Cyano Algea

[Arlanda7]

Hi everyone,

My tank is about 7 months old, all has been well on my journey, any teething problems have been corrected and tank is healthy. However I have noticed some red Cyano algae on one or two of the rocks. Does anyone know hot to get rid of it?

 

[lewiss]

Good question-it's a b!@£h to get rid of!!

Have you got a good skimmer running?? They normally help.

Few things you can do. Hover up the slime, using tubing, syphoning the slime and water up and out of your tank. Then do a large water change of about 50%, following the removal of the slime. Then do a smaller water change a couple of days later.

Also it doesn't like too much light so you could try changing the bulbs if they've been in a while (over 8months) and remove any Actinic bulbs temporarily until it's gone.

Have you got any clean up crew in? They can help.

Try the water change an Hoover and then if that doesn't help then try the light stuff. Oh yeh nitrates usually cause this breakout so make sure they stay down! The water change should help tht.

 

[Arlanda7]

Thanks for that, I wasnt sure if it was linked to phosphates as I have a low reading of that. Its just on a couple of pieces of rock and a little bit on sand but i syphoned that out today when I did my weekly water change. I have recently added one new piece of live rock to replace a piece i didnt like the look of.

 

[spadge]

yes i have read a few things about algae and apparently phosphates are a big cause for cyano, mine righted itself within a few weeks and then the diatoms took over. lol

 

[lewiss]

If it's just a small problem then just do that, but it can become a big problem so just be careful and keep a close eye on it..

There are numerous reasons it can start, cyano is actually a bacteria. It is caused by high nitrates, phosphates, excess nutrients, and excess waste. Sometimes caused by over stocking or over feeding which is why cuc help.

Just make sure your water conditions are perfect and if it gets really bad then do the 50% water change.

Most importantly find the cause, and deal with JT. Cyano can kill coral if it gets to bad.

 

[Arlanda7]

Thanks, will do.... Not sure of the cause though, my Nitrates arent high but do have a low reading of phosphates so maybe that is my problem. I use R/O water for water changes.

 

[seffieuk]

Cyano - curse of the marine tank

Lets get rid of a falsehood here, you dont need to be able to see test results for nitrate to have cyano as cyano can use nitrogen in its gas form - so where I hear you ask does the nitrogen come from, well, where is the cyano growing? Mostly on sand and rock, so, whats going on? The sand bed, if doing its job is denitrifying, this is letting off nitogen gas and our cyano bacteria is just making use of the food source

Is there a cure: well, probably not a 100% - increasing the flow to the area does help, as it robs the cyano of its food source by inceasing oxygen

Removing a light source will also work, but who wants a dark tank, except maybe Sorgan

So there are a few things that will help:

Ensure your photo period is not too long
Ensure there is good gaseous exchange
Ensure there is good flow - oxygen at the source of the problem
Dont overfeed

So, the old question of why do I have cyano when my nitrates are 0 - simple answer is that cyano is using nitrogen gas!!!

Seffie x

 

[Arlanda7]

Cyano - curse of the marine tank

Lets get rid of a falsehood here, you dont need to be able to see test results for nitrate to have cyano as cyano can use nitrogen in its gas form - so where I hear you ask does the nitrogen come from, well, where is the cyano growing? Mostly on sand and rock, so, whats going on? The sand bed, if doing its job is denitrifying, this is letting off nitogen gas and our cyano bacteria is just making use of the food source

Is there a cure: well, probably not a 100% - increasing the flow to the area does help, as it robs the cyano of its food source by inceasing oxygen

Removing a light source will also work, but who wants a dark tank, except maybe Sorgan

So there are a few things that will help:

Ensure your photo period is not too long
Ensure there is good gaseous exchange
Ensure there is good flow - oxygen at the source of the problem
Dont overfeed

So, the old question of why do I have cyano when my nitrates are 0 - simple answer is that cyano is using nitrogen gas!!!

Seffie x

Hi Sefie,

Thank you very much for your input there, much appreciated... cheers guys.

x