Is my only option adding a fuge?

So I haven't been battling cyano for too too long, but it's getting really old, really fast.

I have about a week left of school, and then I'll have some free time and a little bit of cash to spend on the tank.

I know adding a sump to a tank offers myriads of benefits, but if I go ahead and do so, am I likely to win my cyano battle? If I add a sump, with a huge fuge containing tons of mangroves and other macros, am I for the most part likely to succeed in having a nice, clean tank?

My tank is a 25g, with 30lbs LR, a 2 inch sand/arg bed. I have good filtration and flow - 1 HOB filter rated for a 50 gallon tank, an aquaC remora with a maxi 1200 on it, and a koralia 2. I have a CF coralife lunar aqualite fixture, burning 1X 65w and 1X65w actinic. (8 hours a day). I do weekly 6 gallon water changes.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrates: 0 (i'll have trace within 4 days or so - just did a water change)
Nitrites : 0
p.H: 8.3
Spec Grav: 1.027
Phos: 0
kH: 450?
Ca: 440
temp: 80

 

There's never any guarantee that it will be the turning point, but it certainly should at least help. Cyano is bacterial, so you may want to consider a UV filter. When I fought cyano I put a cheap Petsmart one on my tank and it seemed to help a lot.

 

from everything I read, everyone talks about cyano and every other algae like it is history... what stops it from coming back?

 

Its sound like you are a person who keeps up with maintenace and thats the main thing you could ask for. Keep up with water changes

Lower your temp to 76-78. Cyano thrives more in higher temps,

You need to make sure to keep your nitrates and phosphates in check and although your phosphates are reading undectectable they are there. possible locked inside live rock.

I would forsure do the sump/fuge if you have the money.

but also get yourself a gfo/carbon reactor. run gfo and high quality carbon.http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store...ter-bags/dual-brs-gfo-and-carbon-reactor.html

or
http://www.marinedepot.com/Two_Litt...rs-Two_Little_Fishies-TL4311-FIFRISPR-vi.html


clean your mechanical filter weekly. (prevents nitrate buildup.)

btw which model HOB filter are you using?

run your daylights for a shorter period for now.

possible increase your water change to 10 gallons.

 

what type of food do you use and how often do you feed?

 

+1 on gfo reactor

 

The HOB filter is an aquaclear 50. I added some poly filter to it to make sure I don't have any copper in the water.

Adding a sump alone is kinda a push for me. I'm a broke nursing school student, so I'm not sure getting a reactor too is a realistic idea. :-/

After getting a HOB overflow and all the plumbing and pumps, and a 15g tank I'm afraid a sump is going to cost me like 350 or so at the least, right?

What's everyone's take on adding an in tank fuge? Waste of time?

Also - could I just turn off my lights for a week, and manually remove the cyano every day? I'm not saying total darkness - my room is kinda sunny. But would that put a big dent in it, or not at all?

 

Wish I would've known about a Turf Scrubber before I bought my GFO reactor. I built my own ATS, and yes, they do work!! (cheap too)

Algae Scrubbers • Index page

 

A phosban reactor and some GFO will cost less than $70. compared to $350 for a sump/fuge

You want to get rid of the algae? run the reactor

 

hi, Yeah all the above methods are good for battling cyano and I too am a college student so I can feel you on not making big expenditures without planning for them. If your interested in a fuge you could just use a large Tupperware container some sand and a light, very easy, like this guy YouTube - Refugium =. At any rate cyano is bacterial so its a different animal than say hair algae, but the good news is combating it is relatively easy. To start, getting nirates and phosphate down close to zero is a main concern as you know. Something that has worked for me is cutting down on feeding first, big time. Then siphon as much as the cyano and do a blackout for 72 hours, buy yourself some Microbacter 7 and start adding that to seed good bacteria cultures, then fuel that bacteria with a carbon source, vodka is what I use. Read up on vodka dosing here; Vodka Dosing by 'Genetics' and 'Stony_Corals' - Reefkeeping.com. Keep up with the vodka dosing/skimming and you will have a cyano free tank in no time.