What is the best med. to help treat cyano?

[madrhino]

I've had a heck of a time treating my cyano outbreak, and almost have it beat. No matter what I do I can't kill off the last remenates and was wondering if there was a med that i could add to finish it off. I only have a few soft corrals and a few fish in a 125 with 140 pounds of live rock.
Thanks!!

 

[Anonymous]

i advise, as well as most on this board, to steer away from algae potions.

if its on the run, keep it up, whatever your doing. you can never completely rid yourself of problem algae,

if it is very noticable then just keep brushing and baster blowing the stuff off.

thats all i got.

good luck.

 

[XXX]

Lots of current, refugium with lots of macro.

 

[Anonymous]

an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure....

check your phosphates :wink:

 

[wade1]

As others have said, I reiterate, do not use meds on the tank. Increase skimming, check food source and amount, check filtration, boost natural copepods and amphipod levels, and increase tank flow... and don't forget checking the water you are using.

Wade

 

[jhaag]

More current is usually the best prevention for cyno

 

[Contender]

As others have said, I reiterate, do not use meds on the tank. Increase skimming, check food source and amount, check filtration, boost natural copepods and amphipod levels, and increase tank flow... and don't forget checking the water you are using.

What if we have done all these things you have suggested (plus replace the light bulbs) and still, nothing. All my water parameters are fine, and everytime I manually remove as much as possible from my tank, it comes right back. What justification could you provide for being so adamantly against the meds? I don't want to put anything unnatural in my tank, but after weeks of trying to get rid of this problem, I am about ready to give in.

 

[Anonymous]

As others have said, I reiterate, do not use meds on the tank. Increase skimming, check food source and amount, check filtration, boost natural copepods and amphipod levels, and increase tank flow... and don't forget checking the water you are using.

What if we have done all these things you have suggested (plus replace the light bulbs) and still, nothing. All my water parameters are fine, and everytime I manually remove as much as possible from my tank, it comes right back. What justification could you provide for being so adamantly against the meds? I don't want to put anything unnatural in my tank, but after weeks of trying to get rid of this problem, I am about ready to give in.

first, patience,-and don't panic :mrgreen:

first explanation-if you truly did get rid of/correct the conditions that cause a cyano out break-you wouldn't have any.period.the very existence of the cyano prove that there is still something in your system that is fostering it's existence.

what you need to understand is, that the foodstuffs the cyano needs may still be present, and being consumed by the cyano, even if you show a zero reading on a test kit.in other words-the production of PO4, and the like, may not be getting a chance to accumulate in the water column, in order to show a reading on a test(.01ppm PO4 produced, and .01ppm PO4 fed upon=cyano growth with a zero test reading :wink: )the trick is to establish a NEGATIVE trend in the nutrient production-to starve the cyano, even beyond a status quo of its existing w/out spreading.

also-if you use an antibiotic(the only med. that is specific for a bacteria, like cyano)-the following will happen-the cyano, when it dies, will re-release the nutrients it has absorbed back into the water column, and the antibiotic itself will add to this, and then you're back to square one, to eventually deal with the cyano again-only this time, it may be resistive to the antibiotic.

see the trap? :wink:

i'd suggest the following tack:

first-the easiest way of removing the cyano's nutrients is by removing the cyano mechanically(siphon it out, don't net it out-this will break off little bits, that will help it to spread.

second-use a PO4 removal product, like phosguard,and change it frequently(small amounts-1 tbs/10 gal.changed every 3-4 days)to make sure there is no 'dead time' in it's removal function.

third-if you use carbon-test it with a PO4 kit-most carbons will leach PO4 into the water.if it tests positive,-don't use it!

fourth-be absolutely sure your source water is perfect-and be absolutely sure you have no uneaten food anywhere in the tank within 5 min. after a feeding.

fifth-use kalkvasser-it helps precipitate the PO4 out of your system

sixth-be very patient-it may take a month or two, from today-but i promise,if you ensure a negative to zero accumulation of nutrients, and remove it religiously, it will go away, it has to.

hth, and best of luck!

keep us posted.

what are your NO3, and PO4 levels, and which test kits are you using?

 

[Robf]

Very well put, Vitz.

Attack the problem, not the results.

I'm going through the same thing right now. It'll get down to a tiny bit, and then I'll do something to upset the balance and it'll come right back. I'm actually happy with it, as it's food for my conches It's a very small amount generally, but I had one massive outbreak that lasted 36 hours. The conches took care of it, and they're getting bigger. This make us all happy.

For me, I know it's my RO unit. It's a barebones system, and it's not cutting it. I have plans for an RO/DI, but for now I'll wait it out.

Good luck with your cyano problem.

R.

 

[tomheo]

I've had a heck of a time treating my cyano outbreak, and almost have it beat. No matter what I do I can't kill off the last remenates and was wondering if there was a med that i could add to finish it off. I only have a few soft corrals and a few fish in a 125 with 140 pounds of live rock.
Thanks!!

Background Info: Cyanobacteria isn't actually an algae (as seems to be a common misconception) but a bacteria (hence the "bacteria" part of the name). They're unicellular prokaryotes with extremely high rates of reproduction (which can lead to high rates of mutation).

