Cyanobacteria in Marine Tank

[Peter_B2001]

Hello everyone,
So I have Cyanobacteria growing in my marine tank with seahorses.
My nutrient levels are as follows:
Nitrate 0.15
KH 8.7
Magnesium 1170 (raised it today)
Calcium 375 (raised it today too)
Phosphorus 0.02

anyone know what to do ? Increase flow rate or what? As I only have the exhaust two pipes one pointing down and one up to mix the top water. I have seahorses so I didn’t buy any wave machine is it needed or is there a way to remove it ?

please let me know as my Coral has also started to bleach and not sure why as there was no temperature increase or anything like that ? My phosphates were high with nitrates but it’s is down now could this be it ? Wil it grow back or ? As the Cyanobacteria keeps growing, is there no critters that remove it as I have trochus snails, nassrius and also a Mexican snail.

thanks

 

[DanyL]

How high were your nutrients before and how/why did they deplete?

Coral in general do not like drastic, fast changes to the water chemistry and will react badly to this.
Same goes for cyano bacteria, while there is a ratio you'd want to roughly keep between PO4 and NO3, cyano can also appear solely from nutrient instability.

 

[Zach B]

How old is the tank? Cyano isn't uncommon in newer setups that are lacking a bit in biodiversity and bacteria. My tiger conchs eat cyano but it usually goes away in time. You could manual remove as much as possible to help it out as well. Best of luck

 

[brandon429]

How many gallons is the tank, this is most crucial to know in invasion challenges

Nanos have a trick for fixes large tankers do not have, based on size of tank.

 

[knockout]

Adding a reputable bacteria source should add, decreasing the light period is a temporary option too, tank size and pic if possible will help too.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Contrary to popular belief, seahorses tanks should have a decent amount of flow. The key is to have some areas of lower/less direct current as well as abundant spots for the ponies to hitch. When I had my seahorse tank, the ponies would actually play ("surf") in front of the return nozzle. They'd take turns like it was a water park ride, lol.

My point is, along with the other advice already given, if you feel that cyano is collecting in dead/low flow spots, increasing it some won't harm the seahorses.

 

[Peter_B2001]

How many gallons is the tank, this is most crucial to know in invasion challenges

Nanos have a trick for fixes large tankers do not have, based on size of tank.

It’s 52l and about 5 months old.

 

[Peter_B2001]

Contrary to popular belief, seahorses tanks should have a decent amount of flow. The key is to have some areas of lower/less direct current as well as abundant spots for the ponies to hitch. When I had my seahorse tank, the ponies would actually play ("surf") in front of the return nozzle. They'd take turns like it was a water park ride, lol.

My point is, along with the other advice already given, if you feel that cyano is collecting in dead/low flow spots, increasing it some won't harm the seahorses.

Perfect I ordered a Wavemaker Shouod come in 2 days and yeh I can see detritus settling under the flow valves all of it there yuckkkk. So that should help hopefully, will I need to make some sort of mesh cover for the Wavemaker too for the seahorse tails I heard?

 

[Peter_B2001]

How high were your nutrients before and how/why did they deplete?

Coral in general do not like drastic, fast changes to the water chemistry and will react badly to this.
Same goes for cyano bacteria, while there is a ratio you'd want to roughly keep between PO4 and NO3, cyano can also appear solely from nutrient instability.

I added vodka which helped daily and then I ordered seachem phosmate remover rocks didn’t do anything so I ordered this lanthum solution which is amazing and works a great to remove phosphates from 0.08 to like 0.02 now in around a week. And vodka dosing for about a month now went from around 60 to around 15 now

 

[Peter_B2001]

