Help With Cyanobacteria

[SAWFISH]

Hi everyone I am battling cyanobacteria in my tank and am looking for advice on how to proceed. Below are pictures of my tank I have pretty decent flow in the tank with two MP40s set at around 70% on reef-crest mode. I just measured my parameters and they are

Salinity: 1.024

API
Nitrate: 10ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm

Hanna
Phosphate: 0.05ppm
Alkalinity: 9.9 dKH
pH: 8.28

Salifert:
Calcium: 440ppm

Temp: 75 °F

I attached images of my tank, the lighting is two current usa lights but I am upgrading this week to the Ocean Revive T-247 this week. The tank has been set up for almost 10monthes. My main culprit right now its that my rock work is too dense and is creating low flow spots encouraging cyanobacteria growth but I'd like to here other suggestions or parameters to check. In the areas where there is no cyano I am starting to see great coralline algae growth so I would love to get rid of the cyano to encourage this growth.

Thank You in advance!

 

[Roccopaul]

I have the green version in my tank right now. It’s been such a disaster trying to handle it. I’ve actually just bought chemiclean and hope once it gets here it does something. All of my clean up crew has now moved to the other side of the tank and refuses to go there. I don’t have much advise but I wish you luck.

 

[eraser2001]

Hello
Flow is important to keep cyano out of your tank. I have a some dead spot in my tank, that I have to remove manually. Your parameters looks good, have you tried to blast it and remove manually. Other thing that helped me is the peroxide. I added at morning and nights.

 

[SAWFISH]

Hello
Flow is important to keep cyano out of your tank. I have a some dead spot in my tank, that I have to remove manually. Your parameters looks good, have you tried to blast it and remove manually. Other thing that helped me is the peroxide. I added at morning and nights.

I can definitely remove it manually pretty easily and maybe that is what I should do more regularly. I will also have to look into the peroxide dosing as a solution!

 

[Aqua Man]

Tooth brush and siphon
careful with peroxide!!

can definitely remove it manually pretty easily and maybe that is what I should do more regularly. I will also have to look into the peroxide dosing as a solution!

 

[SAWFISH]

So what it sounds like is that a lot of you even with successful tanks still have to spend sometime removing cyanobacteria? Is this correct?

 

[Tamale]

So what it sounds like is that a lot of you even with successful tanks still have to spend sometime removing cyanobacteria? Is this correct?

I saw a reef post on reddit just the other day of an amazing softy tank. Hugely successful. Still had cyano in spots. Every tank (anecdotal) has something going on (i'm battling cyano too haha). I find doing weekly water changing, siphoning the sand, and scrubbing it off the rocks has made a huge difference. As the pros always say it just takes time and consistency!

 

[Isaac Alves]

I honestly don’t take any “quick” action. My tanks are around 6 years old running and cyano does come and go in certain areas of the tank. Definitely follows my nutrient trends. And definitely is affected by flow. I’m in the mindset after several years in the hobby that captive reefs will have cyano, because you have cyano in wild reefs. But honestly, after the second year running these tanks, I saw cyano and Dino start subsiding and disappear. So I never feel stress now with patches of cyano growing on parts of the rock work or pumps. I know it will self balance.

No need to read the following but in case it helps:

What I do instead to ensure there is “hopefully” a balanced ecosystem:

• Don’t change too much water at once (my thinking here is that I don’t want huge chemistry or bacterial shifts)
• Monitor nutrients and slowly adjust to the levels that are good for my tank - in my case that’s 10-12ppm nitrates and less than .2ppm phosphate (I do find myself needing to really monitor this because coral growth will change how quickly nutrients move up or down)
• Ensure my chemistry is balanced — I like my CA at 455, my Mg at 1455, and my Alk around 8-8.5
• I keep my pH swing at 8-8.5
• I dose bacteria, and this is both pro-biotic and nitrifying types —- > I think this was my key factor in balancing my reef’s ecosystem

I probably over-responded to this post. In any case, I think age and consistent husbandry is key.

 

[Lavey29]

I honestly don’t take any “quick” action. My tanks are around 6 years old running and cyano does come and go in certain areas of the tank. Definitely follows my nutrient trends. And definitely is affected by flow. I’m in the mindset after several years in the hobby that captive reefs will have cyano, because you have cyano in wild reefs. But honestly, after the second year running these tanks, I saw cyano and Dino start subsiding and disappear. So I never feel stress now with patches of cyano growing on parts of the rock work or pumps. I know it will self balance.

No need to read the following but in case it helps:

What I do instead to ensure there is “hopefully” a balanced ecosystem:

• Don’t change too much water at once (my thinking here is that I don’t want huge chemistry or bacterial shifts)
• Monitor nutrients and slowly adjust to the levels that are good for my tank - in my case that’s 10-12ppm nitrates and less than .2ppm phosphate (I do find myself needing to really monitor this because coral growth will change how quickly nutrients move up or down)
• Ensure my chemistry is balanced — I like my CA at 455, my Mg at 1455, and my Alk around 8-8.5
• I keep my pH swing at 8-8.5
• I dose bacteria, and this is both pro-biotic and nitrifying types —- > I think this was my key factor in balancing my reef’s ecosystem

I probably over-responded to this post. In any case, I think age and consistent husbandry is key.

What bacteria do you dose?

 

[Isaac Alves]

What bacteria do you dose?