They're photolithotrophs, which means they live off of light (usually in the longer visible light spectrum, which is why they are usually red or green) and they also affix/utilize nitrogen (in gaseous state).

What it means: Based on that info. above, they reproduce quickly & can mutate at fast rates, which means that antibiotics (e.g., usually erythromycin) may inevitably lead to mutant strains of cyano in a tank (which may be even harder to get rid of). It also means that cyano may be a sign that your bulbs are too old and/or that you may have high nitrates (not phosphates).

How to solve it: Check your bulbs. If you've got flourescents (VHO, NO, HO), make sure you've changed them within the past 6 or 9 months. If you're running halides, make sure you've changed them within the past 12-14 months. Power Compacts, probably around the 9-10 month mark.

Do some water changes. 25% (for starters) with a high quality salt mix (e.g., Tropic Marin or Instant Ocean) and RO water (RO/DI also but DI resins usually address silicates, which lead to diatom blooms). Seems like your tank has a relatively low stocking level, so I can't imagine that it's any die-off or overfeeding, so I'm assuming it may be your source water (should check your R/O filter). Also, siphon off as much of the stuff as you can while doing the water changes.

Skimming. Check your protein skimmer and make sure that it's pulling out a nice dry foam. This may help to lower some of your nitrates.

This is a common problem with relatively new tanks (less than a year old) but the problem can be solved and taken care of w/o the use of medications (which I don't recommend). Just have patience with it, as it may take 3 or 4 weeks to completely get rid of it.

Hope this helps. Good luck with it!

Thomas

 

[squeezix]

Time is the best med. Aside from time, the snails related to conchs will eat it. Try IPSF, they have cerith snails that reproduce like mad.

 

[john f]

You've got some good advice.

I would just like to add that cyanobacteria bloom mainly with elevated DOC (dissolved organic carbon).
Although phosphates and nitrates are used by them, they do not appear to drive cyano growth. Phosphate elevation usually cause hair algae blooms.

Is your skimmer up to the job for your tank?
You may also try a polyfilter or frequent carbon changes in concert with the water changes you are already doing.



John

 

[wade1]

Background Info: Cyanobacteria isn't actually an algae (as seems to be a common misconception) but a bacteria (hence the "bacteria" part of the name). They're unicellular prokaryotes with extremely high rates of reproduction (which can lead to high rates of mutation).

Actually, in most circles they are considered an algae, though in fact they border on both Family groups. They do contain pigments for capturing light energy, so in my frame of reference that qualifies them as an algae. But, the rest is certainly true. Cyanobacteria used to be called Blue-Green Algae for a reason!

Wade

 

[tomheo]

Background Info: Cyanobacteria isn't actually an algae (as seems to be a common misconception) but a bacteria (hence the "bacteria" part of the name). They're unicellular prokaryotes with extremely high rates of reproduction (which can lead to high rates of mutation).

Actually, in most circles they are considered an algae, though in fact they border on both Family groups. They do contain pigments for capturing light energy, so in my frame of reference that qualifies them as an algae. But, the rest is certainly true. Cyanobacteria used to be called Blue-Green Algae for a reason!

Wade

Thanks for the info...I was basing the "bacteria" classification based on the 16S rRNA strand that's found in bacteria, but that's cited from an article I wrote a few years ago, which was based on some old microbiology textbooks...I haven't thought about that stuff since I graduated. I didn't make a good microbiologist...hence the reason I do web stuff now.

Thomas

 

[robertnb64]

Some great responses here. I too have the dreaded red cyano. I noticed that my skimmer was not doing well, a clog in the air line, so I got that running better. I also scooped most out with my hands, yet as I read that may have done more harm. Is it ok to siphon out the cyano on a dsb? It seems it would disturb it too much. How do you go about siphoning it out? Last question, is it good to use a turkey blaster to dislodge it from the live rock?

Thanks for your imput.

 

[esmithiii]

Good circulation, a good skimmer, RO/DI water, limit nutrient import and patience are the best remedies.

Ernie

 

[Anonymous]

Some great responses here. I too have the dreaded red cyano. I noticed that my skimmer was not doing well, a clog in the air line, so I got that running better. I also scooped most out with my hands, yet as I read that may have done more harm. Is it ok to siphon out the cyano on a dsb? It seems it would disturb it too much. How do you go about siphoning it out? Last question, is it good to use a turkey blaster to dislodge it from the live rock?

Thanks for your imput.

if you hold the end of a narrow siphon tube a short distance above the sb, and 'wiggle' it while siphoning-you will only remove a very tiny layer of sand(takes some practice :wink: )this will not harm the sb.

for the rock-try the head of a toothbrush(soft bristle) tied to the end of a siphon tube(great rock cleaner)

again-use a small diameter tube-to minimize water removal, and maximize munge removal.

hth

 

[robertnb64]

Thanks vitz, great ideas. I will try that and report back for others to learn from.

 

[royy]

Drip Kalk, use RO water, and just wait. Thats what I did and it went away. I had Cayno all over my sand and glass. It all went away in about a month and a half after I started using Kalk. I had always used RO water. Oh, one other thing I did was stopped adding supplements. I also did not do water changes because they add trace elements to the water that the establised cayno can use.