Help!

[SFWBreefguy]

Ok, so I got back from the city the other day and I noticed in my tank there was alot of red hair things in my tank growing on the sand and on the LR. I thought that maybe this was a type of Coraline algae growth, unfortunately I think I was wrong. I think it is CYANOBACTERIA and from what I've read online and in other posts its not particularly good stuff for the tank. Can somebody with experience in getting rid of this stuff take some time out and help me out? I would appreciate it. Thanks

S.G. 1.024
Temp. 78.2
NH3 0
NO2 0
NO3- 20
CAL 400
KH 13
Po4 0.5

P.S. I have also just bought a Nerite and Trochus snail to help fit the cyano

Thanks SFWBreefguy

 

[Imbarrie]

Are you using rodi water?
There are ample threads on cyano in here.


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[beerfish]

Snails will do nothing (I don't care who tells you they will, they won't).

Cyano sucks.

What you should do:
Basically you can combat it by increasing flow, doing water changes (with quality water), and making sure your params are in check. Siphon out what you can with a turkey baster, add a filter sock to your drain (if you have one) and try to make sure that the stuff leaves the tank and doesn't just get spread around. Carbon and Phosphate remover can be run in a reactor to aid in the fight.

What you shouldn't do:
Don't drastically alter your light schedule. If you have corals and fish in the tank, you'll do more damage to them than the cyano. Don't stir the stuff up. It will spread if you do. Don't freak out. With proper maintenance, it will go away without doing any damage.

 

[topmav1]

When you do a water change suck out the cyano patches. I did that recently with a couple of patches I saw on my sandbed. You lose a bit of sand but no big deal. I also put Rowaphos in my sump...helped with the phosphates which apparently contribute to algae growth. As beerfish said don't freak out but def suck out what you can as soon as possible.
Also as mentioned don't drastically change you lighting sched but nothing wrong with cutting your lights by an hour or so IMO.

Have you changed your bulbs recently? Old bulbs can promote algae. Brand new ones too...

 

[duke62]

ok i battled with cyano for months.i used a product called maracyn after i syphoned out as much cyano as i could.at night i added this.1 packet.it did nothing then i added 2 packets the next night and in the morning i noticed a drastic decrease in cyano.that night dropped another 2 packets and the next morning it was all gone.i have 70 gallons of water volume in my ststem.people would say this is no good and can kill good bacteria but i noticed no ill effects except for craziness in skimmer whenm i turned it back on.i did a 30% water change and let the skimmer go wet skim till it calmed down.while doing this u need to turn off skimmer and carbon.1 1/2 weeks later i noticed it coming back so i went and got a product called special blend from petco and used it.it is a bacteria add that eats the cyano bacteria.it stinks like rotten eggs but as all the reading tells me it works.i havent seen any cyano.u need to follow the directions for this product.cyano is not a algae its a bacteria

 

[beerfish]

Also as mentioned don't drastically change you lighting sched but nothing wrong with cutting your lights by an hour or so IMO.

Nothing wrong with it, but I don't really find that it helps all that much to reduce it by an hour.

As far as using chemicals, some work, but will only treat the symptom and not the cause. It's like treating a cold. The symptoms may go away for awhile, but until the cold has been fought off, they'll come back.

 

[duke62]

special blend isnt a chemical.maracyn is a antibiotic

 

[beerfish]

For the purposes of our tanks, I loosely define any tank additive a chemical. The effect is the same. (More specifically, most antibiotics are classified by their chemical structure and therefore chemicals. Technically the bacteria in the other is not chemical.)

Adding beneficial bacteria that the tank may not be able to support long term will only treat short term, and the antibiotic will eventually be removed from the system. While both of these may work I prefer a natural approach when possible.

 

[duke62]

so when adding lets say b-ionic or phosban or carbon do u consider that to be chemical additives.

 

[beerfish]

Ferric Oxide, Calcium, Carbon... yes... they are chemicals.

 

[duke62]

so what are your natural way to add these additives to your tank

 

[fcamargo6thave]

Bacterial and Algae Hitch Hikers

Check the link and id the red stuff in your tank

 

[beerfish]

so what are your natural way to add these additives to your tank

I said I like to go the natural route when possible. Macro Algae can help with things like GFO, and more frequent water changes can aid in the rest. Some can't be eliminated, and I never said not to use them, just that I prefer not to when possible.

