Red algae

[tang daddy]

I've never tried coral snow so I can't comment, but mb7 can fuel the cyano and make it grow more rampant. That was the case for me when I added it but definately cut down on feeding and do more frequent waterchanges. Also you could add vinegar as a carbon source to outcompete the cyano. Just google vinegar dosing to see how. But if you do decide to do vinegar dosing start very slow as you don't want to crash your tank by overdosing....

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by tang daddy

I've never tried coral snow so I can't comment, but mb7 can fuel the cyano and make it grow more rampant. That was the case for me when I added it but definately cut down on feeding and do more frequent waterchanges. Also you could add vinegar as a carbon source to outcompete the cyano. Just google vinegar dosing to see how. But if you do decide to do vinegar dosing start very slow as you don't want to crash your tank by overdosing....

Don't know the specifics of what happened with your tank, but I think you have it backwards. Carbon dosing (vinegar, vodka or other) and bio-pellets can fuel cyano. MB7, on the other hand provides beneficial bacteria that out competes cyano.

The mistake some people make is start carbon dosing and bio pellets before MB7. Then they have major problems with cyano, and adding MB7 after that won't help immediately. That's when you have to get out the Chemiclean.

The correct way to do it is start MB7 dosing (heavy at first) at least 2 weeks prior to adding any type of carbon dosing. Best to read the instructions on MB7, and on bio-pellets to get a good understanding of how this works. If you do it right, works really great to keep your tank clean and clear, and no cyano. I took my tanks down from a high of 100 ppm nitrates and over 1.0 phosphates to zero, and no cyano problems. So I know it works.

But like others have said, it is a combination of things to consider, and it is still a relatively new tank. So best to go slow on anything, and monitor your progress with good testing.

[tang daddy]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Don't know the specifics of what happened with your tank, but I think you have it backwards. Carbon dosing (vinegar, vodka or other) and bio-pellets can fuel cyano. MB7, on the other hand provides beneficial bacteria that out competes cyano.

The mistake some people make is start carbon dosing and bio pellets before MB7. Then they have major problems with cyano, and adding MB7 after that won't help immediately. That's when you have to get out the Chemiclean.

The correct way to do it is start MB7 dosing (heavy at first) at least 2 weeks prior to adding any type of carbon dosing. Best to read the instructions on MB7, and on bio-pellets to get a good understanding of how this works. If you do it right, works really great to keep your tank clean and clear, and no cyano. I took my tanks down from a high of 100 ppm nitrates and over 1.0 phosphates to zero, and no cyano problems. So I know it works.

But like others have said, it is a combination of things to consider, and it is still a relatively new tank. So best to go slow on anything, and monitor your progress with good testing.

Are you saying you had cyano and dosed mb7 and it went away?
If so could you share your tank specs, how much you dosed and weekly routine on tank maintanence. Also how long it took for the cyano to dissappear.

Just curious because it didn't seem to get better for me, more like worse.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by tang daddy

Are you saying you had cyano and dosed mb7 and it went away?
If so could you share your tank specs, how much you dosed and weekly routine on tank maintanence. Also how long it took for the cyano to dissappear.

Just curious because it didn't seem to get better for me, more like worse.

No, please read my posts again. MB7 is a preventative, not a cure.

I inherited a 100g SW tank a few years (with a house we bought), that was full of everything bad, algae, cyano, aiptasia, you name it. Spent several hours every week, scrubbing rocks with a toothbrush, and pulling out algae and cyano, and vacuuming the gravel. I should have taken it down and started over. But it had some nice fish in it, and full of soft and lps corals. So, I decided to try and rehabilitate it. As I mentioned it had high phosphates and nitrates, so I decided to tackle the nitrates first.

I did a lot of research on RC and elsewhere, and decided to go the bio pellet route with MB7. I started slowly (very important) and it took several months before I was getting decidedly positive results. I then increased my bio pellets (and dosed MB7 as required), and took almost a full year before I finally achieved zero nitrates. Then I tackled the P04, which was still high, and took another 6 months or so before I got that down to zero with the help of GFO.

