Mixture Of Problems Causing One

[jeasko]

this may sound a bit all over the place but will do my best to explain everything and once i have pictures i will add them.
To start with I have been experiencing what i think is cynobacteria but not altogether sure as its a browny orange colour on the glass thats almost a powder which has affected some LR however I put some xenia in the tank which hasnt yet opened, after closer inspection today it looks like a little of the cynobacteria (or whatever it is) has got onto the xenia stopping it opening, so today i brought a soft small paint brush and brushed the xenia down to remove as much of this stuff as i can see,
my questions are these

1\ will this harm the xenia or is it something i should continue to do if i see this again?
2\ if this is not cyno bacteria does anyone have any suggestions what it is, or if it is cynobaecteria where can i find the threads on this stuff?
3\would it be good to feed just once every other day at mo to reduce the nutrients in the water thus reducing this agae?

 

[chrissaysyes]

Browny orange heh. Brushing is fine. Reducing feeding may also be a good idea.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Sounds like diatoms. How old is your tank?

 

[jeasko]

def not diatoms as this was my first thought but looked into that and its a no no on that front, which is why i think its cynobacteria just not the typical red everyone usually gets.

the tank has been running since april and the only prob i have had before this is a leather not opening and a nitrate test that is way inacurate (getting new one asap just dont use api nitrate test!), have decided on a few different things to try and help which is firstly reduce feeding to every other day for a while, secondly do larger water changes as was doing 10% weekly so going to do 25% bi weekly, I am running rowa phos to erradicate the hair algae (whats left of it), along with activated carbon and for the moment purigen just incase there is something in there im not picking up! (this is not a permanent thing with the purigen as i am not keen on having loads of things in the filter), so im stumped what it is if not cynobacteria.
I am also considering another koralia nano powerhead to keep flow up around the LR to try and stop it settling

 

[chrissaysyes]

A lot of people use a spray bar on the bottom of the tank behind the LR to keep flow going around the rocks and to push detrious out...fyi.

 

[SkiFletch]

Cyanobacteria for sure. Reduce feeding, siphon it out during waterchanges with small diameter tubing, and wait it out.

FYI, there are a few different strains with different colors of cyanobacteria. I've seen with my own eyes brown, rust, orange, bright green, and purple colored cyanobacterias.

 

[jeasko]

Ski
thanks for confirming what i thought it was as was starting to get very confused as to what it was.

Just for an update, today I removed my angel back to my LFS after 7 months and they replaced it with some large polyps (shows how good they are with customers!) which meant I had to remove most LR from my tank to catch the damn thing, but it gave me a chance to rescape the tank (of which im much happier now!) as a result my xenia has started to come out but also it gave me an oportunity to make sure I can maintain a good flow throughout the tank to try and minimise the cynobacteria growth.

By removing the Angel it has allowed me to feed every other day knowing that the other fish I have will not start to eat my corals, its kind of sad that I had to get rid of the angel but it really was the best option, and already the results are starting to show with the xenia

Will keep you all updated on the cynobacteria front!

 

[chrissaysyes]

I had to remove most LR from my tank to catch the damn thing, but it gave me a chance to rescape the tank (of which im much happier now!)

My favorite side effect from moving LR, the reconstruction of the aquascape. I try to find excuses to take down the tank just to give me a chance to redo my rocks every so often