 

[marrone]

What you shouldn't do:
Don't drastically alter your light schedule. If you have corals and fish in the tank, you'll do more damage to them than the cyano.

I'm not sure where you get this from? Cutting down on the amount of hours you light you tank will have an effect on the cyano and very little to no effect on your fish or corals. Even if you shut your lights off for a couple of days it will have little to no effect on fish or corals, especially your fish, but it will have a big effect on the cyano.

Don't stir the stuff up. It will spread if you do. Don't freak out. With proper maintenance, it will go away without doing any damage.

You shouldn't stir it up but you should try and siphon out as much as you can. It will eventually go away but it never really leaves you system, it just waits for the proper conditions to arise and start over again.

 

[duke62]

let me say this.i battled to where i was about to give up on this cyano.for months i tried everything.cut light cycle,less feeding ,changed all filters in rodi,syphoned,put new rodi,syphoned water into filter sock and reused the water etc etc and nothing worked.for bad cases on cyano like i had drastic measures needed to be done and im so happy for what i did cause my tank looks the way it has for years before this nasty bacteria hit.and adding these (chemicals)worked wonders.i had no loss of coral or fish.cyano wiped out all my lps and if i knew of these (chemicals)before i would still have my coral.i feel especially with this bacteria get rid of it fast before it happens.

 

[Imbarrie]

Duke, like you said this is something you used after you tried everything else. I agree with you using it but only as a last resort.
My cyano outbreak was reversed by reusing water, feeding less, increased flow and lighting.
This would be conrolling the causes of the outbreak. If that fails then use the nuclear options.

I have heard great things about UV sterilizers for reducing outbreaks also.


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[beerfish]

I'm not sure where you get this from? Cutting down on the amount of hours you light you tank will have an effect on the cyano and very little to no effect on your fish or corals. Even if you shut your lights off for a couple of days it will have little to no effect on fish or corals, especially your fish, but it will have a big effect on the cyano.

I say don't drastically alter the lights because recently I've seen people shutting off their lights for too long and harming their inhabitants. It will reduce the cyano, but if you don't fix the issue, it will come back as you bring the lights back.

You shouldn't stir it up but you should try and siphon out as much as you can. It will eventually go away but it never really leaves you system, it just waits for the proper conditions to arise and start over again.

I mentioned siphoning it in the "Do this" list.

 

[beerfish]

let me say this.i battled to where i was about to give up on this cyano.for months i tried everything.cut light cycle,less feeding ,changed all filters in rodi,syphoned,put new rodi,syphoned water into filter sock and reused the water etc etc and nothing worked.for bad cases on cyano like i had drastic measures needed to be done and im so happy for what i did cause my tank looks the way it has for years before this nasty bacteria hit.and adding these (chemicals)worked wonders.i had no loss of coral or fish.cyano wiped out all my lps and if i knew of these (chemicals)before i would still have my coral.i feel especially with this bacteria get rid of it fast before it happens.

I did say when possible. If you've tried everything else, then you do what you have to do. I see a lot of people that look for quick fix additives for everything, when in many cases, proper husbandry and patience will solve the problem.

 

[duke62]

what i am saying is i would try using special blend in a second if i saw even a hint of cyano growing again.i would not wait to see if i can fix it with proper maintenence.which i do anyway even without this outbreak.i have no idea how it started.the only thing i can pinpoint was a old di cartridge in my rodi.i dont overfeed and i do weekly water changes and change my bulbs every 10 months.cyano grows so quickly that it can get out of hand quick.from what i read SB is a bacteria that eats cyano and rids it from the tank.and if used properly will eliminate it.

 

[marrone]

I say don't drastically alter the lights because recently I've seen people shutting off their lights for too long and harming their inhabitants. It will reduce the cyano, but if you don't fix the issue, it will come back as you bring the lights back.

The only person that I can think that had a problem, after he shut off his lights for too long, was Duke, and he lost some clams. It also has no effect whats so ever on fish, but it does have an impact on the cyano, a lot more than any damage it can do to corals or fish. Cutting back on lighting, or eliminating for a 2 or 3 days, cuts off a source of nutrients to the cyano, which helps to eliminate it. Reduce lighting is part of the fix, though as I said before it never really goes away.

I mentioned siphoning it in the "Do this" list.

Yes with a turkey baster, which probably will spread it more than if you siphoned it out with a hose.