Chemiclean not working?
 

Does anyone have experience with chemiclean at the recommended dose not killing cyano? I've confirmed that is is in fact cyano under a microscope.

I dosed yesterday, turned off my skimmer, and this morning I'd say 95% of the cyano is unaffected. Is there anything else that could be impacting it's performance/does it go bad?

In my experience with chemiclean it takes more than a day for it to work. It took 3 days for most of mine to start dying off and probably a week before it was all gone.

Also, I did not turn off my skimmer. I took my skimmer cup off and let it overflow into my sump. Made for a nasty display tank full of micro bubbles but I knew that was just temporary so I didn't care. I wanted to make sure my tank remained oxygenated.

Ah ok, I'm just being impatient then.

I considered leaving my skimmer running just the way you described, but the foam was creating a mist of salt spray that was spreading out and landing on my cabinet doors, return pump, and getting uncomfortably close to my Apex's control panel.

However, I whipped out my time machine and took a trip back to the late 90s to get a couple DIY durso standpipes a while back when I realized my plumbing set-up made my herbies more trouble than they were worth. I now run filter socks to keep the micorbubbles contained more than anything else. I'd guess I run at close to 100% oxygen saturation on a bad day.

I seem to recall it taking about 3 days as well before it really started letting go, and up to a week for it for the really stubborn patches to completely disappear.

if your skimmer cup has a drain installed maybe just leave it running with the cup on and the cap off to flow back into the sump?

As others stated give it time... I just recently used it and saw a major difference in one day, maybe I am an exception. However by day 2-3 it should be gone.

Once it was all gone, did you have to keep using chemiclean to keep it away or is it one shot and you're done?

Generally speaking, it is one shot and you're done. In really bad infestations I think it can require a second treatment to totally eradicate.

However for the long term, if the conditions that caused the cyano in the first place, don't change, then the cyano will likely eventually come back.

Cyano is kinda interesting in that it's sort of both like an algae and like a bacteria ... or depending on how you look at it, not really an algae and not really a bacteria. Algae for example, is usually brought on by a nutrient issue and it's growth rate can be predictable based on the nutrient levels and the lights. Cyano on the other hand, while it CAN be triggered by a nutrient level, isn't always, and simply limiting nutrients may not be enough to curtail its growth.

I've had good luck with getting rid of it by keeping tank lights off for a few days, but whether that's a good option or not depends on whether you have things that don't do well in extended darkness or not ..A FOWLR tank though without corals or a tank with mainly softies will likely do just fine for example.

+1, I've had it take 2 days to notice, 3rd day it's gone

So even when you let it sit for a few days, do you still do your water changes 48 hours like they recommend?

I always do, yes.

For sure, you want to do the water change. Don't risk your tank inhabitants by leaving it in there.

So if there is still cyano 24 hours after the water change should I dose again?

After 24 hrs about half my cyano was gone. All after the 48.

Skimmer still going nuts after a 20% water change. Putting some fresh carbon in now and hopefully skimming normally by tomorrow.

Really impressed by how well this stuff worked. My corals showed no signs of stress. I did notice some of my sponges look a little deflated tho.

Yah I was being impatient when I posted this. at the 48 hour mark when it was time to do the water change and turn the skimmer back on I siphoned out all the cyano I could reach, but I didn't get all of it. My skimmer went nuts for about a day, and at 48 hours the last remnants of cyano that I couldn't siphon off vanished.

am i supposed to see the dead cyano anywhere? mine just disappeared lol.

I did a 20g change last night but I still can't put the lid on my skimmer cup. Doing another 20g tonight.

For me two 20% water changes two days in a row (on a weekend) and a third one the following weekend plus copious amounts of carbon replaced every other day is what it took me to get my skimmer happy again :lol: Chemiclean rocks but that stuff really lingers. It doesn't seem to bother anyone in the tank though.

the Stuff that I had siphoned off was detaching from the glass and sand in one giant sheet, so if that had launched in to the water I'm sure I would have seen it, it was a continuous sheet about 10 inches long and 6 inches wide. The remnants that were left on the glass were just tiny patches, and they were right under a vortech, so one moment it was there, then the next time I looked they weren't

if anything it's probably suppressing a new outbreak of cyano i guess lol.

a chemiclean treatment every few months if needed won't be the end of the world i'm thinking. the tank gets some serious water change love as a result. tank looks happier than it's looked since setup as far as my sticks go.

