Looking for some input/help; my tank is suffering a big GHA & Cyano issue

[seabreeze]

I am new to this forum but have been a reefer for about 10years.

I also battled HA... long clumps on just about everything but the fish! I am very meticulous with my tank and take great pride in it. I got to the point that I ALMOST gave up... but in the end... I WON THE BATTLE!!!!

The process will be slow... took me 5 months to finally say that I am algae free... or at least 99%.

Your phosphates are low, but checking when you have HA will give you false hope because your HA is absorbing (and thriving) by consuming your phosphate.

I will give you what worked for me:

Regular water changes BUT NOT TOO FREQUENT. I was at the point of doing water changes every 2-3 days... but all those good 'extras' in the salt mix will actually feed the algae too. Weekly should be good.

Suck up as much HA with your tubing when going water changes. In between water changes regularly pull out HA. I had a bowl of cold tap water that I would put it into, dipping my fingers in it too before going back into the tank to pull out more. Once HA starts to die off, it will release more phosphates if you keep in in the tank... and that just keeps
the cycle going.


I used a toothbrush on tough-to-reach areas that were dying off... or areas where the HA was short and almost gone.
Make sure to keep your sump (and other areas you may have separate from your display) clean and not building up debris.
A long-spine urchin.

Regularly blasting the rocks

Strawberry hats... found them to be better than Mexican turbos

A phosban reactor with ROWAPHAS

A really good skimmer... and empty it often

Feed sparingly. I did not add any selcon/garlic etc to frozen food. I rinsed any frozen food in RO water

I did not feed any LPS or SPS (and they continued to thrive and grow). Enough from the water, frequent changes, fish waste etc.

No additives to water... ie amino acids

I do vodka dose

Coral Snow added twice a week when lights out

Below is my tank today.

20140913_132739 (2) (800x450).jpg

Have patience and you will conquer

[seabreeze]

Oops... and I keep a clump of chaeto in my sump

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by seabreeze

Oops... and I keep a clump of chaeto in my sump

Never been able to keep it alive
Would probably thrive right now

[seabreeze]

Coral snow is not a coral food... it's a biological facilitator. Helps with all the undesirable algaes.

I found it to help in killing of the HA... would go from dark green to a light color and much easier to pull off the rock.

[gregzz4]

Hmm, thanks

[seabreeze]

I had the cyano too. Used CyanoClean from KZ. Expensive but it works!

I also increased my flow... added 3 tunze powerheads on a multi-controller.

[seabreeze]

If you are feeding coral frenzy I would hold off. Might be fueling your problem

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by seabreeze

If you are feeding coral frenzy I would hold off. Might be fueling your problem

I haven't been using it since before summer

[gregzz4]

While the debate continues ...

Thanks for your input seabreeze
I've been doing everything you listed with a couple small differences;
I use HCGFO
WCs I'm doing weekly and may change to bi-monthly
I wasn't regularly basting the LR
My Strawberries and Turbos died - I suspect due to Cyano
No coral snow (coral frenzy in my case)
No vodka or vinegar dosing (yet)
All my frozen is rinsed well with RO in large batches, with garlic and aminos added before being frozen in small cubes