24 - 27 Water temp for sea horses 13 October Tank Started	Optimum Parameters	13/10/2022	14/10/2022 AM	14/10/2022 PM	15/10/2022 AM	15/10/2022 After Water Change	16/10/2022 AM	16/10/2022 2pm	16/10/2022 9pm	17/10/2022 9AM	17/10/2022 8PM Same Each Day	19/10/2022	20/10/2022	21/10/2022	22/10/2022	23/10/2022	24/10/2022	25/10/2022	25/10/2022 7pm	26/10/2022 11AM	27/10/2022	28/10/2022	29/10/2022	30/10/2022	30/10/2022 After 20% (10l) water change	31/10/2022	01/11/2022	2/11/2022	2/11/2022 after 10l water change	3/11/2022	4/11/2022 AM	4/11/2022 PM	5/11/2022 AM	5/112022	6/11/2022 PM	7/11/2022 AM	After water change	8/11/2022	9/11/2022	9/11/2022 PM	10/11/2022 AM	10/11/2022 PM AFTER WATER CHANGE AND MG ADDED	11/11/2022 PM	12/11/2022 AM	12/11/2022 PM	13/11/2022	13/11/2022 PM	14/11/2022	15/11/2022	16/11/2022	17/11/2022	18/11/2022 PM	21 and 22/11/2022	23/11/2022 AM before grow light turned on	26/11/2022 AM	27/11/2022 AM	28/11/2022 PM	29/11/2022 PM	1/12/2022	3/12/2022 after water change	5/12/2022	6/11/2022	7/11/2022	8/11/2022	10/11/2022	11/12/2022	12/12/2022	13/12/2022	17/12/2022	18/12/2022	30/12/2022			5/1/23	10/1/23	17/1/23
Salinity	1.020 to 1.027 Best 1.023 for sea horses!					1.023						1.024	1.024									1.024			1.024					1.025																														1.023	1.025												1.023
pH	8.2 to 8.5	8.0	7.8	8.0		8.1	8.1	8.1			8	8	8	8	8.0 (darker today	8	7.4	7.6	8.8!	7.6	7.8	7.8		7.8	8	7.6	7.6	7.6	8-8.1	8.2	8 no bubbles	7.8-8			7.8													7.8	8.0																7.5		7.8					8.3		8.0
Ammonia ppm	Less than 0.1ppm	0.15	0.15	0.25	0.5	0.25	0.35	0.25	0	0	0	0	0.05	0.05	0.1	0.1	0	0.1 at 10am 0.1 at 3pm		0.1	2.0	2.0	2.0 morning, 1.5 then 1.0 at 4 , 1ppm after water change.	2ppm	1ppm	2ppm	8ppm	8ppm	4-8ppm	8ppm	8	8	8	8	8	8	1	2	0.5	0.15	0.25	0.15 then 0.25 at 11:30pm	0.15		0.15	0.15	0.15	0.05	0.15	0.25		0.15	0.15	0.15	0.25	0.15			0.05	0.05	0.25	0.05			0.05							0.05				0.15
Nitrite ppm	0 ppm	0.25	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0		0.5	1	1	2	1	2	2		2	2	1	0.75	0.75 same at 11:30pm	0.75 same as yesterdays colour		0.75	0.75			2.0	2.0		1-2	0.75	0.75	0				0	0	0	0			0							0
Nitrate ppm	Less than 30/40 ppm	30	20	40	80	20	40	30		0	0	0	0	0		0	0	20		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		5ppm	5ppm	5	10	20	40	40			80		160	40	160		50	160	60	200	200	80		60	60	60	30	30/40	30/40	30/40	40	20 / 70 at 11pm	25	40	40	40	30	35	40	25	45	45	30	20		20	2.5
DkH	8 - 12dKH	10.9	Very high	Very High		~45	~50	Decreased by 0.5ml less liquid required.			13.4 dKH (16.0 dKH @ 11PM)	20dkH	12.2dKH	14dKH		16.2dKH	13.4dKH	15.4 dKH	12.2 dKH	12.2 dKH	12.2 dKH		12.2																		8.7			28.2DKH					DKH 10.7														11.5		10.8		11.8				10.0	11.2				8.7
Magnesium mg/L (ppm)	1390ppm					1200						1200					1200			1185				1335									1170			1335					1215			1350					1250	1425	1425			1290									1170	1260	1125		1180				1080	1170	1230			1170
Calcium mg/L (ppm)	465ppm					390						480					462			450				438									420			444																											500	410	400		450				370	400	400			375
Phosphate	0.03ppm					0.03						0.03					0.03																			Below 0.03																																				0.08		0.08		0.02
Copper																																	Main Tank: 0 Quarantine Tank: 1			Main Tank: /Quarantine Tank: 0.5

 

[brandon429]

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[vetteguy53081]

Hello everyone,
So I have Cyanobacteria growing in my marine tank with seahorses.
My nutrient levels are as follows:
Nitrate 0.15
KH 8.7
Magnesium 1170 (raised it today)
Calcium 375 (raised it today too)
Phosphorus 0.02

anyone know what to do ? Increase flow rate or what? As I only have the exhaust two pipes one pointing down and one up to mix the top water. I have seahorses so I didn’t buy any wave machine is it needed or is there a way to remove it ?

please let me know as my Coral has also started to bleach and not sure why as there was no temperature increase or anything like that ? My phosphates were high with nitrates but it’s is down now could this be it ? Wil it grow back or ? As the Cyanobacteria keeps growing, is there no critters that remove it as I have trochus snails, nassrius and also a Mexican snail.

thanks

Its hard to increase with seahorses who are slow swimmers and prefer lower flow rate but you are correct that it would help.
Cyano blooms typically start when water nutrient 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 4-5 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 blue 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 3-6 blue leg hermits to take control.

 

[brandon429]

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[brandon429]

Rescinded

 

[kay2443]

How old is the tank? Cyano isn't uncommon in newer setups that are lacking a bit in biodiversity and bacteria. My tiger conchs eat cyano but it usually goes away in time. You could manual remove as much as possible to help it out as well. Best of luck

I'm dealing with the same thing. Is it harmful to marine life?

 

[Peter_B2001]

I'm dealing with the same thing. Is it harmful to marine life?

I still have it and it hasn’t harmed any marine life but what do I do to get rid of ittttt ughhh

 

[brandon429]

Removed

 

[brandon429]

.

 

[asome_one]

The amount of threads with this Brandon fella butting in is astounding. No clue how its not addressed by mods.

 

[Peter_B2001]

The amount of threads with this Brandon fella butting in is astounding. No clue how its not addressed by mods.

Literallyyy