What is it?

K

karoo

New member
Greetings,

I'm new to the Aquarist life, and don't know much. I have a 90 gallon SW tank that I hope will become a beutiful reef tank someday.

Lately I've had some things growing in my tank that I am clueless as to what they are.

This first one is kind of wispy, started on one piece of live rock but now seems to be appearing other places around the tank:

what_is_it_01.jpg


The second is appearing at various places in the sand:
what_is_it_02.jpg


Any info on what this stuff is, and what I should do about it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
It looks like cyanobacteria. The bubbles is what I clued in on. Somewhat common in new systems. To control, increase water circulation, increase alkalinity, decrease nutrition import (feeding) and increase nutrition export (usually water changes or filters). Look at Bournman's link at the top of the coral experts section on aging in new systems.
 
I thought the bubbles were Oxygen, as a biproduct of photosysnthesis in the algae cells.

Nitrogen that is being fixed by bacteria is available in ammonia (NH3/NH4) and Nitrite (NO2). At the end on the nitrgen cycle, Nitrous Oxide is released, but this doesn't happen in cyano, nor anywhere else in the aquarium where oxygen is available.

Cyano is a bacteria, but it does not participate in the nitrogen cycle.
 
I had a bad cyno problem for almost 2 years (gone now!), and bubbles were always produced in the bacteria.

If I did not remove the cyno fast enough (every other day) at the quick rate this stuff grows and spreads, pieces would begin to lift and float to the top because of the amount of bubbles produced in it. This could begin to block your overflow/bulkhead drains.

Back when the problem started, the only help offered through forums was to change/reduce lighting and remove phosphates. Many ppl said they had to break down their established tank and start again.

It's best to get control of the problem while it is in it's initial stage so it does not get out of control. My tank began the problem after running for 3 - 4 years.

The advice from HWCOZ is right on the money! I would just add to be sure you are using a quality water source for your water changes and top-off ...such as RO/DI with a very low TDS reading of 0 - 8 max in the (non-salt) fresh water. If it's not quality water then this may another source "feeding" the cyno. A charged DI cartridge should remove excess phosphate and silicates. If you have a RO/DI system and the DI is exhausted replace this right away. Look's like you've been in the hobby for 6 months so if the RO/DI was bought then - then it should still be fine.

I was finally able to rid mine once I learned it was due to poor water circulation and excess nutrient built up (the source of excess was found in my sump refugium! ..where I never thought to look). Once these problems were taken care of I also began feeding live cultured phytoplankton. The phyto completed for the nutrients that the cyno was feeding off of. With the daily feedings of phyto ..it out-completed the remaining cyno and eventually got rid of all of it. You may not need to go to this extent, but just passing along my experience with this.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6955535#post6955535 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bennihanna
Fun fact from a reef nerd. The bubbles are Nitrogen that the bacteria fixes to produce food.
Click to expand...


Do you know if high temps trigger faster production of the bacteria? I noticed that whenever I would come home from work and my tank temp was running higher, around 83-85, a significant amount of bubbles were being produced and algae and bacteria growth rate increased than when the tank temp was around 79-81.

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack the thread, but it may also help identify sources to the problem karoo is having.

Thanks!
 
When I get home i will find more on it but cyanobacteria is definately Nitrogen fixing bacteria. They lived on earth before there was Oxygen when the atmosphere was mostly Nitrogen.
 
Cyanobacteria are important in the nitrogen cycle.
Cyanobacteria are very important organisms for the health and growth of many plants. They are one of very few groups of organisms that can convert inert atmospheric nitrogen into an organic form, such as nitrate or ammonia. It is these "fixed" forms of nitrogen which plants need for their growth, and must obtain from the soil. Fertilizers work the way they do in part because they contain additional fixed nitrogen which plants can then absorb throough their roots.

Nitrification cannot occur in the presence of oxygen, so nitrogen is fixed in specialized cells called heterocysts. These cells have an especially thickened wall that contains an anaerobic environment. You can see these larger cells among the filaments of Nostoc, shown at right.

Many plants, especially legumes, have formed symbiotic relations with nitrifying bacteria, providing specialized tissues in their roots or stems to house the bacteria, in return for organic nitrogen. This has been used to great advantage in the cultivation of rice, where the floating fern Azolla is actively distributed among the rice paddies. The fern houses colonies of the cyanobacterium Anabaena in its leaves, where it fixes nitrogen. The ferns then provide an inexpensive natural fertilizer and nitrogen source for the rice plants when they die at the end of the season.

Cyanobacteria also form symbiotic relationships with many fungi, forming complex symbiotic "organisms" known as lichens.
 
Excellent information.

I guess I would be correct in saying that in a healthy aquarium, you don't want Cyano participating in the nitrogen cycle.

But, I still think they are oxygen bubbles! :)
 
We'll have to catch some in a syringe and see if they help a candle burn brighter or not. Maybe have a fireworks demonstration at a future meeting. :smokin:
 
It's not oxygen Cyano traps Nitrogen when it is released from the
substate. Down in the substrate oxygen is almost void at deep layers. Just what I've read .
 
Hey Rob
Just went over to the chem forum and asked Randy about the bubbles and his reply was Oxygen.
What a deal I can grow this stuff easily, that way I'll have plenty of oxygen in the water.
:D
 
Oxygen then, good. If it was Nitrogen then I had been telling people wrong for years.

Thanks Lageo4!
 
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