JPloman
Member
Cyanobacteria are one of the oldest forms of organisms found on the earth today! They can be found in every type of water in nature and in containments. Freshwater, saltwater, brackish water and even the water in your pets bowls can and will usually contain traces of these bacterial algae. These mean that everyone is at risk of having this bloom in his or her aquariums!
Cyanobacteria can range in color from brown, green, blue, and red. The air bubbles that will appear on its surface can frequently identify cyanobacteria. Most commonly it appears in big patches on the surface of sub terrain, eventually moving to cover everything in the tank. It has the consistency of mucus and can even appear stringy. The visible algae is not algae or cyanobacteria, it is what is exuded through the process of photosynthesis by the cyanobacteria below.
A major bloom of cyanobacteria is generally the result of a series of events that will cause ample food supplies in the water. This could be the die off of a fish or two, over feeding, poor tank husbandry, not enough water flow, or even using tap water to perform water changes. Thus if you do not have a bloom of cyanobacteria in your tank, take preventative steps to avoid it. Unfortunately, if you are reading this article, you have already been the victim of a cyanobacteria bloom.
In order cure your tank of this annoying algae you will have to take many steps and it may take a great deal of time. The first step you will want to take is to test your water. Find the root of the problem. “You will find that the overall catalyst for cyanobacteria issues is driven from phosphates, primarily organic forms. Nitrate unto itself will not cause it but will definitely fuel it's continued growth. Cyanobacteria is the one "algae" (if you will) that can actually manufacture it's own food supply so simply limiting nutrient is not the key. The reduction or preferably elimination of phosphates in both forms common to aquaria is the ideal goal.†(Care of Steve-S of Aquarium Advice.com) Now that we are sure that is the problem, where are all the extra nutrients coming from that is causing these problems? Once you have that under your belt, fix it. Here are some ideas to work with:
·Over feeding – Cut back your feedings. Stop using additives like Marine Snow for the time being and wait for the tank to get back to normal before you start using it again.
·Not enough water movement – Increase the amount of power heads in the tank, make sure they are pointing in directions that allow every spot in the tank to have constant movement.
·Poor tank husbandry – Start harvesting algae regularly. Do 25% water changes at least once a month depending on your filtration system.
·Fish die off – In the future, take the dead fish out ASAP.
·Use of tap water – While the chemicals you can buy at the store will clean out some of the problems with tap water, it is not recommended to use tap water in a salt water system. Most hobbyists will make use of Reverse Osmosis water and even some will use distilled water. I personally recommend using RO water for a salt water system.
In the mean time, you are going to need to clean up the tank. Here are some ideas on ways to fight the cyanobacteria.
·Harvest the algae. These means get in there and scrap it off and pull it out. Do not let any of the algae you remove get into the filtration system if you can avoid it. Really clean the tank well the first time. You will need to do this regularly until the problem is gone, so the first time you will want to be a through as possible to make regular cleanings a bit easier.
·Nitrate sponge is always a good way to help to remove the nitrates from the water. You can get a mesh bag and fill it with the Nitrate sponge, then attach it to a power head that is not being used for water movement. This will make sure that you get every drop of water through the sponge. If this is not an option for you, I would suggest putting it in your refugium where the water flows from one area to another.
·Chemi-clean and other additives. Chemi-clean is great! It does not hurt inverts or your tank, but it is just a bandage to the problem. There are other additives like Vital Gold and Combisan; the problem with these is that it will hurt the good bacteria in your tank. Also some of these products require that you turn off UV filters, protein skimmers and other filtration devices. I do not recommend using anything that needs you to turn off the protein skimmer. Antibiotics really will not help this problem.
·Protein Skimmers… what can I say to you if you do not have a protein skimmer? GET ONE NOW! Protein skimmers are God’s gift to hobbyists. These things are great! It helps to reduce the extra nutrients from the water before it gets turned into bad things like nitrates. If you have any questions about the best one to buy, ask a friend, other hobbyists always want to help out. That is why we are hobbyists this has become our obsession!
