Whats This Its Constantly There!?

[N1z]

it been having for for a long time can any one tell me what it is?? and how to get rid of it more importantly.

ta

 

[SkiFletch]

Everyone's favorite Cyanobacteria. I'm guessing your tank is somewhere around 2 months old? Thats usually when cycano invades. Getting rid of it is difficult and unfortunately the best weapon is usually time. You can do a series of things to assist in its demise though including:

Add a phosphate removing media
Add some more clean up crew that will eat it (Cerith snails have worked well for me)
If its only on the sand and you have a big enough tank (50gal+), you could consider a sand-sifting blenny
Protein skim if you dont allready

There are other metods which I dont employ such as blacking out the tank for a week. This usually isnt possible as by the time cyano rears its ugly head people have some fish/corals in there. Also, as a last ditch, some people try and use meds to kill them. I do NOT advocate doing this however. Cyano usually grows by consuming dissolved organic proteins/waste, silicates, and phosphates. Thats why people reccomend protein skimming, time, and phosphate removers respectively to tackle a cyano bloom

Also check out the stickies, there's one in there all about cyano

 

[jenbertoni]

that took over my tank too. from what i was told, its because we used tap water in our tank (yes we dechlorinated). if youre using tap, then thats probably why. we ended up buying an ro system (reverse osmosis) which turns your tapwater to filtered water and is healthier for the fish. its between $140-200, but worth it because otherwise youre gonna have to buy the pre-made saltwater from your local fish store. weve had it for a few weeks now and can already see a difference. that crap is still growing slightly, since we obviously cant do an entire waterchange, but its looking a lot better.

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, tapwater often contains silicates and phosphates, hence it tends to lead to a cyano filled tank.

 

[heirfaus]

I had this happen from start of month 2 to about month 4-5. It COVERED my glass and a good amount of sand. I found that throwing 3 turbo snails in really put a HUGE dent in it. It took a long time to get rid of it but the turbo snails kept it at bay while it was working out.

 

[Navarre]

high flows are good for keeping it in the water colum. then you simply do water changes and remove the suspended organic bacteria. the other comments are equally as valid and i would utilise all of them to ensure its quick demise.

Cleanup crew.. always a good addition... adding 3 snails to deal with it though suprised me somewhat... the minimum cleanup crew in a system should be 1 per gallon.. so a 50 gallon tank would require 50 snails, 50 hermits or combination thereof. (my tank 9s 220 gallons and i will let you do the maths no how much the cleanup crew has cost me ).

 

[Lovesfish]

yea cyano is a nasty problem I'm having a problem with it but I think I'm winning with good flow and keeping it up in the water column and getting the phosphates out becuase all the other levels are fine.dave

 

[heirfaus]

WOW, I should have 50 snails?!?!?!

I had only three, 2 died. Don't know why water quality was good. I think they just got stuck on the sand and died. Oh and there isn't a lot of agae in my tank for the 1 thats still alive to eat.

50 wow, I'll take your word for it, but I don't know what they would eat.

oh yeah I do have 4 small hermies

 

[crazyelece]

I have a 120 gal tank and I have 2 cleaners for every gallon! I keep it at about 1 snail and 1 hermit per gallon. It seems like a lot but IME it is worth it. I think the real key is to diversify the crew. I have a combination of nassarius snails, turbo snails, cerinth snails, margarita snails, red leg hermits, blue leg hermits, scarlet hermits, zebra hermits, and emerald crabs. Different crew members work on different algeas and ditrius as well as different areas of the tank (rock, sand, glass).

 

[N1z]

ah its still growing ahh! now black.... my phos levels are like 0. but my nitrate are still high can u guide me to summit to knock it down quickly but if its water changes how would you do it?

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, remember, cyanobacteria is VERY crafty. It can use a lot of different compounds as nutrients to help it grow. High up among the list are nitrates, silicates, and phosphates. Some strains can also use ammonia, and even more nefarious ones can use nitrogen gas itself. In my personal experience, a rapid removal of cyano is nearly impossible. The only "rapid" method is antibiotics, and using them is an absoloute LAST resort (cause you risk killing beneficial bacteria too). Unfortunately nobody has created/found a targeted baceriophage, cause that would be the ultimate dreamworld answer.

If your nitrates are still very high (20ppm+) you can consider either water changes, or using a nitrate sponge. There are a few different companies which manufacture a nitrate removing chemical. Basically looks like white gravel that you put in a filter sock or women's nylon, put some flow over/through it with a powerhead or airstone, and wait. Usually within a week nitrates are bound up in this material, and it is thrown away.

Nitrates CAN be the source of your problem, but so could silicates, ammonia (even undetectable levels are enough), or other dissolved organics you cant test for. I still maintain that doing waterchanges (with RO, tapwater wont help), once a week and vaccuming it up directly using a thin-hose tubing over the course of a few weeks is the best way to conquer it. Basically allow it to grow and consume its nutrients, and when it runs out, it doesnt come back. Mine came at about week 6 of my tank. It's spread was halted by those methods on week 8, and by week 10 till now there has merely been trace amounts of cyano. Patience is the best treatment.

 

[crazyelece]

IME when it comes to cyano once it has a foothold its almost impossible to remove. It out competes all other algeas so it takes over. My surefire fix is to solve the problem that started it (always been a dead fish or invert) and then hit the tank with Red Slime Remover. Once the cyano is dead it won't return unless fueled again. Beware though it is an antibiotic so it can have adverse effects on other livestock.

 

[N1z]

I saw this product made by kent marine. what are your thoughts?
Kent Marine Poly Ox 4oz its called

http/www.atlantisaquatics.co.uk/acatalog/rxp.html

Looks quite bad actually now reading it...

 

[bunjiweb]

I have found in every tank I have seen cynobacteria in that flow is the answer. If you can direct a powerhead with a large spread making alot of flow over your gravel the cyno shouldnt get a chance to attach. Usually people only get it on the substrate because that is where the least flow is in the tank...

I have always used straight tap water in my tanks and have never had cyno form because Ive always had good flow in the tank.

Ben

 

[Navarre]

Sadly cyano is a natural process of the tanks maturing. It will take a while to get rid of but as long as you are careful, do large and regular water changes, keep a high flow and keep nutrient levels to a minimum then you will slowly win. It wont happen overnight and it will probably look far worse than it does now before the corner can be turned but patience is the main key here, dont rush out and try different remidies in the hopes of a fast fix as it seldom works.