The Maxi Jets have those "self spinning wavemakers attached to them like you get from Dr. Foster and Stearns.

Do I still need more flow?

Dave

renaman303

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what size tank?

i have been surprised every time that i add flow by just how much current the fish will tolerate. i am running 3500 gph in a 55g right now and i think that is just about enough. i have never experienced a cyano problem in this tank though i have seen it in our smaller seahorse tank that has considerably less flow.

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Flow and nutrients are directly related to cyano because without enough flow, the nutrients needed for cyano to grow settle onto the tank rock and substrate. By increasing the flow, you keep the nutrients in suspension which are taken out by filtration (ie: mechanical, protein skimming) or filter feeding organisms.

John

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depends on what you are keeping too. i keep everything. some might say i am over'flowing'. the fish behave normally though, they even seem to enjoy playing in the currents and i suspect it may make them stronger. at some point this much flow behaves diffently than streams of water. it is more like walls of movement pushing back and forth and swirling.

tunze 6080 (2250gph)

mag 9.5 return (950 probably adding 700 to the tank)

4 MJ1200s on alternating cycles (600 at any moment)

i could get by without the MJs entirely but i use them behind the rock mostly, and to confuse the 6080 current a little.

if you are looking to add more buy the tunze 6080 you wont regret it. or better yet the 6100 if you want to upgrade tank size and use a controller in the future.

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Current setup

Tunze 6060- 1,600GPH

2x Seio M620s total 1,200 GPH

Eheim 1262 return, about 7-800 GPH.

Next plans are to remove my 6060 from my freshwater tank and add it to my salt. I'll get a 6080 for the fresh. I'll have 2 Tunze 6060's at opposite ends of the tank on a wave box to alternate the flow direction. The Seios would just run continuous. OR, the lady expressed some interest in getting me the Tunze Wavebox for Xmas...

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have attached a pic to the first post on this topic. Turns out, it is "Purple". I wondered about a chemical called "Marine Clean". States: Billions of probiotic sludge-eating bacteria reduce maintenance time by creating a cleaner and healthier aquarium environment.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

Best Regards,

Dave "renman303"

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