·Siphon out the algae on your sand, take a bit of the sand with it. Sand holds nutrients very easily. Like I mentioned before, the stuff you see is not actually the cyanobacteria, so you want to get the root of the problem. Don’t take all your sand out though, just try and get the surface sand.
·Clean up crews. There are only a few types of these little guys that will actually eat this stuff though. You are going to want to get some Bumble Bee Snails and Mexican Red Footed hermit crabs. I would also recommend getting a few other little guys just to make sure you get it all. Any little snails that air raid the sand, sand sifting starfish and turbo snails are great to have in the tank to keep algae levels down.
The title Green Hair Algae says everything about the appearance of these algae. They look just like hair and are bright green, some times becoming a browner shade.
Reef tanks require good lighting for proper growth of invertebrates that have algal cells growing in their tissues. Strong lighting also spurs hair algae growth. (Fact of life, plants grow faster with stronger light--chlorophyll etc.) The main problem is evaporation, though. High evaporation rates combined with city water, high in PHOSPHATES, spell sure trouble with hair algae. Although lighting and other things contribute, the point to remember is PHOSPHATES = HAIR ALGAE. Stop the phosphates and the hair algae growth will stop, or at least come down to a manageable level where snails etc. can keep your tank looking good.
Phosphates generally enter through city water, but some "trace element" mixtures available on the market have substantial amounts of phosphates. In fact, the two best-known trace element supplements have phosphates added on purpose, so BEWARE! Of course algae growth fertilizers generally have phosphates also. Some sea salt mixtures have more phosphates than others, so read up on these and use one with the lowest phosphates possible.
The following is a list of things to be done:
1.Install an R/O unit and use only R/O water for water changes and topping off for evaporation.
2.Use a good quality protein skimmer. (The biggest you can find.)
3.Use only trace elements, foods, fertilizers, carbons, etc. that contain no phosphates or silicates!
4.Use Phosphate Sponge (this product is not a sponge but actually a regenerable granular ceramic product) to remove phosphates and silicates now present. Continued use will insure any phosphates accidentally added will be adsorbed and removed from the system.
5.Make sure your protein skimmer is large enough. There has been debate about over skimming a tank and whether one should skim a tank at all. But when a tank is new or when there are algae problems, "size" always helps.
6.Stop adding any trace elements or supplements. Algae are very opportunistic and additional trace elements or supplements will often boost growth. The major element to control is iron. If a product doesn't list its ingredients (some proprietary supplements don't list the ingredients), don't add it to the tank since you might be adding something that will greatly increase algae growth.
7.Vacuum detritus regularly and practice good tank maintenance.
8.Critters that eat Hair Algae are: Dwarf Red Tip Hermit Crabs, Scarlet Leg Hermit Crabs, Blue Leg Hermit Crabs, Hypselodoris bullocki and Astrea Snails. Purchase about one astrea snail per gallon of tank capacity. (This sounds like too many snails but is the amount required to do a really good job.)
9.Introduce additional detritivores. If excess food isn't eaten, it will decay and add to the nutrients and waste in the tank. Addition of bristle stars, bristle worms, hermit crabs, Nassarius snails and sea cucumbers will help control the excess food that a reef tank’s primary fish and invertebrates don't consume.
10.If you are already practicing the above, your other problem may be old lamps (more than 6 months). Lamps continue to burn, but since their spectrum has shifted, they will assist hair algae, and not help corals and photosynthetic inverts like they should. Change bulbs every six months! The other problem with lighting is too long a photo period. Many aquarists run metal halides or VHO fluorescents for 10 to 12 hours a day. Hair algae is very opportunistic, you will never get it under control with this much light. Reefs don’t get 12 hours of "high noon" sunlight anyway. We recommend that you get some 40 watt fluorescents to run 10 hours per day and run your metal halides or VHO’s only 4 hours per day. While getting the hair algae under control limit them to 1 to 2 hours!
