Cyano Outbreak

I am not to worried but, had a few questions for you guys. I have recently had a cyano bacteria outbreak. All of my LR except the ones completely covered in coralline algae have begun to grow cyano. The reason I say I am not to worried is my new tank should be arriving any day now, and everything will get getting transferred over and this stuff will get cleaned up in my normal cycle process. Anyways my question is this... Can my clownfish be the cause of this outbreak? I say they may be, as the have created an new nesting site in the tank. In the process of creating this new nesting site, they disturbed my sand bed which is 3-4 inches thick. The area they created the new nest in, now has the tank glass exposed instead of there being sand. I also recently tested my phosphates and they have recently sky-rocketed from a reading of close to zero and now is at around 0.3

What are your guy's thoughts on this? Yes, I am already doing 25% water changes every week and siphoning out the cyano that I can, as this will help lower both my phos and my nitrates/nitrites (there has been now spike in these yet). When I get my new tank I will be removing my corals from the LR and placing them onto frag chips and then I will be giving my LR an acid bath to remove the first couple of layers. Hopefully this will help to remove all of the bad pollutants from the rocks prior to new tank cycle. All of my fish and coral are going into a hospital tank during the cycle and will be slowly added back into their new home.

 

answer: clownfish are not the cause of your cyano outbreak.

 

^^^ you answered your own question. PO4 is the cause of cyano. You apparently have insufficient filtration for your system. There could also be PO4 bound to the rocks, if not it will start to with levels this high. You need to figure out why it is this high though, and go from there...

 

Maybe I didn't word it correctly... I know the clown didn't cause the cyano outbreak but, did they contribute to it by disturbing the sand bed and exposing some long hibernating phosphates and nitrates/nitrites?

 

Possibly, however, if that's the case, it would have occurred anyways. The issue then would be old sand that is in need of replacement. Usually sands only good for a few years really.

 

sand is only good for a few years? sand doesn't get good until after a few years imo.

the clowns would not move enough sand to cause cyano outbreaks in your tank.

i like to run my fingers through the top inch of my sand bed on a weekly basis, to keep the sand white and stir it up a bit. i've never had cyano as a result.

there is another cause of the cyano in your tank. lack of flow, proper filtration, over feeding, bad bulbs, lighting running too long each day, etc.

 

Where is your water coming from?

 

Sorry, but sand will become a sink.... There are a number of reasons why. For one, the sand in our tanks is made of calcium carbonate crystals, typically either aragonite and sometimes calcite. Various metals and other compounds such as phosphate become incorporated into the crystalline structure as dissolution and re-crystallization occur. Additionally, other compounds can settle into the sand or precipitate onto the surface with various degrees of binding. Many will settle down into the sand. These substances are then available to be released back into the system in the future, depending on the external conditions. In many cases, if it is an solubility equilibrium process, for example, as the levels are lowered in the water column, they will be released from the sand, holding the levels in the water constantly elevated. Others will be released upon disturbance.

This isn't really an opinion, it's just chemistry... That said, I personally like sand beds, but for long term success, it's really best to slowly replace it over time. Sand doesn't last forever...

 

Fascinating. I didn't know any of that. I've always been under the assumption that new sand is void of any life, and over time (years) it becomes plentiful and full of life, much of which is beneficial to the closed reef system and for various filter feeders out there.

If I may inquire further...

1. When is the tipping point in your opinion, after 2-3 years with any stirring of the sand bed?
2. Could the sand be removed, rinsed, and reused? I don't feel like rinsing it would fix problems at a cellular level right?
3. Sand in the ocean has been there for millions of years... Why isn't it a bad thing in that environment? Sheer volume of the ocean I would guess?
4. I stir up my sand bed all the time, to release gas and make sure pockets of badness don't just sit there. Could one just stir it up all the time (small sections at a time), and this would avoid the negative long term implications you've mentioned?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

I think we are veering away from the topic at hand. What is your circulation like? Feeding regimen/s? Light cycle?