Grow out tanks. Cyano?

[Andrew D.]

I've setup a breeding rack in the garage basically 100% inspired by the COOP (Cory, Dean, & Randy). Cinder block stand, linear piston pump, dual brine shrimp hatchers, drilled over flows, fry system (the works). Six 20Hs, One 5.5, One 40B, One 75, a 20L (fry system), and a custom built acrylic 50H (craigslist find, 80 bucks, needs to be buffed). 9 tanks in the house, 120g, Three 20s, Three Nanos, and a 4g Cylinder (all heavily planted).

Anyway in the breeding rack, currently two angel pairs (one batch of eggs) both spawning, 100+ E.B. Acara fry, 200+ Praecox fry, Super Reds Bristlenose growing out, Guppies/Swordtails (gravid), Pundamilia Nyererei cichlids (holding eggs). I'm really just try to figure out what I enjoy breeding and eventually specialize in something. I'd give a toe for some midnight rams from Dean but alas I'm on the east coast. AQUASHELLA ORLANDO 2022!

So after the long intro... 🙄 Two of my grow out tanks smell like cyanobacteria, the water gets cloudy after a couple of days, no visible blue/green algae in the tanks. Are there other things that smell like cyano? All of the tanks are cycled, we're 5 months in now. Cycles started with bio from other tanks, over sized Coop sponge filters. The only tanks that have smell and get cloudy are the E.B. Acara grow out (100+) and the Super Red Bristlenose/Praecox. I've added mardel maracyn to one tank for testing, and the other gets daily water changes until I get this figured out, I don't want to risk medicating 100 tiny fry. If anyone has advice I would greatly appreciate the insight.

Sorry for the long post, I'm nerding out heavily in this hobby.

Thank, Andrew D.

[Guppysnail]

I do not know if this helps you but when i overfeed BBS…(more often than I want to admit but I’m grandma age so second helpings are a must 🤣 😝) I get a smell very similar to cyano there but not as overwhelming as a tank with cyano. I could not figure out where it was coming from and was extremely noticeable in my canister filters during cleaning. I ran out of bbs to hatch during the heat of summer so waited to order more. That month the canisters did not have that smell. The following month add live bbs…to many of course and back came the smell. 

[Andrew D.]

Hmmm. I never really considered that. Did it also cloud the water? I don't do auto water changes, the tanks do have over flows, so I try and to do biweekly changes. I'm really just concerned that it will go from one tank to the next and didn't want to lose all of my livestock. So to explain, both tanks are being heavily fed with BBS daily. Twice a day, like clockwork. The fish always look happy and healthy.

Question 1: Is the smell and cloudiness cause for concern? It gets water changed out biweekly. Does spoiled BBS cause something else? (obviously ammonia) Anything else?

Question 2: Is daily BBS feeding not the route to go? Or is that why everyone uses daily auto water changes to combat this? I can do BBS every other day and supplement fry food.

Thanks,