Cyanobacteria can range in color from brown, green, blue, and red. The air bubbles that will appear on its surface can frequently identify cyanobacteria. Most commonly it appears in big patches on the surface of sub terrain, eventually moving to cover everything in the tank. It has the consistency of mucus and can even appear stringy. The visible algae is not algae or cyanobacteria, it is what is exuded through the process of photosynthesis by the cyanobacteria below.
A major bloom of cyanobacteria is generally the result of a series of events that will cause ample food supplies in the water. This could be the die off of a fish or two, over feeding, poor tank husbandry, not enough water flow, or even using tap water to perform water changes. Thus if you do not have a bloom of cyanobacteria in your tank, take preventative steps to avoid it. Unfortunately, if you are reading this article, you have already been the victim of a cyanobacteria bloom.
In order cure your tank of this annoying algae you will have to take many steps and it may take a great deal of time. The first step you will want to take is to test your water. Find the root of the problem. “You will find that the overall catalyst for cyanobacteria issues is driven from phosphates, primarily organic forms. Nitrate unto itself will not cause it but will definitely fuel it's continued growth. Cyanobacteria is the one "algae" (if you will) that can actually manufacture it's own food supply so simply limiting nutrient is not the key. The reduction or preferably elimination of phosphates in both forms common to aquaria is the ideal goal.†(Care of Steve-S of Aquarium Advice.com) Now that we are sure that is the problem, where are all the extra nutrients coming from that is causing these problems? Once you have that under your belt, fix it. Here are some ideas to work with:
·Over feeding – Cut back your feedings. Stop using additives like Marine Snow for the time being and wait for the tank to get back to normal before you start using it again.
·Not enough water movement – Increase the amount of power heads in the tank, make sure they are pointing in directions that allow every spot in the tank to have constant movement.
·Poor tank husbandry – Start harvesting algae regularly. Do 25% water changes at least once a month depending on your filtration system.
·Fish die off – In the future, take the dead fish out ASAP.
·Use of tap water – While the chemicals you can buy at the store will clean out some of the problems with tap water, it is not recommended to use tap water in a salt water system. Most hobbyists will make use of Reverse Osmosis water and even some will use distilled water. I personally recommend using RO water for a salt water system.
In the mean time, you are going to need to clean up the tank. Here are some ideas on ways to fight the cyanobacteria.
·Harvest the algae. These means get in there and scrap it off and pull it out. Do not let any of the algae you remove get into the filtration system if you can avoid it. Really clean the tank well the first time. You will need to do this regularly until the problem is gone, so the first time you will want to be a through as possible to make regular cleanings a bit easier.
·Nitrate sponge is always a good way to help to remove the nitrates from the water. You can get a mesh bag and fill it with the Nitrate sponge, then attach it to a power head that is not being used for water movement. This will make sure that you get every drop of water through the sponge. If this is not an option for you, I would suggest putting it in your refugium where the water flows from one area to another.
·Chemi-clean and other additives. Chemi-clean is great! It does not hurt inverts or your tank, but it is just a bandage to the problem. There are other additives like Vital Gold and Combisan; the problem with these is that it will hurt the good bacteria in your tank. Also some of these products require that you turn off UV filters, protein skimmers and other filtration devices. I do not recommend using anything that needs you to turn off the protein skimmer. Antibiotics really will not help this problem.
·Protein Skimmers… what can I say to you if you do not have a protein skimmer? GET ONE NOW! Protein skimmers are God’s gift to hobbyists. These things are great! It helps to reduce the extra nutrients from the water before it gets turned into bad things like nitrates. If you have any questions about the best one to buy, ask a friend, other hobbyists always want to help out. That is why we are hobbyists this has become our obsession!
