Bit of a disaster.

[HoldenOn]

Hey all,

I used to be a real active user but I got super busy with school and other stuff. Long story short my attention got pulled from this site AND my fish tank. I try and do water changes but it ends up only happening every 2 or 3 weeks. I know, it's bad. I've kinda gotten my life under control and want to fix my tank up and solve some of it's long running issues.

1. Cyanobacteria - This stuff has been in my tank about as long as I can remember. Tried blacking it out for a few days. Tried replacing filter media. Nothing has worked. What should I do?

2. Plants - In my neglect my sword forest and weak carpet have almost completely died out with only a few swords still growing. I really struggled to balance light and fertilizer with the cyanobacteria issues the tank has. I really want to completely replant it and try and give it some more lushness but have no idea what plants I'd even start with.

That just about sums up the main issues. I'd love some help .

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

Cyanobacteria - This stuff has been in my tank about as long as I can remember. Tried blacking it out for a few days. Tried replacing filter media. Nothing has worked. What should I do?

Can’t be as bad as my tank . I dosed with Rid-X. It takes a few months, but cyano needs to go slow. At one point my tank had Black Bear Algae, CITA Cyanobacteria, 2 other kinds of cyano, and diatoms. I also bought a water sterilizer, and that causes the algae to not grow. Works like a charm. In the future, plants will help with algae growth.

In my neglect my sword forest and weak carpet have almost completely died out with only a few swords still growing. I really struggled to balance light and fertilizer with the cyanobacteria issues the tank has. I really want to completely replant it and try and give it some more lushness but have no idea what plants I'd even start with

This is contributing to the algae growth. I would use hardy plants. Anubias. Perhaps Hornwort or Anacharis for now. I would also highly suggest duckweed or Mosquito Fern to prevent algae growth. The reason the algae is thriving and your plants are dying is because the algae is taking all the nutrients. More plants will take more nutrients.

 

[HoldenOn]

Can’t be as bad as my tank . I dosed with Rid-X. It takes a few months, but cyano needs to go slow. At one point my tank had Black Bear Algae, CITA Cyanobacteria, 2 other kinds of cyano, and diatoms. I also bought a water sterilizer, and that causes the algae to not grow. Works like a charm. In the future, plants will help with algae growth.

This is contributing to the algae growth. I would use hardy plants. Anubias. Perhaps Hornwort or Anacharis for now. I would also highly suggest duckweed or Mosquito Fern to prevent algae growth. The reason the algae is thriving and your plants are dying is because the algae is taking all the nutrients. More plants will take more nutrients.

Thanks a lot! Would you suggest getting the plants first or the water sterilizer?

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

Well, if you want to spend some $$$, then water sterilizer is the way to go. It kinda costed me $180…. I did it as a last resort. I would suggest plants first. Give it a few weeks or a month.

 

[HoldenOn]

Well, if you want to spend some $$$, then water sterilizer is the way to go. It kinda costed me $180…. I did it as a last resort. I would suggest plants first. Give it a few weeks or a month.

HA those are big bucks which I do not have! I'll plant it heavily and then see what happens! Thank's so much for your help .

 

[Caesar]

Probiotics will outcompete cyanobacteria.

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

What do you mean by probiotics?

 

[Caesar]

What do you mean by probiotics?

Something like SeptoBac Septic System Treatment Pouches. The bacteria outcompete pathogenic/harmful microbes through competitive exclusion, while also breaking down a wide array of organic waste present in the tank.

 

[AbbeysDad]

If it was me, I'd tear it down, do a good cleanup, and restart. I'd run any hardscape through the DW with bleach. Plants I'd spray with hydrogen peroxide, rinse and set aside. The gravel or sand would get a good cleaning. Refill with fresh, clean, conditioned water.

 

[Colin_T]

Stop using fertiliser for a few weeks or until the Cyanobacteria is under control.

Reduce the dry food going into the tank.

Increase aeration/ water movement in the tank, especially around the bottom or wherever the Cyanobacteria are.

If you have fluorescent lights above the tank and the globes are more than 12 months old, replace them and the fluoro starter. Get globes with a 6500K (K is for Kelvin) rating.

So big daily water changes and gravel clean the substrate for a couple of weeks to physically remove the Cyanobacteria.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

You can also scrap and restart the tank as suggested by @AbbeysDad. It might be less effort. Just give it all a good wash and set it back up.