Started GFH for high phos and cyan

Bendor

Bendor

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I originally built my own phos reactor but it was just to big to fit in the back chamber of the RSM250. I have now acquired a Two Little Fishies phosban reactor, added 250 GFH and I'm running it in the front of the tank for a few days to make sure it works well as I won't be able to see it properly in the back chamber.

The cyano comes and goes with the lights so I'm also going dark for 3 days and feeding very little.

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I'm also upgraded from 250ml biocubes to 500ml today.

Will test parameters in a week or so. I'm not going to physically remove the cyano. I'm hoping to see it diminish as the phos decreases.
 
Just check your biocube ratio is correct otherwise it will feed the cyano as does any carbon source that is not used up by beneficial bacteria. This does not say anything negative re the product just dont overdo it
 
mandarinman said:
Just check your biocube ratio is correct otherwise it will feed the cyano as does any carbon source that is not used up by beneficial bacteria. This does not say anything negative re the product just dont overdo it
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Thanks. I have been running 250 mls for 3 months and it wasn't quite enough. Will see how this goes.
 
use Orca phostha guard. it work good. me tank po4 around 0.02-0.04
 
Fanlie said:
then wash 1-2 times per week? with ro
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I rinsed them properly the first time, but i don't intend to wash them every week. It's bloody difficult getting them in and out of that back chamber. The GFH is really washing/tumbling very well in the reactor so I don't expect much detritus.

I will take it out every six months and revitalise it though.
 
mandarinman said:
Just check your biocube ratio is correct otherwise it will feed the cyano as does any carbon source that is not used up by beneficial bacteria. This does not say anything negative re the product just dont overdo it
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This is not true!!!!!!
You cannot overdose bio cubes, I run them in my tank with more than its required and I DO NOT have cyano
 
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carlosdeandrade said:
This is not true!!!!!!
You cannot overdose bio cubes, I run them in my tank with more than its required and I DO NOT have cyano
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yes i run 5L of bio cubes and 5L of titanium on a 1000L system and nothing
 
I had big algae issues in my Max250 and when i changed over to ATI Bulbs my problems were solved.. The regular bulbs have a Gaga spectrum.
 
carlosdeandrade said:
This is not true!!!!!!
You cannot overdose bio cubes, I run them in my tank with more than its required and I DO NOT have cyano
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butcherman said:
What are your actual water parameter readings?
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dallasg said:
yes i run 5L of bio cubes and 5L of titanium on a 1000L system and nothing
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I realise there is a back ground discussion to all this and I have seen the same discussion continued on other international forums. I know of many more people running large amounts of cubes with no cyano than not and I am happy to go bigger. The reason I started with 250ml is I was still minimally stocked and my system is 250 liters. I had another 250ml on the bench.

I still have nitrates of 2 and even though my phos is 0.03 on Salifert tests the ability of cyano to bind phos, phos in rocks and the poor quality of hobby grade test kits leaves me a little in limbo. I have tried WC's, low amount cubes and low feeding for 2.5 months. Now I'm going to try 500ml cubes and GFH in a reactor.

I will give the above some time to do it's magic and then review.

My tank is only 4 months old so all in all I put down to teething and learning on my part. No disasters yet and I'm having fun trying to figure it out.

Thanks for all the help guys!
 
jaquesdp08 said:
I had big algae issues in my Max250 and when i changed over to ATI Bulbs my problems were solved.. The regular bulbs have a Gaga spectrum.
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Oh yee temptress! I love spending money on my tank but I also don't want to change to many things at once. I'll give the increased cubes and GFH some time and save the ATI's as a follow up.

Thanks for the info!
 
@Bendor, we know your circumstances and thanks for sharing, the outrage was not actually aimed at you directly but at others who give wrong advice. I don't agree with washing GFH on a weekly basis. Doing water changes will not bring down phosphates as there is an underlying issue. Cyano is caused by poor water circulation and allowing dead spots to occur and so allow the cyano bacteria to feed on decaying dentritus in your tank. Increase flow, decrease feeding, and use a turkey Baster to blow away cyano. Increased skimming for wetter skim mate to remove excessive organics. Lighting can also play a part, but your globes are still pretty new. Turning of your lights for a long period will only provide a temporary solution because as soon as you return to your normal day light routine the cyano will return
 
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carlosdeandrade said:
@Bendor, we know your circumstances and thanks for sharing, the outrage was not actually aimed at you directly but at others who give wrong advice. I don't agree with washing GFH on a weekly basis. Doing water changes will not bring down phosphates as there is an underlying issue. Cyano is caused by poor water circulation and allowing dead spots to occur and so allow the cyano bacteria to feed on decaying dentritus in your tank. Increase flow, decrease feeding, and use a turkey Baster to blow away cyano. Increased skimming for wetter skim mate to remove excessive organics. Lighting can also play a part, but your globes are still pretty new. Turning of your lights for a long period will only provide a temporary solution because as soon as you return to your normal day light routine the cyano will return
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Thanks Carlos. Your right. If I am going to go dark for a few days it would effectively be a false positive as it's actually the dark period and not the GFH that helped.

I'll keep the lights, baste the rocks and gravel and see how it goes.
 
Kaden said:
Get some Microbe Lift Special Blend, it will sort your cino in a week or 3.
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I've read similar on a few threads. Others have also used Aquaria SA Bacteria formula.

Algae is doing a lot better. Took out the TLF reactor to have a look. Realised the bottom and top black "filter" blocked with sump gunk.

Removed filters, syphoned all sump sections properly and restarted reactor with no filters. Working great.

Thanks for the advice!
 
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