·Siphon out the algae on your sand, take a bit of the sand with it. Sand holds nutrients very easily. Like I mentioned before, the stuff you see is not actually the cyanobacteria, so you want to get the root of the problem. Don’t take all your sand out though, just try and get the surface sand.
·Clean up crews. There are only a few types of these little guys that will actually eat this stuff though. You are going to want to get some Bumble Bee Snails and Mexican Red Footed hermit crabs. I would also recommend getting a few other little guys just to make sure you get it all. Any little snails that air raid the sand, sand sifting starfish and turbo snails are great to have in the tank to keep algae levels down.
The title Green Hair Algae says everything about the appearance of these algae. They look just like hair and are bright green, some times becoming a browner shade.
Reef tanks require good lighting for proper growth of invertebrates that have algal cells growing in their tissues. Strong lighting also spurs hair algae growth. (Fact of life, plants grow faster with stronger light--chlorophyll etc.) The main problem is evaporation, though. High evaporation rates combined with city water, high in PHOSPHATES, spell sure trouble with hair algae. Although lighting and other things contribute, the point to remember is PHOSPHATES = HAIR ALGAE. Stop the phosphates and the hair algae growth will stop, or at least come down to a manageable level where snails etc. can keep your tank looking good.
Phosphates generally enter through city water, but some "trace element" mixtures available on the market have substantial amounts of phosphates. In fact, the two best-known trace element supplements have phosphates added on purpose, so BEWARE! Of course algae growth fertilizers generally have phosphates also. Some sea salt mixtures have more phosphates than others, so read up on these and use one with the lowest phosphates possible.
The following is a list of things to be done:
1.Install an R/O unit and use only R/O water for water changes and topping off for evaporation.
2.Use a good quality protein skimmer. (The biggest you can find.)
3.Use only trace elements, foods, fertilizers, carbons, etc. that contain no phosphates or silicates!
4.Use Phosphate Sponge (this product is not a sponge but actually a regenerable granular ceramic product) to remove phosphates and silicates now present. Continued use will insure any phosphates accidentally added will be adsorbed and removed from the system.
5.Make sure your protein skimmer is large enough. There has been debate about over skimming a tank and whether one should skim a tank at all. But when a tank is new or when there are algae problems, "size" always helps.
6.Stop adding any trace elements or supplements. Algae are very opportunistic and additional trace elements or supplements will often boost growth. The major element to control is iron. If a product doesn't list its ingredients (some proprietary supplements don't list the ingredients), don't add it to the tank since you might be adding something that will greatly increase algae growth.
7.Vacuum detritus regularly and practice good tank maintenance.
8.Critters that eat Hair Algae are: Dwarf Red Tip Hermit Crabs, Scarlet Leg Hermit Crabs, Blue Leg Hermit Crabs, Hypselodoris bullocki and Astrea Snails. Purchase about one astrea snail per gallon of tank capacity. (This sounds like too many snails but is the amount required to do a really good job.)
9.Introduce additional detritivores. If excess food isn't eaten, it will decay and add to the nutrients and waste in the tank. Addition of bristle stars, bristle worms, hermit crabs, Nassarius snails and sea cucumbers will help control the excess food that a reef tank’s primary fish and invertebrates don't consume.
10.If you are already practicing the above, your other problem may be old lamps (more than 6 months). Lamps continue to burn, but since their spectrum has shifted, they will assist hair algae, and not help corals and photosynthetic inverts like they should. Change bulbs every six months! The other problem with lighting is too long a photo period. Many aquarists run metal halides or VHO fluorescents for 10 to 12 hours a day. Hair algae is very opportunistic, you will never get it under control with this much light. Reefs don’t get 12 hours of "high noon" sunlight anyway. We recommend that you get some 40 watt fluorescents to run 10 hours per day and run your metal halides or VHO’s only 4 hours per day. While getting the hair algae under control limit them to 1 to 2 hours!
