Trying to identify this Algae, Cyano?

[n4soccer06]

This algae started by growing in the rock and it has quickly spread to the sandbed. It seemed to spread quickly after I did a 15 gallon water change. From my quick reading on here, I'm thinking its Cyano but that's just a guess. The tank is about 10 months old. What other information would help you guys?

 

[reefs4life]

Looks like diatom algae. Cyano is very thick and grows like a solid, red, velvety blanket

 

[n4soccer06]

Diatom algae, should come and go over the period of a few weeks thou, right? It has been in the rocks for a few months now. It has just started to spread to all of my sand in the last month. This stuff in the rock is pretty solid and velvety red.

 

[ScottR]

Looks like cyano to me. Take a turkey baster and blow it. It blows off the rock easily. This won’t cure it but just a way to verify what it is. Do you ever see bubbles forming around the red?

 

[n4soccer06]

Ok, I will try the turkey baster when I get home this evening. I have not seen any bubbles forming around the red. Is that something that cyano does?

 

[ScottR]

Ok, I will try the turkey baster when I get home this evening. I have not seen any bubbles forming around the red. Is that something that cyano does?

Yes. Cyano will create little oxygen bubbles. If it’s the beginning of an outbreak, you may not see them at first.

 

[n4soccer06]

Got yeah. Any suggestion on how to clean it up?

 

[ScottR]

Got yeah. Any suggestion on how to clean it up?

Chemiclean. It’s a reef safe product. Just follow instructions.

Did it blow off really easily and almost turn into red strands and disappear? Imo, cyano isn’t bad until it starts to choke out corals. In small amounts like it seems you have, it’s not something to be too worried about.

 

[bryan brooks]

Cyano definitely

 

[n4soccer06]

Perfect, thanks.

I'm at work right now. I will try to blow it off with the turkey baster when I get home this afternoon. I will update once I have tried. Got yeah, it is starting spread pretty quickly across my sandbed. I would like to get it under control quickly but its out of hand.

 

[ScottR]

Perfect, thanks.

I'm at work right now. I will try to blow it off with the turkey baster when I get home this afternoon. I will update once I have tried. Got yeah, it is starting spread pretty quickly across my sandbed. I would like to get it under control quickly but its out of hand.

Chemiclean works fast. I’m assuming you have a skimmer right? It might make your skimmer cup bubble up quite a bit. So be sure to keep an eye on the skimmer.

 

[n4soccer06]

Got yeah, good to know. Thanks again for all the info

 

[HawaiianReef]

Cyano hates flow. If you can step up your flow without offending corals, you should do that. Also, lighting plays a big factor. If you have old t5, you should look into replacing the bulbs. LEDs might needs a different program.

 

[n4soccer06]

Good to know. I can definitely increase the flow because I have fish only tank.

 

[ScottR]

Cyano hates flow. If you can step up your flow without offending corals, you should do that. Also, lighting plays a big factor. If you have old t5, you should look into replacing the bulbs. LEDs might needs a different program.

This is more of a bandaid fix. On rocks with lots of crevices, flow won’t get rid of it. And on sand, you’d be blowing sand everywhere if you blasted cyano on sand with flow. The lighting thing is always a temp fix just like with all different kinds of algae. They may slow down but once you get lighting back on, it comes right back.

 

[n4soccer06]

This is more of a bandaid fix. On rocks with lots of crevices, flow won’t get rid of it. And on sand, you’d be blowing sand everywhere if you blasted cyano on sand with flow. The lighting thing is always a temp fix just like with all different kinds of algae. They may slow down but once you get lighting back on, it comes right back.

But when adding in the Chemiclean, that should clear it all out, right?

 

[ScottR]

But when adding in the Chemiclean, that should clear it all out, right?

It will kill every single cell of cyano in the entire tank. Supposedly only kills cyano but I’m not certain about that. I think it takes 2-3 days or so.


This is a great video from Tidal Gardens.

 

[n4soccer06]

Haha, I haven't tried anything.

 

[HawaiianReef]

I had a huge cyano outbreak on my first tank. I had and old t8 setup with old bulbs. Once I switched over to t5 lights and fresh bulbs, that tank cleared to zero in a couple weeks. Never seen cyano in that tank again. It ran for about 3 years later until I upgraded.
I considered Chemiclean. But they dont list their ingredients. At least I couldn't find it. So I passed on it.

 

[n4soccer06]

I was able to blow some of the cyano with a turkey baster. Chemiclean should be here tomorrow. I've got a bubbler ready to go into the sump but I have seen a few people run the protein skimmer without the top for even more aeration. Any reasons why I shouldn't do that as well?