I've had my scrubber running on my 29g for about a month now, and all I'm getting is cyano growth. Prior to installing the scrubber my tank was still cycling and just starting a small cyano outbreak. I have a 3x4 inch screen illuminated on one side by a 13w CFL for around 12hrs daily. My parameters are all in check 0 ammonia, 0 nitrates. I don't have a phosphate test but I can obviously tell it is high from the cyano growth on my screen and in my tank. Currently I am stocked with a single O. Clown. I feed him heavy to still feed the required cube per day for the scrubber. The other day I up the exposure time to around 14hrs, and I can easily add more wattage if need be. I do have some hair algae growth on the screen, very little. Also green spot algae does grow on the screen for the first day or so after cleaning. The Cyano in my display is starting to die out, and seems to be getting replaced with green algae. So anyways what should I do, or where am I going wrong?
1 month is a very short time for a tank to be up and running. Here's my favorite link: go to #15 Mything the Point, Part Three: Conclusion - Reefkeeping.com So the answer is that you are likely not doing anything wrong, however your expectations might be higher than they should be. Cyano and GHA in the tank are part of the maturing process, and this can go on for 6-12 months. Also, I don't encourage feeding a scrubber. Feed your fish appropriately as they need, don't feed 1 cube/day just because that is the size of your scrubber. You can change "settings" on the scrubber to adjust for actual feeding - photoperiod and flow being the ones that are universally adjustable.
