How To Rid Cyano And Other Pest Algaes

algae?

algae?

I have a new tank (my first) that I set up on Sunday. I used live rock from two sources. Several of the rocks from one source have now developed patches of white fuzzy growth which looks almost like mould (mold).

My books say remove the affected rock and re-cure it under low light with plenty of aeration for 1-3 weeks.

My questions:

1. Is that the corrcet procedure?
2. Do I need to do anything to prevent similar outbreaks from occurring elsewhere?
3. Any other advice relating to this?

Setup is 60G, Weipro Skimmer with 2000litres/hr, fluidized bed (sand) filter with 1400 litres/hr. I currently have two small powerheads in the tank at opposite ends pushing about 300 litres per hour each. I also have a sand filled sump with a powerhead that pushes 3200 litres/hr at 0 metres heads (2400 @ .95 metres (abt 3 feet)) that I'm not sure about... I want a reef tank, not a washing machine and it really pushes the water about!

Regards.
 
my 30 gallon is about 7 months old, and everything has been stable so far.. I only add a tiny bit to it every month or so and do regular water changes.. there's only a single 4-striped damsel, a couple blue legged hermit crabs, live rock, live sand, and some turbo snails (and dark blue and green featherduster worms, bristle worms, etc that were on the live rock, of course).

I am noticing three distinct types of algae growin in my tank.. one is the brown stuff that gets on the glass, and seems to grow long, like hair algae or whatnot.

the second is red, but doesn't sound anything like what you're describing! it's only in tiny areas and has been in the tank for a good 3 or so months now... it's just flat to the ground, and there's barely any there... I think it came in with some rock (I only add a tiny bit every month or so with this tank.. I'm extremely new and I just want to do everything as slowly as possible so there isn't a huge change, and I can learn as I go along).

the third is green.. it grows in furry clumps. where it grows, it looks like a fuzz ball. I actually like this furry algae, it reminds me of tribbles

any clue what these are, and if they're good/bad/normal? can anyone point me to actual GOOD sites out there on this matter?
 
Now I'm confused. A lot of post talks about how RO water is bad to have phosphates. Everyone seems to have a different opinion about what is good or bad. I used well water to start my reef and slowly changed over to distilled water. Now I have red algae. I'm new and very confused.
 
OK....i have had a bad case of cyano algae in my 30gallon tank. I have tried Phosguard by Seachem, reducing feeding, reduced lighting etc. I need a quick effective way to remove it, and dont really want to resort to water changes....any ideas would be helpful.....:D
 
slholmes, long story short phosphates feed the growth of algae. Here's a good thread:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=139044

Is it possible the distilled water is not as pure as the water you were using before? A TDS meter will tell you the total dissolved solids of the water you are using. You can buy one off e-bay for ~20 or maybe a friend / local reef club member has one you could test your water with.

Kevin
 
I did a double check on the "red algae" I have in the tank.,.. the more established part (i.e., the older rocks that have it on it) the red algae is fuzzy just like the green.. so I guess it's not the same.. eh well..
 
I haven't had the red slime on the sand bed...it just starts on one of my rock ares and spreads after several days. I take a tooth brush and gently scrub it off and get what I can with the baster...

My Queen conch was eating the cyno, but she was just recently eaten...by something...:confused: not sure what yet...

I have sea horses in this tank so I can't increase the circulation too much or they will be bouncing off the glass...

RO water~you have to be very careful when you get it. This is how my red slime started....I was doing RO water changes and my phospates went through the roof...someone suggested testing the ro...I did and that was the cause. I had to search for a new source...and this one still has them, but not so high...
 
" Dripping kalk at night will help to precipitate out CaPO4, which can then be collected by the skimmer"
What is CaPO4?
 
Pictures

Pictures

Anyone have a pic of this cyno algae. Just kinda curious if I have any in my tank. It doesn't seem like I do but there are one or two patches on rock that's been described so was lookin for a picture to verify.
Thanks.
 
I had quite a cyano outbreak for several months. The tank was only about six months old, and originaly filled with well water. At the time of the outbreak, I had already moved to distilled water, knowing the perils of tap, but still having no reliable source of RO. I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t know if switching to RO helped end my woes, or if it was just the number of changes in general, but the cyano soon cleared up (after about 8 months). I had also run a phosphate sponge once in that period.
 
