Cyano is killing me!

AquatiCreations

AquatiCreations

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Feb 25, 2008
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Every morning its the same thing.I get up go to the bathroom,then go to the tank and swirl/scrub the cyano so it dosent accumulate. it grows over the sand and rocks.Its a redish brown algae and likes to grow practically anywhere(Even on my sponges!) This is really getting on my nerves,I WANT TO TERMINATE IT FOR GOOD.My water params are peak. Lighting 10K 60 watt output X2.(Brand new bulbs) Photo period of 10-11Hours maximum.Fed sparingly twice a day once early morning -once before bed.Currently have 3 atlantic turbo snails. Two true ocellaris. 1 peppermint shrimp, and one yellow tail damsel. Are there any easy fixes to this problem?:help:
Thanks
-AC
 
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On physical removal its best to syphon it off the rocks and out of the tank during a partial water change, scrubbing can just spread it around.

I take it your tank is fairly new? Most new tanks go through a cyano phase, not all tanks do and sometimes its just some tiny patches but many tanks do. It should pass eventually with good water quality but in some cases it just never goes away. There are lots of things that can possibly cause cyano to grow; nutrients (phosphates being especially important), certain types of lighting, water flow, unstable water parameters etc etc. Basically lots of things. Sometimes tanks that are years old can get a cyano outbreak too, for no real apparent reason.

To get rid of it you've got to be methodical. Change one thing, see if it works and if it doesn't change something else. First thing is water changes, maybe increase size and/or frequency, maybe change salt brand. Adding filter media that removes phosphates and other nutrients. Increasing the flow in the tank. Shorten the time lights are on. Add a skimmer. Even after doing all these things you may not get rid of it completely, and then you've just got to be patient and see if time will do the trick.

My 20g went through every algae stage known to man in the first year. I just didn't let it get to me and kept modifying things. I tried a few things but the biggest help seemed to be adding a skimmer. Some nano's don't need a skimmer but mine did.

The January 2007 pic is a week or so into the cycle.

Tank.JPG
 
Yea it can completely grow back in a day..i thinks its ticking on of my snails off i have to scrub him everyonce in a while to get him clean.And get this it grows ONTOP of my chaetomorpha alage on algae its crazy!
 
I had troubles too was using walmart purple cap distilled water an got cyno bad.

I started using ro di water and it cleared up I finally bought my own rodi water machine and everything is good.

A young tank about 3 months old are prone to get cyno part of the cycle I heard.
 
It is a pain, I am going through the same thing, but starting to see some success. If you look up cyano on WWM or other sources the bottom line seems to be an increase in flow. I have noticed that where I change the flow I get great results fairly quickly. I don't have the hang of all the angles etc on my tank as it is 6' long and takes a bit of maneuvering to get things right. The manual effort you put into cleaning the rock and removing it from the sand will pay dividends. Really frustrating stuff and a lot of work.....but worth it in the end. Good luck.
 
That really sucks...how does it happen? I have some reddish stuff too but its not cyano...its hard algae...how do you prevent it? Looks sad. Doesn't coraline grow over it if it happens? What does it eat to survive and spread?
 
mcsassy said:
That really sucks...how does it happen?

<<It happens from a few reasons...Low flow, high nutrients, bad lighting>>

I have some reddish stuff too but its not cyano...its hard algae...how do you prevent it?

<<If its the hard stuff, its coralline algae which is fine to leave and you dont want to prevent its growth>>

Looks sad. Doesn't coraline grow over it if it happens?

<<Coralline wont grow over cyano bacteria, no>>

What does it eat to survive and spread?

<<Nutrients for the most part>>
Click to expand...

Added a few comments in red..
 
What do you mean by nutrients? Is it from over feeding?
 
I had a patch growing on my sand bed this morning and added a powerhead...it's almost all gone. Maybe try extra flow?
 
I feel for ya....I am battling my second outbreak of cyano, although this one is not nearly as bad as the first. This one seems to be concentrated in the center of my tank, so I moved some powerheads around to get some more flow there....we'll see if it works. I also have some rusty brown stuff that is not in there in the AM but has come back by the time the lights go off in the PM.
But I have tons of coraline coming in, so it's not all irritating!
Robbie
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