Sure.

My bacteria dosing regimen weekly and daily:

Daily:

• AquaForest Pro Bio S
• Fauna Marin Bacto Reef Therapy

Weekly

• Dr. Tim’s EcoBalance
• (Bi-weekly) Fauna Marin Bacto Balls — these are slow release and I need to drop in 8 every 2 weeks

To keep my bacteria populations happy and breeding I feed them as well:

• Daily dosing of AquaForest NP Pro
• Daily dosing of DIY NoPOX (this is just a mix of Vodka and Vinegar with som RODI)

I am a firm believer in skimming. And this is important when you dose bacteria. The idea here is to keep good bacteria happy so they can out-compete things like cyano, etc. , and to uptake nutrients.

 

[Lavey29]

Sure.

My bacteria dosing regimen weekly and daily:

Daily:

• AquaForest Pro Bio S
• Fauna Marin Bacto Reef Therapy

Weekly

• Dr. Tim’s EcoBalance
• (Bi-weekly) Fauna Marin Bacto Balls — these are slow release and I need to drop in 8 every 2 weeks

To keep my bacteria populations happy and breeding I feed them as well:

• Daily dosing of AquaForest NP Pro
• Daily dosing of DIY NoPOX (this is just a mix of Vodka and Vinegar with som RODI)

I am a firm believer in skimming. And this is important when you dose bacteria. The idea here is to keep good bacteria happy so they can out-compete things like cyano, etc. , and to uptake nutrients.

Interesting approach. Thanks for sharing. No phytoplankton dose huh?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi everyone I am battling cyanobacteria in my tank and am looking for advice on how to proceed. Below are pictures of my tank I have pretty decent flow in the tank with two MP40s set at around 70% on reef-crest mode. I just measured my parameters and they are

Salinity: 1.024

API
Nitrate: 10ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm

Hanna
Phosphate: 0.05ppm
Alkalinity: 9.9 dKH
pH: 8.28

Salifert:
Calcium: 440ppm

Temp: 75 °F

I attached images of my tank, the lighting is two current usa lights but I am upgrading this week to the Ocean Revive T-247 this week. The tank has been set up for almost 10monthes. My main culprit right now its that my rock work is too dense and is creating low flow spots encouraging cyanobacteria growth but I'd like to here other suggestions or parameters to check. In the areas where there is no cyano I am starting to see great coralline algae growth so I would love to get rid of the cyano to encourage this growth.

Thank You in advance!

Cyano blooms typically start when water nutrient concentrations go haywire. Just like when you eat too much sugar and your waistline starts to bloom, the same happens in your tank when concentrations of phosphate, nitrate and other organic compounds are too high.
Some of the most common causes include:
- Protein skimmer which fills water with tiny air bubbles. As bubbles form from the reaction chamber, dissolved organic compound molecules stick to them. Foam forms at the surface of the water and is then transferred to a collection cup, where it rests as skimmate. When the protein skimmer does not output the best efficiency or you do not have the suitable protein skimmer to cover the tank, the air bubbles created by the skimmer might be insufficient. And this insufficiency of air bubbles can trigger the cyano to thrive.
- Overstocking / overfeeding, your aquarium with nutrients is often the culprit of a cyano bloom
- Adding live rock that isn’t completely cured which acts like a breeding ground for red slime algae
- If you don’t change your water with enough frequency, you’ll soon have a brightly colored red slime algae bloom. Regular water changes dilute nutrients that feed cyanobacteria and keeps your tank beautifully clear
- Using a water source with nitrates or phosphates is like rolling out the welcome mat for cyano. Tap water is an example
- Inadequate water flow, or movement, is a leading cause of cyano blooms. Slow moving water combined with excess dissolved nutrients is a recipe for pervasive red slime algae development

I recommend to reduce white light intensity or even turn them off for 5-7 days. Add liquid bacteria daily for a week during the day at 1.5ml per 10 gallons. Add Hydrogen peroxide at night at 1ml per 10 gallons. Add a pouch of chemipure Elite which will balance phos and nitrate and keep them in check.

After the week, add a few snails such as cerith, margarita, astrea and nassarius plus 6-8 blue leg hermits to take control.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Interesting approach. Thanks for sharing. No phytoplankton dose huh?

Phyto is a good method as well since it will benefit the tank in similar ways like nutrient uptake and feed coral —- > But cost, space and time is part of keeping phyto sourced and healthy and I just decided i don’t have time, space to grow it and keep it going. And cost wise, I found that the bacteria regimen is slightly cheaper for me considering the other factors.

Also, I don’t believe phyto will consume cyano or other bacteria — instead, it’s mainly consuming light energy and organic carbon uptake. I believe its a nutrient uptake method and food resource for coral. Macro algae like in a scrubber or refugium might be easier unless you’re trying to keep a copepod population booming for specific animals to feed on.

—-
Even with phyto dosing or bacterial dosing you still need good water turbulence to keep cyano from settling and start photosynthesizing.

 

[Aqua Man]

So what it sounds like is that a lot of you even with successful tanks still have to spend sometime removing cyanobacteria? Is this correct?

Yes, sometimes. Small patches of cyano are just part of having a reef tank. They can come and go. It’s when the mats start getting out of control is when there’s issues. Possible cause for you is that your rocks need turkey blasted and then a good water change.