Cyano is killing me!

noskimmer said:
From literature that I have read, it seems that cyanobacteria thrive's on light in about the 525nm range, where they have optimal growth. This is the red cyano, and not the blue-green, which thrive in conditions where the light is much longer, say in the 600nm range.

Now we know, as your lights get older, like us we have difficulty keeping things tight... so, our expensive MH's (and other lighting) start to degrade, resulting in longer wavelengths.

In addition, I know and from what aquaticreations has quoted and from my own tank (0 trates), it seems nutrients have little to do with it.. well that is a little stupid to say that, because everything requires some type of nutrient..

But why not grow in the form of a different type of algae?

And why, if water is ruled out by having the same water in my sump, and the same water in my tank, do I have cyano in my sump (in the dark area's as well) but not in my tank?

Cyanobacteria are prokaryotic (meaning they don't have a nucleus). They are considered phototrophs, as they derive energy from light, and are capable of photosynthesis. We also know that they are (contrary to what they are referred to) not algae, but bacteria, meaning they reproduce by fission or splitting (a form of asexual reproduction) to multiply.. now this part is where I start to believe in the light thing, because:

  • if mechanically it can't stay where it is if you blast it, or increase flow, and.
  • If it's survival is based on nutrients alone, why doesn't it just relocate and "fission" away somewhere else?
  • If I solely replace my bulbs and nothing else, it dies...
I don't know all the answer's... It's just some things just don't make sense..
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Those wavelengths are heavily generalized. Cyanobacteria are extremely variable in the types of chlorophyll, carotenoids, phycobilins, and bacteriochlorophylls they contain. As a result, one bacterium can have several optimal ranges. It just varies too much between cyanobacterial species, especially since it seems they grow quite well in a variety of lighting conditions. They have these pigments to allow them to thrive and reproduce in a variety of conditions, allowing them to outcompete everything else in certain circumstances. I just don't think that shifting wavelengths are the major contributor in aquaria. I have allowed bulbs to go for quite some time before changing them and never suffer an outbreak. Allow phosphate to rise or detritus to settle, however, and it appears regardless. Siince most can fix atmospheric nitrogen, nitrate concentrations don't really seem to matter to begin with...
 
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well said, however can you address my questions in your response..? As I was quite specific about my points... no?
 
noskimmer said:
well said, however can you address my questions in your response..? As I was quite specific about my points... no?
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1st point--doesn't seem like you finished what you were trying to say

2nd point--no one ever said its survival was based on nutrients alone. It is simply that, given all the factors present in most aquaria (i.e. sufficient light, gas exchange, etc.), that nutrients are going to be the prime "suspect" in causing its growth.

3rd point--given the changing nutrient cycles in tanks, how can you be certain that is was only the lights? If that happens to be the issue, why does it sprout up in new tanks that have only had their lights for a short period of time?

Now my own points:

1. Just because a test kit doesn't detect nitrate or phosphate in your tank, that doesn't mean that it isn't present in sufficient quantities to grow algae. They are able to sequester the available nutrients, as well, fueling growth and fooling your test kit. Bottom line--if you have enough nuisance algae, there's a nutrient problem somewhere, regardless of what a test says (unless you have one that resolves low enough).

2. I am of the opinion that biological competition is paramount and very important in aquariums--more than what many give it credit for. For example, given two tanks, one packed with thriving and fast growing corals, and the other with just a couple frags, which one is more likely to have the algae problem?
 
That is what i Do with my fresh water aquariums but was not sure if corals synthesized the nutrients,in the same way.Especially since some of the corals(like sun coral) Do not have the Algae that carries out processes of photosynthesis.But it could be as others stated,my tank is only about 1 1/2 months old so it is relatively new.,But it was cycled using old materials from another tank of mine... But it definitely is receding.and growth mainly occurs now on bare rocks.And sparse patches on top of the sand.
 
Red Slime Remover as a last resort is an excellent oxidizing powder. I,like many others, hate to use chemicals for anything...but if you tried everything else and it hasn't worked...this product does.
 
AquatiCreations said:
That is what i Do with my fresh water aquariums but was not sure if corals synthesized the nutrients,in the same way.Especially since some of the corals(like sun coral) Do not have the Algae that carries out processes of photosynthesis.But it could be as others stated,my tank is only about 1 1/2 months old so it is relatively new.,But it was cycled using old materials from another tank of mine... But it definitely is receding.and growth mainly occurs now on bare rocks.And sparse patches on top of the sand.
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Octavarium said:
Red Slime Remover as a last resort is an excellent oxidizing powder. I,like many others, hate to use chemicals for anything...but if you tried everything else and it hasn't worked...this product does.
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AquatiCreations, it does work somewhat similarly with lots of plants. The rates at which it occurs in reef aquaria will depend upon the corals.

Ocatavarium, it and other strong oxidizers (like KMnO4) work quite well, but I just avoid them like the plague. They are the "I'm going to quit if I don't get rid of this" kind of last resort.
 
i'll tell ya what... i tried everything to get rid of the red slime in my 29g (i posted a thread about it in reef keeping here) - tons of WC's, adding a ton of flow, new bulbs, total blackout - the works. the only thing that worked was chemiclean red slime remover. that stuff works insanely good. and the red slime has not come back at all. it came back with everything else i tried. before every time i got it all out (physically removing it and when i did the black out) it came back. not this time. of course now i have hair algae but i swear that's not near as bad as the red slime!
 
Lol my lil urchin works all day long,he really is great, he grew up from a spec i could barely see to a nice 1-1/2 inches he is today.He does like to mow through algae and does exceptionally well on the areas of rocks he gets to.
 
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