cyanobacteria

Star_Rider

Star_Rider

AC Moderators
Dec 21, 2005
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Spanaway, Wa.
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Ed
blue-green slime algae.

started taking over my 75..I did the lights off, cut back on feedings, cut back on lights.increased circulation etc little to no effect

read that it was a bacteria and found maracyn contins erythromycin and can be used to wipe out the cyanobacter..5th day..all the cyanobacteria are gone.

anyone tried UV ??
 
UV works, and E.M. works too. i used both at the same time. 2 days it was clear. change water after day 3. nitrates will be really high
 
Cyano is a nag....You need to up your Nitrates, clean out all visible signs and increase circulation. Is yor tank near a window? Where in the tank is the cyano the worst?
If you really want to get rid of it without dosing a drug that would wipe out your Nitrobacter population, you will have to do a full 3-4 day blackout. Answer these questions before we go to that extreme. The blackout works and is great though, so worst case.....
UV doesn't get rid of cyano, it holds it back only to come back when you turn it off. Erythromycin works but stresses fish and kills your bacterial population. Blackouts an NO3 dosing are the best methods.
 
mardel claims the maracyn won't hurt the beneficial bacteria.

I will be adding a powerhead to the tank to get better circulation. the tank does not get direct sunlight. the cyano is worse at the front of the tank ..

I tried a 3 day blackout it had little effect ..I added more green plants to suck up more nutrient(in the event that was the problem..it is 220 watts of light 10k range 50/50 and daylight. nitrates are at 20(tap is 20) I did change a blue actinic opout for a full spectrum light satruday(VHO). currently the tank is set up to only get 9 hrs of light.

I do suspect that circulation cousl be a part of the problem..this tank uses a wet/dry sump ..I repointed the nozzels to get more water movement..(it is a discus tank)
 
cyano isn't a nutrient competition issue, but I always advocate adding more plants so it can't hurt! lol Erythro does wipe out some of the bacteria. Nitrobacter is a gram negative bacillus and erythro does act against some gram negs. Anyway, that said a blackout does work, but there is a rigid step by step process that must occur in order for it to be fool proof. If you leave one thing out it fails.
It woulds like you hit the nail on the head though. If it happens in one place in the tank and that doesn't face a window, it is likely a movement issue <dead spot> there and your powerhead redirection will help. Only time will tell now....
:)
 
lots of conflicting info abut whether it is a nutrient comp issue..kind of confuses people(myself included)

I do think it is a dead spot..so I am going to add a small powerhead to one corner and get more flow to the front of the tank. just so happens I have an extra powerhead...LOL

I had cyano in my 55 added a powerhead and the cyano is not in that tank anylonger.

I think you hit the nail on the head on that.

I think the blackout may work also..maybe should have done it a day longer.

the maracyn did work ...and so far no effect on the nitro cycle.
 
I think it's a multi-headed monster actually. NO3 defficiency only causes it, once it gets started there's no hope for using NO3 dosing to get rid of it.

The bacteria that causes BGA is free floating until it finds an area where it can start a colony and has enough light and food (it does not need NO3, it can fix nitrogen). This is the phase when NO3 shortages cause it. A lack of NO3 means that there is a lot of other nutrients in the water that the plants can't use, but the BGA can since it can fix nitrogen. As a side note, oxygen will kill this bacteria. This is also why it tends to crop up in dead spots; low oxygen, natural settling place for debris and nutrients. Up until you start to see colonies, it can be prevented through NO3 dosing and keeping water circulation even. This is also where a UV may help to kill the bacteria in the water.

Once it finds a suitable area, it creates a colony enclosed by a membrane. Once it has entered this phase, it begins to grow very rapidly. Cleaning it out will not work since it is bacteria, and you cannot remove bacteria from your tank with any sort of tool. It will just re-establish a colony where it lands again. Dosing NO3 at this point is simply feeding the algae. You will notice huge explosions in growth after fertilizing. Increasing circulation will probably do nothing, since although oxygen is toxic to the bacteria, it is now protected by its membrane. It does work in some situations though, so it's worth a try. The only certain way to get rid of it now is to either do a blackout (which may or may not kill your other plants) or use Maracyn. Maracyn does NOT affect your biological filter if dosed correctly. People think it does because they see a spike in nitrites after treatement. This is due to the mass death of cyanobacteria that just occured in the tank. Just do a water change and your tank should level out in a few days. If the nitrite levels start getting high again, do another water change. If it really damaged the biological filter it would take weeks to recycle.

This is just what I've learned from fighting off BGA and researching it a bit. Really, dosing NO3 and circulation are just preventative measures. They will probably do nothing to combat the algae once it is established.
 
Last edited:
twig said:
3 days of proper blackout == dead BGA for certain.
Click to expand...
agreed
 
Hi - which version of Maracyn are you referring to. I checked my LFS website and I'm seeing: Maracyn, Maracyn II, and Maracyn Plus. Thx.
 
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