+1 I have a drain to the sewer right next to my skimmer so I just let it overflow and drain until the skimmer removed enough of it that I could stop it from overflowing at the lowest setting. In effect using my skimmer to do a small water change.

oh that's a great idea. i've left my skimmer at it's ideal situation setting to avoid messing with it later. i might do my water change tonight as long as i can. i can't drain more than a few gallons before my return pump needs to be shut down.

According to the box, chemi-clean also oxidizes sludge, which might actually help keep your tank from building up the conditions that lead to cyano.

Just don't get lazy with your nutrient management regime. I've been super lazy with my GFO since the beginning of April and as soon as chemi-clean wiped out the cyano... BAM! dino outbreak that was like 6 times worse than the cyano. I just finally got around to testing phosphate last night: 0.04ppm. Oops.

to save money i'm mostly monitoring film algae on my glass to help determine gfo replacement. my levels must be adequately low as the film comes back pretty slow. i have a feeling my cyano is fueled by something else but yes i have been quite religious with my nutrient control thus far. makes having cyano all the more frustrating since i never had it once in any of my previous tanks other than the last nano during the upgrade/neglect phase.

Well this chemiclean stuff is no joke. 24 hrs and pretty much all of it was gone. Thanks to reefwars for the initial recommendation.

I tried pretty much everything to get rid of cyano, chemiclean, water changes, limiting food, etc... worked for a short term and returned.

What really solved my cyano was my new skimmer. It skim out each day what my previous one skimmed out in a few weeks.

No more cyano since I got this skimmer.

I did not have a lot of cyano but it was very slowly growing and invading my tank. First it was only on the sand, then started on the liverock etc... now no more.

Is your skimmer powerfull enough for your bioload?

Lots of different things can cause cyano outbreaks, old lamps, dead flow areas, excess nutrients, etc. Bio-pellets tend to cause cyano as well. I found dosing MB7 once a week, while running pellets, allowed me to stop any cyano blooms. I also turkey bast my rocks once a week and stir up my sandbed every 2 weeks to prevent any dietritus or gas build ups.

Chemiclean works great for removing cyano, however, it really is a bandaid fix most of the time. Whatever caused the cyano in the first place is still present in your setup and may cause it again over time. Also, the more and more you use chemiclean, the harder and harder it is to remove the cyano.

Yup, I have mentioned the use of MB7 many times here on this forum. Yet, I keep reading about cyano outbreaks,... completely unnecessary.

I think it's been about 2 years since the last time I had to use Chemiclean (and it does work). I dose MB7 regularly, and rarely see any signs of cyano. When I do, it is usually when I let the MB7 dosing lapse a bit. All I do then is increase the dosage again for a while, turkey baste any signs of cyano, and I am good again. But it never gets out of hand with me anymore.

The way MB7 works is, it supplies beneficial bacteria that out competes cyano. It also helps get rid of mulm and other detritus in your tank, making it look a lot cleaner over all. Keeps the water crystal clear, too.

you can use this mb7 even if you're not dosing anything else special?

Of course!...

I don't know anything about MB7, do you know if you can dose it in a doser? Or does it need to be refridgerated and/or shaken before use (like Coral Snow) ?

No, manually dosing only, and needs to be shaken first. I put in a cap full in my tank (100g) about every 2 or 3 days. When you first start, you have to dose more. And if I see any signs of cyano, I double the dosage for a week or two.

Here are the instructions. But I never shut off my skimmer,... no need to. I haven't refrigerated, but they do recommend it for longevity. I stock up once a year on boxing day.
http://brightwellaquatics.com/produc...robacter7t.php

I dosed it as per the instructions, minus the 4 hours of no skimmer each time. I dosed for 2 weeks straight everyday, and now, I just manually dose once a week.