If I did it again, I am sure I could speed up the process. There was some trial and error, and it took me a while to confirm the positive effects of MB7. But what I learned, is to dose it heavily when adding more bio pellets and any sign of cyano (which does happen from time to time, esp when I get lax with the MB7).

My 100g tank has had zero nitrates for over a year now, and near zero phosphates for 8+ months. I added SPS late last year, and it is doing great, now requiring some major pruning and have frags available (anybody want some?). So am very happy with how the tank is now doing.

One day (maybe this fall) I should do a tank journal starting from 3 years ago. There is a lot more to the story, than I have time to post here. But I should mention that I have recently combined this tank and another 130g (that still had higher phosphates and nitrates) into one sump, so that was another little challenge. But it all worked out great, and now both tanks have zero N03, and near zero P04. And no Cyano...

[tang daddy]

Great story of success, so you used bio pellet and mb7 after you took over the tank and the cyano took almost 1 year to dissapate?

I am no new to the hobby, but just gave up on mb7 when I noticed it got worse... Which is why I am trying to get details.

I truly beleive that BP is the cause of cyano or reworded is what is keeping the cyano alive...

I've read mix reviews that coral snow and mb7 can get rid of cyano.

How much mb7 were you using daily for 100g of water?

Thanks for taking the time to reply, were all here to learn and share so it's great to get live feedback!

[tang daddy]

Also what lights do you run with your set up, old bulbs and exhausted rodi filters may fuel the cyano.... So I've heard.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by tang daddy

Also what lights do you run with your set up, old bulbs and exhausted rodi filters may fuel the cyano.... So I've heard.

If you are asking me, I run Radion LED's, set as described in an earlier post. I used to have T5's with old bulbs when I started out, so that probably didn't help. I have a very good RODI system that auto tops off my sump with 0 TDS water.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by tang daddy

Great story of success, so you used bio pellet and mb7 after you took over the tank and the cyano took almost 1 year to dissapate?

I am no new to the hobby, but just gave up on mb7 when I noticed it got worse... Which is why I am trying to get details.

I truly beleive that BP is the cause of cyano or reworded is what is keeping the cyano alive...

I've read mix reviews that coral snow and mb7 can get rid of cyano.

How much mb7 were you using daily for 100g of water?

Thanks for taking the time to reply, were all here to learn and share so it's great to get live feedback!

Again, I didn't use MB7 to get rid of cyano. I initially used Chemiclean for that. MB7 is a preventative that is used in conjunction with bio pellets (and other carbon dosing).

When I first started, I under dosed MB7 at 1 cap a day (because wasn't sure how this stuff worked), but the instructions say for my size tank 4 cap fulls per day for the 1st 2 weeks. That's what I would recommend now. When I started the bio pellets, I gradually increased to about 2 cap fulls every few days, sometimes less when I was away, etc. Once the nitrates were down (and bio pellet consumption greatly reduced), I reduced the MB7 to about a cap full a week, and sometimes longer too. That's when I noticed the cyano reappearing. I then increased MB7 doses to 2 cap fulls a day for a few days (and manually got rid of the cyano with a toothbrush and turkey baster), and it would disappear again. I have never had to use Chemiclean again since the early days.

I now dose MB7 about 2 cap fulls every 3 days or so (if I am home) for 2 combined tanks (about 230g total), and it seems to be enough to maintain. What's interesting, too, is that I have not added any bio pellets to my reactor for over 9 months now. Before I would go through about 1000+ ml of pellets in a year. Now probably only need about 200 ml. Maybe my SPS is consuming more of those nutrients now.

I think the important thing to understand is not to expect immediate results with anything (except maybe Chemiclean). It is a whole bunch of things you have to do right, and sometimes you need to make some mistakes to learn. That's part of the fun with this hobby. If it was so easy, probably wouldn't even be doing this...