Ca = Calcium, PO4 = Phosphate, hence CaPO4 is calcium phosphate. Some of the calcium from the kalkwasser will bind with the phosphate in the water, creating CaPO4.

smity1333 said:
" Dripping kalk at night will help to precipitate out CaPO4, which can then be collected by the skimmer"
What is CaPO4?
Click to expand...
 
Has anybody ever posted a pic of what this cyano looks like?

If not, why?

Will somebody please post some pics so I now what this
stuff looks like

TIA
AlbinoOscar
 
Here ya go,
The Cyanobacteria or "cyano" is the red film on everything :-/ Note the whelk snail on the rock in the middle of the picture. This is my much neglected nano (now that i'm home on break from school) that I threw him in. The red by him is his tissue, not cyanobacteria.

HTH,
Kevin
 
cyano

cyano

or red slime algae, I used Chemi-clean and previously Red Slime remover, neither worked. I wrote the manufacturer Boyd's they said I had a "mutated" red slime algae and that no product would work? I am only using r/o water now, increased my circulation, dramatically ,ran a Poly marine pad, add I- biotnic, ran Seachem phosphate beads but I hear the crushed solution is far better. Decreased my po4 from 1.4 to .5. Added two nice heavily covered purple coraline LR and two snails with lots of purple algae. Some improvement, my water looks far better . Here is a picture of red slime for the fellow that asked.
 
Well last week i was fed up of cleaning my tank of cyano, and the whole tank re-covered in cyano in a couple of hrs. My lfs had a new product 'antired' by Aqua Medic. I was previously using phosguard by seachem, but no results. By 2 days after using antired, my tank was clear, and no sign of cyano anywhere, tank healthier then it has ever been. My finger coral has 4 growths which appeared after the cyano dissapeared last week......:D



PS. Follow instuctions of bottle carefully. The lfs says turn off your skimmer because it goes off its nuts, but it's a must to leave on to rremove the cyano from your tank. Also remove you carbon from your filters, as it removes the chemical from your system, making it useless.....:D

PSS. Before using the chemical, siphon as much cyano out of your tank to remove stress off your skimmer.....:D
 
maracyn

maracyn

if i'm not mistaken, maracyn has erythromycin as its generic name. my question is, could i use erythromycin itself as treatment for cyano in my tank?
 
macg,
I am going to discourage you to use antibiotics to kill the cyano. If you do so you will harm or destroy the bacteria essential to your "biological filter." If you have live rock and live sand you will essentially negate its purpose. Also, after you kill off the cyano it might come back as antibiotics only really take care of the sympton - the algae, not the problem - excess nutrients. I don't mean to be discouraging but I don't want you to do something that might hurt your tank - for all I know you are well aware of the risks and just fed up with the algae. Could you post some information about your tank? Filtration / water quality / etc.? Maybe someone will have an alternative suggestion for you.

HTH and Good luck,
Kevin
 
75 gal mixed reef tank a 1 inch sand bed about 60 lbs of LR, running a fluval 204 with carbon 24/7. I have a sump/refugium with caulerpa/ulva species on a reverse photoperiod. No other media in the sump. I'm running a seaclone skimmer in my sump 24/7. I dose tropic marine Calcium daily and supplement it with coral mineral, also from tropic marine. I add ph buffer although i dont really check on the levels. I run 2 6500K NOs and 2 actinics 10 hours for the daylight, 12 for the actinics. i have a tomato, two chromis, an ornate wrasse, an anthias and a yellow tang in my tank.
 
Algae

Algae

I have a 100 gal tank with 130 lbs of LR 3inch sandbed. I run a Rio2500 for the main filtration/circulation system which is a 30 gal sump with 10gal of blue bio media. I use a Prism skimmer (works great btw). I run carbon 24/7 with a MegaWatt UV sterilizer. I use a Rio1100 for secondary circulation. I had that red abnoxious algae growing furiously. Yesterday morning it seemed to have just disappeared, and stopped growing completely. I couldn't see through the first pane of acrylic in the sump. Now I can see through and through? The tank has been running since the begining of Jan this year. My levels are 0Am 0Nit 8.1PH

Any thoughts on how this algae just jumped up and left? I am not complaining, just wondering
 
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