cyanobacteria problem

[mmaneen]

got a cyanobacteria problem they destroyed the only coral piece I have at the moment, any advice: herbivors or other ways

 

 

tank:

12g eclipse with a 10 ga live rock sump, 1 15 watt actinic, 1 15watt 50/50,

couple of hermits and turbo snails

 

2 pepermint shrimp, 1 fire shrimp, 2 clowns, 1 bubble tip anemone, 2 emerald crabs, one protein skimmer and stock filter

[xoshagsox]

Do a water change and you should syphon as much as you can out of your tank. Add some power heads to create more current. Cyanobacteria usually means high nutrients and low flow.

[FAC_WNY]

Reduce nutrient import (bad source water, bad salt mix, overfeeding), increase nutrient export (wet skimming with a good skimmer, carbon/resins, culling macroalgae from a refugium, more/frequent waterchanges with high quality water).

 

Solving algae problems is simple...that's all there is to it.

 

Cheers,

Fred

[mmaneen]

thank you very much, its been very annoying!

[exel170]

Do yourself a favor and get yourself this stuff called chemiclean, Its absolutely amazing, use it even if I have no Cyano, it clears the wwater up so crystal you wont beleive it. Great stuff.

[KidCNU]

Chemi clean works wonders on it as well

[FAC_WNY]

Chemiclean is a temporary solution....if you fix your husbandry practices, you'll never have algae issues again.

 

Cheers,

Fred

[MrMoFo]

i agree with Fred

[mmaneen]

I do tend to overfeed, I also have a fairly ineffective skimmer, anyone have a good, small, cheap wet skimmer that they like?

 

also, I know everyone harps on more lighting for anemones, but my bta is fantasticly happy.

[trekbear]

And too, the cyano can become resistant to Chemi-Clean as it's nothing more than an antibiotic from what I understand. Bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, which can lead to Cyano that won't disappear. Stick w/ Fred's husbandry techniques suggested above and you won't have to ever add chemi-clean.

 

HTH,

Tom

[FAC_WNY]

Good and cheap are usually mutually exclusive. I'd look into a Bak-Pak 2R or an Aqua-C Remora.

 

Cheers,

Fred

[steelhealr]

Turkey baster...best thing since sliced bread when it comes to cyano. Float it off, suction it up. Oh...my astreas have eaten it. Here is an old pic showing one of my astreas lawnmowering thru it. Good luck.SH

 

[reef-luva]

Less is more, especially with nanos... Fred hit it on the head...sounds like your tank is slightly off balance and all you need to do is help a bit come back to center. I stay away from too many additives any way.

[mmaneen]

hey thanks guys, I did use red slime away, it just an antibiotic like erythromyicin, just a two day treatment, that will solve the imediate problem, dont like adding stuff either, but it was just too messy, will do a quick water change this pm and then do more frequent changes, going to invest in a better skimmer for the future....that should take care of the problem.

[mmaneen]

oh yeah, the turkey baster was a great idea, thanks!

[dweakl01]

Just a test to see if Evil Fred is still around...

 

I did the ChemiClean when I had cyano issues (from using tap water) and everything was fine in 2 days. Since then, nothing but RO water for me and no cyano issues. So, slightly dissenting from Fred's remark, its not all husbandry. Sometimes husbandry needs a chemical kickstart.

[FAC_WNY]

But your cyano would have gone away on its own once you started following those better husbandry practices...it didn't "need" the kickstart...you were just too lazy to wait for nature to run its course.

 

 

Cheers,

Fred

[dweakl01]

There he is, kind of,...thank God. I thought you had gone soft from all the posts I had been reading lately. I agree, yes, it would have gone away, but in a 30 gallon tank that would have taken quite a whiel for the dillution of the tap with RO. The ChemiClean did the trick. I highly recommend it.

[FAC_WNY]

Bah..like I said..I'm too tired from rugby and work and partying to be mean..lol.

 

Cheers,

Fred

[dweakl01]

[revance]

Just a few comments.

 

First, cyano is NOT algae. People keep referring to it as algae and it is just plain wrong. It is a bacteria.

 

Second, sometimes antibiotics have their place. Out of control cyano is one of them. Just because someone has to resort to it, does not make them lazy, it means they don't want to watch all their corals die, and don't want to spend a year fighting a losing battle.

 

I have used chemi-clean in the past and it worked great. I tested my water and found it to have 0 ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and 0 phosphate. I tested using both Seachem and Salifert tests (just to make sure). I also don't buy the whole "low flow" problem. All high flow does is push it around. I had cyano growing right in front of large powerheads and on the intake to my HOB, it didn't care. Point being that although water changes are the safest way to correct problems, sometimes you need to "jump start" it. Unless you are doing VERY large water changes (80% or more) every day, you don't stand much of a chance going the water change only route. However, if you hit it with an antibiotic (such as chemi-clean) and then 2 days later start doing daily water changes, you will get rid of it.

[dweakl01]

Originally posted by revance

Just because someone has to resort to it, does not make them lazy, it means they don't want to watch all their corals die, and don't want to spend a year fighting a losing battle.

 

Yeah...up yours, Fred! (hehehehehehe)

[Web Guy]

lol....

[sataneatscheese]

Syphon off as much as u can, then add a "algae melter" like red slime remover or chemi clean. Then wait 2 days (do not overdose, can kill everything) This will kill about 75% of the cyno. After this, add 1 blue leg hermit crab per 3 gallons, don't feed them for a couple of days, and they will clean up the remainder of the cyno bacteria, I have had to help many people with this and it works.

[BKtomodachi]

What kind of pet store is that? Petsmart? Petco? Those are my guesses.

 

Second, sometimes antibiotics have their place. Out of control cyano is one of them.

I disagree. But I guess I'm a hippie.