Stupid Newbie type question from a not so newbie

[jfl14609]

Ok I am dealing with my first bad batch of cyano. I have done all the normal stuff water change and regular main and its now turning a greenish brown color and dying out. is this a normal "death cycle' for it?

 

[superkat]

wow...that's a GREAT question!

 

[jfl14609]

its weird I have had a bare bottom tank forever so i never had it then I decided to add sand rescently and had an outbreak

 

[superkat]

something in the sand???? man, i have no idea...i know i had the problem in the 55g...i added another powerhead and it went away.....

 

[jfl14609]

nah actually turned out the stupid sps brand t-5 actinic bulbs I was advised to buy aren't good for over driving and lasted about 5 mos. ditched them and its magically disappearing

 

[superkat]

magically disappearing....i like that. Sweet! Case closed.

 

[jfl14609]

I am trying to see if the green stuff that its turning to is normal for it to die off or not

 

[Gravesj1s]

I dont really know and its a odd feeling for me to make any suggestion here ,Im dealing with my own cyano issues.

Cyano in my case just sorta disappears and/or reappears all on its own with no change in color or anything that would indicate its dying off.There are many ,many different strains.New sand is sometimes followed by diatoms and/or cyano for a short period ,IMO/E.

 

[Conesus_Kid]

I've never seen it turn to green, but I do know that there is green cyanobacteria. In fact, I don't think I've seen it "die off", rather I usually blast it with a turkey baster or siphon it away and if it doesn't return within 24 hours, that's a good thing.

Since the addition of the sandbed, have you been "puffing" or stirring it up regularly with a turkey baster or powerhead? If not, it may be trapping detritus, providing a nutrient source for the cyano, (which doesn't need much to get started IMO).

It may also be time to check your RO/DI TDS.

 

[jfl14609]

tds is always 0 as are phosphates and nitrates. i do stir it on occasion. prob not enough though. I have a feeling its just diatoms the green is almost brown

 

[captain7359]

is a mat like red cyano? in the past cyano for me either lifted off as big chunks or became stringy and subsided.

 

[jfl14609]

nah its more like grains

 

[superkat]

grains?

 

[jfl14609]

yeah its like diatoms i will see if i can get a pic when the lights come on

 

[superkat]

thanks...curious about this.

 

[jfl14609]

well unfortunately its gone today no clue weird stuff

 

[superkat]

really? very curious now....

 

[jfl14609]

some things are best left unanswered

 

[superkat]

how true.

 

[becon776]

jfl, despite exceptional water quality, I have some purple slime and I know you can put it out of misery with one dose of Antibiotics but I DON;T know if that will cause major problems with the natural biota of the tank and cause some kind of cycle. It happened after a stack collapse and restack.