Cyanobacteria

[bordercollie05]

Hi all,

I have a 10 gallon planted tank, low-light set up. Currently, there is just a Betta in the tank. There is a java fern and two swords of some sort. It's been up for about 6 months now, and has been cruising along until a couple of weeks ago, when the slimy cyanobacteria took over!

I did a nitrate test after looking at Chuck's Planted Aquarium algae article. My nitrate is reading 0. I tested twice. My question here is do the APA test kits expire? I just realized I've had them for a long time now and want to be sure the reading is right before I start dosing nitrates. If I do dose nitrates, about how much should I do?

Also, is it true that increased water flow can help decrease cyanobacteria? I have a little sponge filter right now and could up the flow by switching to a power filter.

Thanks!

Laura

 

[seffieuk]

Also, is it true that increased water flow can help decrease cyanobacteria?

I'm a salty so please bare that in mind! Things to consider:

Gas exchange, so do you have a nice bit of water turbalance at the surface?
Lighting period, age of tubes?
Feeding - most of us feed too much?
Flow?

Seffie x

 

[aaronnorth]

Test kits are pretty innacurate, however low nitrates (<15ppm) can be a cause of BGA, as well as ammonia spikes (unlikely unless the plants are rotting? overfeeding?) and poor circulation.

In low flow areas, or areas that get no circulation due to being blocked by decor can become affected, it is common for it to grow between the substrate and glass.

To get rid of it perform a 3 day blackout:
remove as much as possible
50-80% water change
cover tank to eliminate any external, turn aquarium lights off, stop feeding & any dosing
wait 3 days, 50-80% water change


It will return if you dont fix the problem though. Can you post a picture of the tank please? We can see where it's growing then.
Also, do you dose any ferts?

Thanks, Aaron

 

[coldcazzie]

Test kits are pretty innacurate, however low nitrates (<15ppm) can be a cause of BGA, as well as ammonia spikes (unlikely unless the plants are rotting? overfeeding?) and poor circulation.

In low flow areas, or areas that get no circulation due to being blocked by decor can become affected, it is common for it to grow between the substrate and glass.

To get rid of it perform a 3 day blackout:
remove as much as possible
50-80% water change
cover tank to eliminate any external, turn aquarium lights off, stop feeding & any dosing
wait 3 days, 50-80% water change


It will return if you dont fix the problem though. Can you post a picture of the tank please? We can see where it's growing then.
Also, do you dose any ferts?

Thanks, Aaron

I'll add to this, as I've had ongoing cyano problems for several months that only now seem to be going.

1. 3 days may not be enough. If it's not, dont be afraid to progress to 5 or 7 days. Cover tank with black bin liners, every crack. And absolutely do not peek. Your plants and fish will be fine in this time.
2. Overdosing ferts will help, but only as part of a multi-pronged attack.
3. Circulation is key.

While I believe it was low nitrates that caused mine initially, raising the nitrate level didn't really help once it had taken hold. However, a more powerful filter and a spraybar that circulates water more evenly throughout my tank is what is beating it. I'm not completely rid of it yet, but it's getting there. I actually almost gave up and sold the tank, it was that bad at one point. If you check out my journal in the planted journals section you can look at the pictures of what the cyano was like in my tank.

Also, yes the kits can expire, there is a number on the top, which will give you the month and year in which the test was made. I think nitrate kits last for 4 years after this date, so if it's within that date then the kit is still fine and assuming you've done the test correctly (You need to shake the 2nd bottle VERY vigorously for 30 seconds minimum, 1 minute is even better, even though your arm hurts like hell afterwards!) then it's about as accurate as it can be.

 

[bordercollie05]

Thanks everyone for the responses! Aaron, I will try to get a photo up tomorrow-I seem to have misplaced my camera battery, oops. But the gunk is coating pretty much everything; gravel, rocks, plants, walls, even a little on the surface of the water.

I don't dose ferts right now. My filter is really low flow. I definitely don't overfeed, actually I usually feed only every other day at most. My plants are generally healthy, just a couple of dying leaves which I have been pulling before they rot.

So, it sounds like a new filter is in order plus a 3-7 day blackout to get rid of what is there. Possibly also dosing?

I don't think my kit is older than 4 years, but I can't find the number. I'm certain I did the test right, and shook vigorously! I've messed that one up before-it's always my least favorite test .

Thanks again for the recommendations--I'm always so impressed with the helpfulness on this forum

Laura

 

[coldcazzie]

Thanks everyone for the responses! Aaron, I will try to get a photo up tomorrow-I seem to have misplaced my camera battery, oops. But the gunk is coating pretty much everything; gravel, rocks, plants, walls, even a little on the surface of the water.

I don't dose ferts right now. My filter is really low flow. I definitely don't overfeed, actually I usually feed only every other day at most. My plants are generally healthy, just a couple of dying leaves which I have been pulling before they rot.

So, it sounds like a new filter is in order plus a 3-7 day blackout to get rid of what is there. Possibly also dosing?

I don't think my kit is older than 4 years, but I can't find the number. I'm certain I did the test right, and shook vigorously! I've messed that one up before-it's always my least favorite test .

Thanks again for the recommendations--I'm always so impressed with the helpfulness on this forum

Laura

Do you have the option of moving your betta to a new tank, with a new filter? I realise then you'll be in the position of a fish-in cycle (unless you have another tank you can steal media from?) but some bettas do not cope well with the amount of flow you would probably need to get rid of the cyano. This is assuming the blackout doesn't work (they never did for me, and I did multiple ones!). Am just wondering if it might actually be less stress for you to completely start again, rather than spend months fiddling with parameters trying to get rid of the cyano which may or may not work. You'd have to buy new plants to ensure they didn't carry the cyano across with them, but even so it would still probably be less stress for you.

 

[bordercollie05]

I really like that idea. I'm going to be gone for a week so I think I'll run the blackout then and bring a little tank back from my parent's house for my betta; just in case. Plus, this is a great excuse to have on more fish tank Thanks for the idea!