Cyano?

[Jan]

I have red algae growing on the substrate and on the edges of several rocks. It's also around the edges of my favia. There's also a black slime type of algae on a few rocks that don't get too much light. These rocks are on the side of the tank. I'm guessing it's all the same thing and that I now have cyano bacteria. How do I get rid of it all without stressing all the livestock?

[Origami]

Jan, you may be just dealing with new tank syndrome. Since your tank is so new, ecological balance has not yet been established. Most often, in these early stages, you'll use a turkey baster to remove the stuff from the tank and perform regular water changes to keep organics and nitrates down. Good skimming can also help. Old lights can also be a problem it their spectrum has shifted away from where more complex organisms can use the light for their photosynthesis and toward where the cyano benefits.

[Jan]

Jan, you may be just dealing with new tank syndrome. Since your tank is so new, ecological balance has not yet been established. Most often, in these early stages, you'll use a turkey baster to remove the stuff from the tank and perform regular water changes to keep organics and nitrates down. Good skimming can also help. Old lights can also be a problem it their spectrum has shifted away from where more complex organisms can use the light for their photosynthesis and toward where the cyano benefits.

 

Hi Tom,

So is this just another phase? I've got such a nice supply of copepods and amphipods going on here. I wouldn't want to knock everything out of whack. I guess it's back to frequent water changes. I have my protein skimmer and it's doing it's job. It's collecting skimate. Probably about time to replace bulbs too. But the black slime doesn't move with a turkey baster? Do I scrub it off? Will I just be spreading it?

[onyx]

You could also try siphoning out the cyno.. I've done that in the past, then I did a three day no light schedule and that got rid of it completely. Once the rest of your levels get back into shape, it should not come back. It will settle in low flow areas as well, so increasing flow and eliminating dead spots will help.

[Origami]

Hi Tom,

So is this just another phase? I've got such a nice supply of copepods and amphipods going on here. I wouldn't want to knock everything out of whack. I guess it's back to frequent water changes. I have my protein skimmer and it's doing it's job. It's collecting skimate. Probably about time to replace bulbs too. But the black slime doesn't move with a turkey baster? Do I scrub it off? Will I just be spreading it?

 

Could be a phase - it's one of the options and since your system's relatively new, it's more likely that it is. However, it could be more. (I heard an old radio personality often say, "When you hear hoofbeats, think 'horses' and not 'zebras'.")

 

If the black slime is cyano, you can scrub it off with a soft pet toothbrush. Do you have a particulate filter or some filter floss [you can get throw pillow stuffing - polyester fiberfill - that functions the same way] that you could use to catch any suspended cyano particles if you scrub it off?

 

If the lighting's old, it could be factoring into the problem. In fact, I think I may be due for a lighting change in my BC29....

[astroboy]

I'm beginning to wonder about cyano...... See general tank parameters below.....

 

Lights are four months old, (50-50 compacts), set up a remote deep sand bed both tanks 6-8 weeks ago, (18-20" deep, in 5-gallon buckets), don't overfeed, have siphoned cyano out again and again (in the 30 alot very occassionally in the 75). Moderate vodka dosing for three months, nitrates and phosphates undetectable now. Cause and effect? Coincidence? Not sure, but nitrates used to be 10-15, never trusted the phosphate readings. I'm a believer now. (But, my gut says its playing with fire until you find the correct level for your system. Read much, believe little, grasshopper). A few bubble algaea, tend to be quite short lived, both tanks. Have DIY reactors for BRS carbon and GFO which seems to work better than anything else I've tried. And they don't pay me to say that.

 

Tank 1: 75 gallons, pure as the driven snow, and alot more heavily planted with alot more fish. But, ESB 100 skimmer, also, DIY GFO and carbon reactors with pretty high flow, that is, you can tell the media is in the mosh pit.

 

Tanks 2: 30 gallons, bigger, deeper RSB, a few weeks younger, can't get rid of the cyano. Running two PM HOT skimmers rated at 50 gal each. Should be adequate, you'd think.... However, flow thru GFO and carbon isn't so high. Its stirred up, but just a bit.

 

Using that BRS double hardness GFO (quite happy with) and Rox carbon from Bulk reef supply. Works great in the 75 at least.

 

Should mention that the 30 has just a bit more more internal water movement than the 75 too.

 

I'm thinking:

1: For carbon to really work, you really need to stir the stuff up, more than the video at BRS suggest, although I hesitate to disagree with them, since I think they know what they're doing. But... different tanks, different solutions, perhaps. I used to have it in media bags, worthless after a few days. That's the problem with Chemipure, which otherwise I loved.

 

2: Cyano is supposed to result from DOC. The twin PM's I have I think reduce the organics to say, 10 parts in a zillion, whether I'm running 1 (as I did for a year) or 2, or, I suspect, 20. That is to say, you get X amount of skimmate with 1, 2, or, I bet, 20 PM HOT skimmers. The ERS produces alot more skimmate. Even with the GFO and RSBD, and agitated carbon, I'm beginning to wonder if the bottom line isn't skimming, period

 

As regards current: Just my observations: I have cyano growing in current that would take the chrome off a bumper hitch. Yeah, I believe you get more in dead areas, but the current ain't a cure.

 

 

I've had OK luck with the antibiotics that kill cyano (eg, from Sean at Aquaco) and I think it can help you get ahead of the mess so you can do something about it, but as everyone says, just a bandaid.

[treesprite]

I've had OK luck with the antibiotics that kill cyano (eg, from Sean at Aquaco) and I think it can help you get ahead of the mess so you can do something about it, but as everyone says, just a bandaid.

I would only do this as a last resort. I was feeling really fed up and desperate when I used such a thing. It worked (temporarily) but now I realize that the reason my RDSB wasn't getting itself established is probably that the cyano killer also killed the good bacteria in the tank. Of course if you kill off the good bacteria in your tank you can have a cycle, or all the dying cyano if there is a lot in the tank when you add the chemical, pollutes the water. I won't use the stuff again.

[Jan]

I would only do this as a last resort. I was feeling really fed up and desperate when I used such a thing. It worked (temporarily) but now I realize that the reason my RDSB wasn't getting itself established is probably that the cyano killer also killed the good bacteria in the tank. Of course if you kill off the good bacteria in your tank you can have a cycle, or all the dying cyano if there is a lot in the tank when you add the chemical, pollutes the water. I won't use the stuff again.

 

I've changed water more frequently. I've left the lights off for 24 hours. I blow detritus off the rocks every night with a turkey baster. I'm only leaving the lights on for 4 hours instead of 10. It has stopped growing and appears to be going away.

[moga]

less lighting, less feeding and more flow solved my problem..

 

good luck~

[Barebottomcorals_Ed]

Hi Tom,

So is this just another phase? I've got such a nice supply of copepods and amphipods going on here. I wouldn't want to knock everything out of whack. I guess it's back to frequent water changes. I have my protein skimmer and it's doing it's job. It's collecting skimate. Probably about time to replace bulbs too. But the black slime doesn't move with a turkey baster? Do I scrub it off? Will I just be spreading it?

 

 

I had the same problem with the " black stuff"....was only growing on 1 rock, pulled rock, cooked it for a week and its been fine....also had 2 small spots growing on my sand bed...removed the sand area around it and everything has been fine!