Cyano woes

[reefdava16]

My thought is the tank is either is being over fed / heavy bio load/infrequent water changes, reason for this train of thought is as follows - based on info you have provided, there is no supplementing of Nitrate despite  flourish states it has Nitrate , it is very minimal in the big picture, so with a level of 15ppm of Nitrate, it may be coming from husbandry of the tank Which may be carrying lot of Organic waste = Cyano, there may also other contributing factors, BTW adding plants does not equate to high nitrates, it will help in lower Nitrates as the plants use it as part of it`s nourishment.
The plants you listed are all slow growing plants so the need & uptake is slow.
I suggest, cleaning your filter, cut back your feeding ( if you are over feeding) & frequent water changes, after you do a 3 - 5 day black out & a large water change at the end of the 3-5 day black out, not saying it is the cure or the main reason but that will rule out the things I mentioned.
Regards

I agree with above, what are you using to address carbon, i might have missed it?

[exv152]

I could possibly be over feeding. I'll cut back. I was doing weekly water changes for a while, but then went down to monthly. I'll increase back to weekly.

Will my plans survive a 3 day black out? I was only aiming for a 2 day black out.

exel/glut?

I mean Glutaraldehyde diluted or this This is in addition to addressing your nitrates. Excel & H2O2 can help to eliminate it since it'll be weakened by the 3-4 day blackout. Your plants will do just fine. Plants are often shipped in the mail for longer periods, there should be no issue. However most algaes are not as tough as plants and  they are affected greatly by a blackout.

[101DalmatianMollies]

I agree with above, what are you using to address carbon, i might have missed it?

I have a sponge, carbon bag and bio zorb bag in my filter. I'm not sure I understand your question.

I mean Glutaraldehyde diluted or this This is in addition to addressing your nitrates. Excel & H2O2 can help to eliminate it since it'll be weakened by the 3-4 day blackout. Your plants will do just fine. Plants are often shipped in the mail for longer periods, there should be no issue. However most algaes are not as tough as plants and  they are affected greatly by a blackout.

Ok. Great plan then. I will give the plants a bit more time to bounce back, whilst doing my weekly water changes. I will go out and get the Excel, and hit with H2O2 then blackout. After 4 days I will hit again with H2O2 then perform a 35-50%? water change? And then see what happens. I will also reduce how much I'm feeding - as I think I am over feeding to be honest.

You guys are a big help!! Knowing that cyano is a symptom of a bigger problem can help me keep better care of my tank

[mm]

In my experience, erythromycin when used according to instructions will get the job done without any noticeable effect on the biological filter and with no damage to plants or other livestock. Furthermore, I never had it come back. Overall, I think it is less disruptive than any other treatment like H2O2 or blackouts. Of course, cleaning filters, etc does not hurt but it is not guaranteed to get the job done.

[101DalmatianMollies]

In my experience, erythromycin when used according to instructions will get the job done without any noticeable effect on the biological filter and with no damage to plants or other livestock. Furthermore, I never had it come back. Overall, I think it is less disruptive than any other treatment like H2O2 or blackouts. Of course, cleaning filters, etc does not hurt but it is not guaranteed to get the job done.

I've decided to go the way of erythromycin. I lost my bristle nose Plucky over a week ago and was quite devastated. She was key in keeping the tank clean while I worked on this and now that she's gone there is a noticeable difference. She was such a good little cleaner, I'm really sad she's gone. I found her stuck in one of my castle's turrets with a hole behind her head armor... the other fish had already started nibbling on her tail, she was only missing 2 days.

I just dosed the tank. We shall see how it goes. Thanks again everyone for the great advice! I know this isn't a permanent solution and I will be able to look deeper into the core issue of the tank. Thanks again everyone!

[mm]

Sorry to hear about your pleco. Make sure to make water changes during the treatment as directed. It is important to remove the dead cyanobacteria to reduce  the load on the bio filter. Good luck!

[101DalmatianMollies]

Thank you. I will for sure.

It's been about 16 or so hours since I put in the first dose, and already there's a difference in the activity level of my fish. For a while you'd have thought I had no fish in my tank.. now they're swimming around and exploring and being active again.

Didn't realize this was having such a negative affect on my tank.

[101DalmatianMollies]

So after my first full treatment of erythro for the cyano, my tank looks normal again. I need to put a new Pleco in there, my castle needs sprucing up lol.

I've started feeding less. We will have to see how it goes! Thanks for all the great advice everyone!

[mm]

Glad to hear.