cyanobacteria is killing me!!!! [Archive]

nycsicktank

02-13-2008, 4:23 AM

i had this for about a month now... first my flow seems to take care of it but i cant put high flow as before due to stirring sands around. i added like 5 cerith snails and i only see 2 doing their jobs which isnt doing that well. is there any other snails that eats this?

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b221/fkyounggs/DSCN1305.jpghttp://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b221/fkyounggs/DSCN1298.jpg

dilbert

02-13-2008, 4:50 AM

I forgot which a few critters would eat red slime algae but my guess is even they would only eat it when they are starving.

What is this ball-like thing probably floating around there above the sandbed? If it is Chaetomorpha it should eat up all the phosphates and nitrates by the time. Long time ... unfortunately. :grinyes:

If you don't have corals threatened by the growth of this stuff I would simply wait and only monitor the phosphate and nitrate levels of your water.

nycsicktank

02-13-2008, 5:00 AM

yep thats cheato with cyanobacteria growing on it :mad:
phosphate i dont know yet cause i dont have test kit.
nitrate-5 ppm

i heard besides phosphate and nitrate, it can grow with a light.

Reefscape

02-13-2008, 5:59 AM

What is your feeding regime for the system? How long is the lighting on for?

And yes, you do need to test phosphates to see what the level is.

nycsicktank

02-13-2008, 6:09 AM

i feed them every other days 1x. light is on 12 hrs backward

Reefscape

02-13-2008, 6:21 AM

Nothing sounds out of the ordinary there...Ro water?

nycsicktank

02-13-2008, 6:25 AM

yea

dilbert

02-13-2008, 8:52 AM

As it is questioning time, now ... :grinyes:

How old is the tank? I mean when set-up and fully stocked?

nycsicktank

02-13-2008, 8:55 AM

How old is the tank? 3 months
I mean when set-up and fully stocked? you mean livestock?

dilbert

02-13-2008, 9:11 AM

Well, that's ok already. If the tank is only 3 months old then it is quite possible that it is one of those outbreaks of an immature tank.

Maybe not everybody gets a cyanobacteria outbreak llike a brown algae outbreak but many do.

As it is not in an "mature established" tank it is not unusual.

You can start removing the slime or using medication or try to increase the flow what is difficult and you have tried already or cover the tank in blankets and shut the light for a period depending on the live already in the tank BUT everything is cumbersome and won't be the ultimate solution. You will have to do this then again and again until you can bring down phosphate and nitrate what these cyanobacteria need apart from light.

nycsicktank

02-13-2008, 9:22 AM

the funny thing is im not even done with diatom yet, starting to get green algae back of tank and now this!?!! ill give it another month

ChangDriX

02-14-2008, 12:41 PM

50% water change and cut back on feedings worked great for me

bowser7of9

02-14-2008, 3:41 PM

Siphon the stuff out, and then reduce your light cycle. This happens in my tanks when I upgrade my lighting. I just bring down my light to 4 hrs for a week and siphon out the cyano. After a week I gradually increase my lighting until the system has adjusted and things are all good again.

Nutrients and light seem to be the big factor with this stuff. Good luck.

1wizz

02-17-2008, 2:24 PM

Nutrients and light seem to be the big factor with this stuff.

Agreed. Although my tank is matured when my tubes start to fail i get cyano on my sand if i ignore the signs it takes hold.
reduce your light period feeding and syphon out as much as you can.
Good luck.

nycsicktank

03-10-2008, 4:22 AM

nothing seems to work for me.........:swear:

will it spread if i turn my flow to the blubbles?

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b221/fkyounggs/DSCN1680.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b221/fkyounggs/DSCN1681.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b221/fkyounggs/DSCN1683.jpg

you can see a little spot growing in 24 hours period(without powerhead)

Subliminal

03-10-2008, 7:25 AM

Your outbreak isn't very bad. Like was said, it's probably just because your tank is fairly new.

Also, you don't have much chaeto in there yet. As it grows larger, it should eat more nutrients and reduce the nutrients left over for the cyano.

Just syphon it out on occasion, and give your tank a little time. Maybe even reduce your feeding just a tad.

nycsicktank

03-10-2008, 7:43 AM

my cheato was double of that until it split into two, it was covered with cyano and i kept on trimming it. cheatos little by little falling apart and going to my DT.

keep in mind thats one day after cleaning..

forgot to add this pic, you see that little spot of cyano
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b221/fkyounggs/DSCN1684.jpg

Ace25

03-10-2008, 9:26 AM

Have you tried any of the red smile removers (Chemi-Clean)? It will definately get rid of it for the short term... long term you have to figure out what is causing the problem. Also, at 3-4 months, most people, including myself, usually have a run of cyano outbreak that takes a few months to get control of. One of those "newbie" things I think just about everyone goes through within the first year.

nycsicktank

03-10-2008, 9:35 AM

i wouldnt want to take any chance using a chemical in my DT. it seems like light is causing this. i guess my tank is still maturing.

Ace25

03-10-2008, 9:47 AM

I just had to use Chemi-Clean in my DT last week. My lighting upgrade caught up with me a month later by having a cyano outbreak. 3 very very tiny scoops of Chemi-Clean (it comes with the tiny scoop), turn off protein skimmer, remove carbon, and let it go for 48 hours. Do a big water change after that.. use a syphon to suck out any left over (looks brown at this point and comes out easy) and problem solved. At least for me.. cyano didn't come back. I knew what the cause of mine was though. Once I got rid of the outbreak the rest of the filtration/flow took care of it not showing back up. First cyano outbreak I have had since the stage your at.

One thing about cyano though.. if you just let it go and it takes hold in your tank, it is a real PITA to completely get rid of. If you take care of it early.. first week you start to see it, usually you can rid it pretty easily.

nycsicktank

03-10-2008, 9:59 AM

if this keeps going on until my tanks 6th birthday then ill use that chemi-clean as you suggested :)

oh yea i know, diatoms were PITA. still having a hard time(spend like 1 hr cleaning this 2xday). ill never let this beat me. =)

clown-lover

03-10-2008, 6:15 PM

When I first started my tank I had an outbreak of cyano.. Primarily in my refugium, but I did have some in the DT. I used Niko's idea of a toothbrush on the end of a syphon to scrub the rock and suck up the gunk, and then used some Anti-Red. Yes I know me, the guy who hates using chemicals. But I've seen systems that have been overtaken by cyano and people battling it to no end so this time I opted for the quick cure. I added a small powerhead to my refugium area and within a week it was all gone and I haven't had any since. I have also removed the powerhead from the refugium.

snailrider

03-10-2008, 7:49 PM

That isn't half as bad as when mine outbroke.

I changed lights, not the timing, not the sunlight coming in the window, no feeding change, just new flourescent bulbs.

Coralife actinic and trichromatic combination.

Did not clean or siphon, it just went away. Did not medicate. I use tap water also. I still get the brown, but not so bad and the turbo snail does a good job.

I don't remember reading the lighting you have.

wantvws

03-10-2008, 9:23 PM

I battled mine for a month or so.....siphoning it out every @#*%$& day with a turkey baster. I tried a wad of chaeto (which has not increased in size in months), phosphate removing media, cut the light cycle down to a few hours a day, etc. What seems to really knock it out :nutkick: was increasing the flow in my tank. I had two MJ1200s that I modified and 99% of the red menace vanished overnight. the rest went away in week or so. It was so frustrating because it seemed to get better overnight and by the end of my daily light cycle the tank was turning red again.
Nothing like spending my Sunday morning sucking out red slime with a turkey baster with my arm submerged in my tank...yippee...:)
Robbie