Some type of algae.

PitViper

New member
What is this stuff.
8e4d8462aeb6da7c34044da05b20310a.jpg
8d1e78d0dd2dbd3a87fbf3015ea5538c.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Not algae..
Cyanobacteria...

One of the 3 "ugly stages" of a new tank..
Siphon it out with water changes and if you don't have any corals shut your lights off..
It will pass..
 
I do have a soft coral. Small guy. Little blue mushroom. So I unfortunately I don't have a choice for that unless I wanna lose him. How does this stuff come about? Is it to much feeding? I literally give the smallest pinch of food because it's a single fish. Every 12 hours for my feeding.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I do have a soft coral. Small guy. Little blue mushroom. So I unfortunately I don’t have a choice for that unless I wanna lose him. How does this stuff come about? Is it to much feeding? I literally give the smallest pinch of food because it’s a single fish. Every 12 hours for my feeding.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Too much food. Once per day max and you might want to switch over to pellets = less leftover food particles getting to the sand. The mushroom will be fine if you choose to leave the lights off of the tank for a few days. They are very hardy corals.
 
Ok then that's what I'm gonna do. Would I be able to see a picture of your tank? And what pellets do you use?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Tank is really new judging by the white rocks and sand. A little cyano is expected. Something has to start growing and covering those surfaces.

I wouldn't change anything.
 
Tank is really new judging by the white rocks and sand. A little cyano is expected. Something has to start growing and covering those surfaces.



I wouldn't change anything.



Yes it's roughly going on two months now


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ok then that’s what I’m gonna do. Would I be able to see a picture of your tank? And what pellets do you use?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had the same exact black stringy cyano problem 4 months ago. What I did was I started using a gravel vac to clean 25% of the sand every other water change and cut back on my feeding = no more cyano.

I'm feeding New Life Spectrum Marine Fish Formula 1mm pellets.
 
Last edited:
Your feeding level is likely fine... Cyano is fairly common in a new tank and I would not starve your fish because someone assumes you are overfeeding..

It will pass with time as the tank matures a bit..
IF you do have corals then its ok to turn the lights off for 3 days but it will pass anyways so just keep siphoning it out and see how it does if you don't want to turn the lights out at all..
 
I love it how when one person gives a recommendation on how they solved the issue at hand...five minutes later someone will post only to contradict what the first person said and tell them to keep doing what they are doing which caused the problem in the first place. Something is actively feeding the cyano...my best guess would be the small bits of flake food that are not getting eaten and working their way to the bottom of the tank. I told the OP what worked for me...and it did. Within one month's time I had NO cyano left in the my tank which I'm assuming is what the OP wants as well.
 
I love it how when one person gives a recommendation on how they solved the issue at hand...five minutes later someone will post only to contradict what the first person said and tell them to keep doing what they are doing which caused the problem in the first place. Something is actively feeding the cyano...my best guess would be the small bits of flake food that are not getting eaten and working their way to the bottom of the tank. I told the OP what worked for me...and it did. Within one month's time I had NO cyano left in the my tank which I'm assuming is what the OP wants as well.

No..you are making guesses and assumptions just because of something that happened to you and really no guarantee that the reduction in feeding solved the problem.. It "may" have been the reason it may have not.. I just don't want the OP to possibly starve a fish based on one persons comments..

You threw out your "overfeeding" comment before he even mentioned anything about how much he was feeding..

I have had tanks with "ZERO" food input (no fish) get cyano. If its all about food then explain that?
I have had tanks where I fed a TON not have a cyano problem ever..
Cyano seems to happen from a multitude of reasons.. No one really knows exactly whats causing it in each tank..

Cyano is very normal in new tanks and in many cases just goes away on its own for whatever reason.. That "may" have been the reason it went away in yours..

I just didn't want the OP to think he MUST reduce feeding which could just cause other problems..
 
I have had tanks with "ZERO" food input (no fish) get cyano. If its all about food then explain that?

This one I am curious about? Wouldn't there have to be some type of organic matter breaking down in the tank for the cyano to feed off of? From everything I read online when trying to figure out what was going on with my black cyano issue it emphasized that it has to be feeding off of something in the tank...and the main suggestions for finding the cause of the outbreak were overfeeding, lighting issues, and not cleaning the sand bed regularly.

I also think it has to be introduced from something being added to the tank. I know exactly where mine came from...it was a piece of mushroom coral that I bought from a local guy. Once I had put that in my tank, the black cyano took root and started growing. Before that I had no issues at all with cyano.
 
Last edited:
Mcgyvr is very knowledgeable and always has solid advice and doesn't sugar coat anything. Can be very entertaining at times to read his responses.

I had a small amount of cyano when first starting my tank and its fairly common as a tank matures. I fed every other day, use a MaxspectRazr for light which I believe to be a good light, and never clean my sand bed. I changed absolutely nothing, just ignored it, and within a month was gone and hasn't returned.
 
We don't always know what causes cyanobacteria issues. It does have to feed off something, but it is very adaptable.

It can use CO2 as a carbon source. It can also use nitrogen gas as a nitrogen source, so I'm not sure nitrates ever actually matter much to cyanobacteria for example.

It was in the sea before there was even oxygen in the atmosphere billions of years ago. It's tough stuff.
 
Back
Top