anyone know what this is?

[MarcoKirsten]

What kind of algae is this?
How should i treat it?

 

[Reef kid]

Looks like cyano to me, I believ high flow is supposed to make it go away but am not certain

 

[Chris-tico]

yes that's cyano

 

[Hawain_Rob]

^ if only it were that easy.

 

[Eckolancer]

It's cyano and you have to treat it. High flow doesn't effect it at all. It's a bacteria that you need to treat the tank for.

 

[Reef kid]

I honestly am not familiar with the stuff, I just saw some other threads on it and remembered hearing that, so I would go with others advice

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Waaaaait, it's turned into common practice to automatically treat your tanks if you see cyano!?

 

[brandon429]

not I said the peroxide doser



when I see cyano, the worlds most traveled reef invader, I say to him "hey you get out" and then I siphon it down the sink and its not there. relative to my prior weeks tank care, I might have to do that a couple times. hes not allowed. if someone will not remove it, or expects a single removal to do the cyclical work against the worlds most common reef tank invader, cheats are required. I recommend dosing nothing to a tank with some cyano, just disallow it and keep sandbeds free of detritus. margarita snails w go to town here.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

I need to "learn" how to use the quote feature. That was directed at Eckolancer.

 

[Eckolancer]

I need to "learn" how to use the quote feature. That was directed at Eckolancer.

If you can run a reef tank lights out for a week or longer go for it. Even after that it could just pop right back up. But best to just kill it and control your feeding. Otherwise your battle will last months or years. I used to have a video of cyano blowing less than 2" I front of my mp40. Stayed that way until I treated the tank.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

We all do things differently, I guess. Tis what keeps the hobby interesting.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

I see we didn't offer any more suggestions....

I have 2-24g nanocubes upstairs. One tank has cyano and one does not. The one thing that is different in them is bioload. There's no one thing that causes cyano, but a fancy dance of many factors.

Let's look at some of the things people offer as suggestions as to what causes it and compare it to my two "identical" tanks. The tank with the Frondosa has cyano, the one with the Sphex does not......

1) Water changes and general cleaning: Both need it.
2) Flow: Both good use more, there's great surface agitation however. (I've also had cyano dancing in the outflow of my pump and that's some pretty high flow).
3) Good algae: Frondosa tank has none. Sphex tank has cheato.
4) Light: One is closer to the window than the other. I do not use tank lights on either, unless I'm feeding at night.
5) Feeding: 100% of the food is eaten, unlike if you pour mysis in your tank (for example). They eat chucks of fish from a feeding stick. No waste.
6) Bioload: Frondoa is 7" and a big ole fish. The sphex is a juvie and about 3".
7) Age: Both tanks are the same age, set up at the same time.

The two things that are different are nutrient export (desirable algae) and bioload. So, in one tank, I put "in" more than I take "out".

The only way I've helped with cyano in the past is with hard maintenance. Not one water change, but many. Cleaning up the tank of it's detritus and lastly, when I've decreased the number or size of the fish, it went away. I think bioload is the fuel, but you need a match to set that fuel ablaze. Clean the tank like the Queen was coming to visit. Then you also have to keep it up after she leaves.

Yes, I'm a part of the crowd that doesn't dose antibiotics in my display tank. Antibiotics kill many more things than just the cyano. There is no "Cyano Only" antibiotic. Those dying things can increase your nutrient level and it throws your tank out of balance. It's like a little ecosystem. Girls will understand this.... antibiotics may cure the cough, but now you have a yeast infection you have to treat (sorry, I'm a nurse) and so on and so forth. At least try your darnest to solve it naturally and I believe that is to step up water changes and maintenance..... remove the fuel.