Not to steal your thread Marko but I just realized that my outbreak happened after I added the two tunze powerheads. I doubled, perhaps tripled, my flow in my tank at that time. I thought more flow was better for cyano?

Im gonna start sounding like a broken record here, but......now that Im not officially on the payroll of any LFS, Im gonna take my shot......I think Marko rock is crap.....you might as well fill your tank with field stones......the stuff is nothing more that petrified LR and should be treated as such......there is no way something so solid should ever be considered "live" again.....I wish that LFSs would stop pushing it so hard, or at least sell it for what it is, cheap BASE rock, not the be all end all, perfect, pest free, will be as good as REAL live rock, that they bill it as.....

My advice would be.....take your actual, REAL live rock poundage and stock your tank based on that....

i only have about 15 pounds of that marko rock.... the only reason i bought it, is because of the interesting shape.

i have over 200 pounds of actual live rock

I was fighting cyano myself for some time until I started running pellets. My tank tells me when it's time to add more as the cyano shows up in spots, once I top off my pellets it's gone in a matter of a week.

Just my experience.

ok so the dead rock shouldnt be a contributing factor....perhaps Im a little "Marko rock shy".....Ive just been trouble shooting problems for two years with customers who's only common factor seemed to be the use of a large percentage of dead rock.....


unfortunately then the problem lies elsewhere...... there are a number of contributing factors that cause cyano bacteria (not an algae, so GFO or phosphate reducing products wont help).......cyano is a product of excess nutrients plain and simple (sometimes fueled by lighting).......here's a punch list of things you can try....

increase flow to keep the nutrients suspended so they get skimmed out
reduce feeding (frequency and an amount)
reduce photo period
Turkey baste off your your rocks frequently
siphon crap out of your display
strain all frozen foods
change your bulbs if they are old (I know this doesnt apply to the OP)
increase your w/c regiment perhaps both frequency and and volume
think about your bio-load



these small changes can add up to a big difference......use a chemical as a last resort....I think chemicals are a band-aid solution to an underlying issue

I've been battling a little of it myself. 10% weekly water changes and have a slightly better regulation on food. Pellets in the morning (lasts about 20 seconds) and a cube of mysis and bloodworms in the evening. This is for a well stocked tank. The Cyano has diminished to almost nothing over a period of a month or so. Fish are seemingly healthy and plump.

Another method is to perform regular water changes for a while to reduce nutrients, then hit the tank with chemiclean... If it comes back there is some sort of food source, if your lucky it won't.

While I agree with Doug, to a point, its not the Marco rocks fault that people have problems with it. The problem lies with people thinking they can fill their tank 90% with Marco rock and put fish in 3 months later.... I tell everyone that while Marco rock is cheaper, you seriously cant fill your tank with fish for close to a year with large percentages. But this also has a double edge as Ive seen people put 75% marco/ 25% live and leave the tank empty for 6 months, which doesnt work either because you need the cycle to be created.... and after 6 months thinking it shoudl be populated and ready they have algae problems.....

So final note being, in my opinion, Marco rock is fine to save money, but you need to realise you will need to figure out that happy medium to create your cultures, without going over board and getting a bloom..... not for the inexperienced, or trigger happy consumer....

Steve

I'm running about 90% Marco rock... The rock was full of life and coraline after the 4 month mark. I had a Cyano problem after adding a couple MP40's and a chunk of live rock :mrgreen:

Sorry Wayne, but full of life and bacteria cultures are not related at all. The bacteria that are beneficial to your tank are microscopic and you cannot see them with the naked eye.....

Steve

I agree 100%, I can't see microscopic bacterial cultures with my naked eye... :razz:... But the corals and fish I purchased from your store are still alive and thriving, that must count for something.