# Novel non chemical treatment for blue green algae/cyanobacteria



## Chris Fellows (14 Oct 2020)

Hello everyone - I am a relative newcomer to this hobby, and it will not surprise you to learn that I have already encountered many types of algae in my high energy planted tank, including BG algae. Having tried all sorts of alterations to my tank - increasing nitrate, decreasing nitrate, increasing light, decreasing light, snails, otoclinus, armano, increased tank cleaning, etc etc, I was on the verge of using erythromycin to get rid of the stuff, but before I did so I thought I would try one last recommendation which was a three day lockdown on lighting, which more or less eradicated the stuff ( to the point where non was visible when the lights went on again ) until, as expected, it started to become apparent again about 9 days later. I noticed, however, that at this point it was not on the leaves or in the middle of the tank anywhere, but only at the border of the substrate and glass on the two outward sides ( which get direct daylight, but no direct sunlight ) , just creeping onto the substrate. Being a bacteria, I presumed that it might be rather heat sensitive, and so I got a jug of boiling water, and a 20ml syringe, and then, having filled the syringe with the near 100C water, by hand proceeded to inject the water onto the edges of the sustrate where the algae was seen, using about 20ml of the water for every 4cm length of substrate - directed only at the edges. The effect was immediate as the algae lost its bright green colour, and proceeded to die very quickly ( I siphoned it out afterwards ). Early days yet, but two weeks on, not a sign of the pesky stuff. I have  no doubt at all that it will be back, but this method, after a lockdown for three days, is very very quick, cheap and appears so far to be effective. I will keep you posted!!


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## rebel (15 Oct 2020)

Nice work! boiling water will kill most living things so should work for cyano. It would also be strangely satisfying given how pesky it can be.

I am known to use this treatment for garden weeds.... I usually add vinegar to the boiling water just for kiks n giggles.


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## Wookii (15 Oct 2020)

Nice one @Chris Fellows, I'll have to remember that one. I've always misted BGA with Excel, and it seems to get rid of it in less than 24 hours, but your boiling water technique would certainly be less invasive for the rest of the tank.

The long terms solution to BGA seems to be maintaining high dissolved oxygen levels, which is probably why is often found along the edges of the glass and substrate where DO is lowest.


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## Tim Harrison (15 Oct 2020)

Phyton Git is a more natural type product some folk have used it to eradicate Cyanobacteria.


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## PARAGUAY (15 Oct 2020)

Bit of an enigma BGA. As l recall PFK did a article on it a few years back going through all different approaches Think the conclusion that multiple water changes  regular filter clean and substrate , debris clean along with water flow seemed the way forward but it was in conclusive


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## Tim Harrison (15 Oct 2020)

It is a curious microorganism and not something my tanks have suffered. I only got it once when I made the mistake of placing a fish food feeding block on my gravel. Even then I just syphoned the infected gravel out and it never returned.


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## colmans (20 Oct 2020)

I've just used the Ultralife Blue Green removal and it's worked a treat. I tried Blue exit for a couple of months that did nothing. No idea what's in the Ultralife but it's so far solved a big problem as my plants were really starting to suffer. I had to ship it from the US but well worth it.


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## Kezzab (20 Oct 2020)

colmans said:


> I've just used the Ultralife Blue Green removal and it's worked a treat. I tried Blue exit for a couple of months that did nothing. No idea what's in the Ultralife but it's so far solved a big problem as my plants were really starting to suffer. I had to ship it from the US but well worth it.


Seconded.


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## jaypeecee (6 Nov 2020)

colmans said:


> I tried Blue exit for a couple of months that did nothing.


Hi @colmans 

_Blue Exit_ can definitely help with cyanobacteria (aka BGA) if used at the early signs of this Blue-Green Menace. I demonstrated this in the following thread:

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/cyanobacteria-identification-at-last.60496/

I'm very uncomfortable with using _Ultralife BGSSR_ and other similar products as they may well disturb the biological balance of the tank ecosystem. Some products for eliminating Cyano/BGA contain antibiotics, which are not permitted in the UK without a registered vet's prescription. I believe this is why Seachem will not supply _Kanaplex_ to the UK. I also know of cases where Cyano/BGA grows back if the root problem isn't addressed. The active ingredient in _Blue Exit_ is salicylic acid, which can be extracted from the roots and bark of the Willow tree. Indeed, some aquarists use Willow pieces to suppress the Blue-Green Menace in their tanks.

JPC


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