Old Vinegar Causing Cyano?

Horace

Horace

New member
Hey folks,

I have a fairly fresh build that is having a significant outbreak of both Diatoms and Cyano. The Diatoms came first (as expected after the cycle), but I have never had Cyano come on this heavy. its covering about 75% of the sandbed that is not shaded, and its also on most of the rocks. The Diatoms are also long and stringy at this point, so the tank is looking like royal !&$%!!!!!

I have been dosing vinegar as well from about 2 weeks in to try to deal with some of the nitrate left over from the cycle, plus I have had good luck with carbon dosing in the past (although that was using Vodka).

My question is, did I bring on this cyano outbreak??? I am dosing fairly low levels of vinegar (10ml/day) for a 200g+ system. The vinegar isn't exactly new (probably a year old or so), so I am wondering if that may be the reason?

Anyway, my thoughts are to get my hands on some cheato (still have not been able to do that!), and start cultivating that in the sump, but am hesitant to keep dosing carbon for fear that its the cause of the Cyano.

Note: Nitrate is sitting around 25-30 right now. Not sure of the P04 yet, I don't have a good kit for that (no corals in the tank yet).


Thoughts?
 
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mcgyvr said:
Nope...

Did you use "live sand"?

I expect "diatoms" after a cycle... Not dinos..
Click to expand...

Dinos = Diatoms :)

No, I don't believe in that live sand thing.

I did get some sand from a friend's tank, as well as a few ceramic media (which have since been returned) after the cycle completed.
 
Diatoms are handled easily by snails. Trochus are happy to eat them, for example. Dinoflagellates can be more problematic. I take it the tank has dinoflagellates? Personally, I'd just wait a while. Stopping the vinegar might help, if it is encouraging the bloom. That's hard to determine, though. Year-old vinegar should be fine.
 
bertoni said:
Diatoms are handled easily by snails. Trochus are happy to eat them, for example. Dinoflagellates can be more problematic. I take it the tank has dinoflagellates? Personally, I'd just wait a while. Stopping the vinegar might help, if it is encouraging the bloom. That's hard to determine, though. Year-old vinegar should be fine.
Click to expand...

i meant diatoms....and mistakenly put dinos instead. I dont have dinos. I do need to buy some clean up crew though. I will keep the Trochus in mind. Ive not got those kind previously.

Either way the carbon dosing seems to be making the cyano worse, which vinegar isnt supposed to do.....but I am guessing it is regardless. I see some folks dose some MB7 to outcompete the cyano, and I may give that a shot if this doesnt start to clear up soon.

My first plan is to get some good cheato going in the sump. Ultimately I would like to get an ATS going, but that is a project I am just not ready to undertake yet.
 
Vinegar might be less likely to feed cyanobacterial blooms, but different tanks have different reactions. I'd cut back if I were convinced it was causing a problem. New tanks often show such blooms, though.
 
what would make "old" vinegar different from new vinegar?

It's acetic acid and water, right? What could it decompose into?

If it got polluted maybe? but I don't know of a pollutant that would contribute specifically to just cyano...

did it get contaminated with silica sand and that contributed to diatoms?

sorry- more questions than answers.
 
karimwassef said:
what would make "old" vinegar different from new vinegar?

It's acetic acid and water, right? What could it decompose into?

If it got polluted maybe? but I don't know of a pollutant that would contribute specifically to just cyano...

did it get contaminated with silica sand and that contributed to diatoms?

sorry- more questions than answers.
Click to expand...
I think I read something about bacteria getting into it and using up some of the carbon. I will see if I can dig that up

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 
Horace said:
The Diatoms are also long and stringy at this point, so the tank is looking like royal !&$%!!!!!
Click to expand...

I know you said you posted the word 'dinos' by mistake, but your description here also sounds like dinos, can you post a pic?
 
Hmm, I agree that diatoms will not form strings by themselves. They have a solid silicate test (shell) so they aren't sticky. They will grow in combination with dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria, though.
 
ajm83 said:
I know you said you posted the word 'dinos' by mistake, but your description here also sounds like dinos, can you post a pic?
Click to expand...

Well.. he said dinos but meant diatoms.. so lets also assume he said dinos but meant stringy cyano..

I think horace (Kurt) may be using the old vinegar because he drank all the new vodka :hmm2:

I thought overtime vinegar (if left open) will absorb moisture from the air and the acetic acid will decompose both leading to a less acidic solution..
 
OP has dinos (I'd bet), regardless of what he meant to type ;-)
Stringy diatoms = super crazy rare
Stringy dinoflagellates = very annoyingly common.
Post pics, or better yet, Google paper towel dino test, and find out.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 
Ok, so I did the paper towel test. It looks like 95% or more of the algae did not make it through the towel. The water looks quite clear actually. I am waiting to see if anything happens....

ebcbe33cf5d8abae3239bcba7d94d17d.jpg


6f74675d3b960f52dce5f2c7adf78869.jpg
 
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Here is a vid of the tank. I took the lights off tonight to work on the canopy. I notice a good deal of the red slime on the sandbed is GREATLY diminished. I would say by about 90%, and the lights were only off for about 6 hours. The brown algae seems to be about the same....

Not sure that it matters, but all the rock was dry prior to putting it in the tank.

Here is a vid:

<div style="position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.21%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9aYjlgv_oQ4?ecver=2" style="position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;left:0" width="641" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
 
I'll try to be careful with my terms. My personal guess is that you are seeing cyanobacteria, because dinoflagellates are said produce a lot of bubbles. Unfortunately, I don't know how many of those claims were backed up by an id with a microscope. Whether the tank has cyanobacteria or dinoflagellates is a secondary issue for now. With a bit of luck, the pest will go away with a bit of time or work.

I might consider siphoning out as much of the slime as is easy to get. That'll help export nutrients. Sometimes, a bit of GFO helps, but not always.
 
Well it has been almost an hour and the water still looks very clear, i dont see any algae reforming....so I am hoping that means its NOT Dinos :)

At this point my bet is on brown cyano, given i know for sure i have cyano all over.
 
Cup was left under a light all night, water is still clear. I am guessing this is just cyano brought on by extra carbon....

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 
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