The Definitive Thread on Destroying Cyanobacteria

[hamiltonguy]

So if cyano is caused by excess phosphates (and nitrates) how do you decrease both? Without using a phosphate reactor. Just water changes?

ps. sorry if the answer has already been stated I was too lazy and too busy studying to read it all.

 

[DgenR8]

Water changes will always help with nutrient export, but changing enough water to solve your problem could get expensive, depending on the size of your system, and the size of your problem.

 

[boogers]

Ive had my tank for almost 4 yrs and am currently dealing with this in my tank. Every once in a while it just shows up and takes over the whole tank. I haven't figured out yet what I do right before it happens but I'm still working on it. After reading this post though I am going to try moving a powerhead around.
I do have 1 question though.

I am wanting to make my sand bed deeper but have a little of this left on the top of my current sand. How is that going to affect it. Kinda confusing question

Thanks
sandra

 

[Paul B]

I still believe that if you eliminate phosphates and nitrates you could still have cyano.
Cyano is a bacteria and there are other factors involved besides these two chemicals. Some people on here change water almost every day and get cyano, I don't have hardly any cyano now and I change very little water. I have seen it growing in the Cayman Islands on healthy reefs.
Like hair algae, cyano is one of those things that a lot of people feel they have this easy solution to eliminate but truth is, none of us really know the answer. It is also not a disease and will not kill your corals unless it blocks the light which of course we have to watch. It seems to come in cycles like everything in this hobby.
Most tanks are not old enough to notice these cycles but sometimes they last 6 months or longer, then the cyano, hair algae, bryopsis, flukes, and bad commedians disappear.
I don't really know why, but they always do. We should just as good husbandry try to keep nutrients low as in the sea but it is not possable to keep animals healthy by feeding them correctly and also keep 100% of the nutrients out.
I personally feel cyano comes more from DOC than those mentioned nutrients but it is probably a combination.
Good skimming is your best bet but it will not eliminate all of your problems, grenades will do that but they are messy and hard to buy :lol:

 

[JoelNB]

What is it that 6 month old tanks have, that caused them to get over the cyano outbreak they had when they were three months old?

 

[Paul B]

What is it that 6 month old tanks have, that caused them to get over the cyano outbreak they had when they were three months old?

It's probably not so much as they have as what they don't have.
Our tanks are filled with bacteria, they are on every centimeter of every surface and the bacteria is what is controlling the water conditions, algae conditions and cyano conditions. It is the bacteria that change these chemicals to other chemicals.
There are many types of bacteria, some came from the sea with the rock and when the conditions changed when we put it in a tank, the bacteria changed. Other bacteria from the LFS and elsewhere started to push out the natural bacteria and vise versa. As this is going on the chemical composition of the water is constantly changing. There are bacteria making nitrite, some making nitrate, some making sulfides and others just taking up space not making anything except carbon dioxide like the fish.
Cyano and algae appears when conditions are right for them.
Eventually the bacteria settle down and the amounts and different types of bacteria will stop changing as much. Then the tank will stabilize.
But not for long. If something dies or we change the lighting, or add rock with a new bacteria, or change water, the bacterial population may be upset again causing a cycle which may be hair algae or cyano.
This stuff is not stagnant like stamp collecting.
I get cycles of things all the time as I add NSW and rocks from the sea, this changes the bacterial populations which changes everything.
It is not just nutrients that you can test for, the nutrients are there because the bacteria made most of them. The fish started it by excreting ammonia. If you have more fish, you will have more ammonia reducing bacteria, but it takes time. If the fish dies and you remove it, those extra bacteria will die off making room for a different type which again will change when we increase the bio load.
Simple

 

[Nanz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14346218#post14346218 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Paul B
I still believe that if you eliminate phosphates and nitrates you could still have cyano.
Cyano is a bacteria and there are other factors involved besides these two chemicals. Some people on here change water almost every day and get cyano, I don't have hardly any cyano now and I change very little water. I have seen it growing in the Cayman Islands on healthy reefs.
Like hair algae, cyano is one of those things that a lot of people feel they have this easy solution to eliminate but truth is, none of us really know the answer. It is also not a disease and will not kill your corals unless it blocks the light which of course we have to watch. It seems to come in cycles like everything in this hobby.
Most tanks are not old enough to notice these cycles but sometimes they last 6 months or longer, then the cyano, hair algae, bryopsis, flukes, and bad commedians disappear.
I don't really know why, but they always do. We should just as good husbandry try to keep nutrients low as in the sea but it is not possable to keep animals healthy by feeding them correctly and also keep 100% of the nutrients out.
I personally feel cyano comes more from DOC than those mentioned nutrients but it is probably a combination.
Good skimming is your best bet but it will not eliminate all of your problems, grenades will do that but they are messy and hard to buy :lol:

Thats interesting... I had a long tentacle plate coral that I'm about 100% sure was slain by the red brown goo, hehe. I kept trying to remove the slime with a turkey baster and even used a powerhead to wash the cyano off of it but it still died. The cyano was in the sand and it grew up from the bottom of the plate coral and smothered it. Its amost like when cyano touches a coral the coral just falls asleep and dies.