cyanobacteria

[Edvet]

All those bacteria will be around in all tanks and appear when the conditions are favorable for them. The blackout will make them disappear but the bacteria will be omnipresent. Even if you use an antibacterial agent, which is a bad practice, they wont disappear completely.

 

[zozo]

It will still be In Your system and will reappear as soon as conditions are not right

It always is 🙂 it's omnipotent present in our global ecological system, bacteria, fungal and algal spores are all around us, constantly.. Even if you completely distroy what you see developed.. But not adressing the root cause than it will be back again no matter what you do.

Like fungus on a constant damp wall, you can kill it with chemicals.. But not addressing the root cause, which is preventing the wall getting moist.. Fungus will be back in no time despite you killed off the first generation. 🙂

 

[ceg4048]

I clean my filter every other water change. also i know you don't like to hear this but!! does cyanobacteria have anything to do with high fert lvls.

No it doesn't. Light causes algae. Algae do not care what the nutrient levels are.You need to stop listening to nutrient haters.
If BGA were related to high nutrient levels then everyone dosing eutrophic schemes such as EI and PMDD would experience chronic BGA without any possibility of eradicating it. Additionally, the reverse would be true, i.e those who do NOT dose any nutrients would not suffer these symptoms. Clearly this is not the case. Adding nutrients typically eliminates or prevents BGA or other algal forms.

Something happened in the tank, whether it be low oxygen levels or excessive lighting or inadequate dosing or some combination. It didn't just happen yesterday but over a period of time. The spores, pathogens and bacteria living in your tank alongside your fish and plants and are never truly gone. They wait for an opportunity to attack and usually that opportunity is when conditions in the tank decline and when the plant health declines. As mentioned above, improving the conditions does not always immediately eradicate the bloom, but persistent removal and the maintaining of improved conditions will work.

As mentioned, you need to mechanically remove the BGA consistently and aggressively. Also need to ensure that your flow/distribution is adequate. A lot of people use test kits to determine how much NPK to dose and this often results in failure. You cannot accurately measure NO3 or any Nitrogen compound in an aquarium. Your test kit can read 20 ppm and the true number can easily be 2 ppm.

First ensure the dosing numbers. How much of what powders are you adding, and how frequently are they being added?
What is the configuration of your filter outlet pipes?
What is the lighting, how is it arranged?
Have you tried the blackout + KNO3 as Edvert mentioned? Did the BGA return afterwards?

I'm not seeing any photos or real data here, just a bunch of panic response based on myths and old wives tales.
You need to be systematic and logical. Examine every aspect of your procedures. It's not always obvious that something in your procedures has a flaw.
I've seen cases where someone thought they were dosing correctly and it turned out they had completely miscalculated the dosage.
Some people miscalculate their gas injection technique. Others have more light than they bargained for, and without a PAR meter it is impossible to tell. The light may look dim to you but may be bright to plants. The reverse can also be true.

Try the blackout+KNO3. That is always the first step with BGA. Then observe the results and go from there.

Cheers,

 

[Roediger]

No it doesn't. Light causes algae. Algae do not care what the nutrient levels are.You need to stop listening to nutrient haters.
If BGA were related to high nutrient levels then everyone dosing eutrophic schemes such as EI and PMDD would experience chronic BGA without any possibility of eradicating it. Additionally, the reverse would be true, i.e those who do NOT dose any nutrients would not suffer these symptoms. Clearly this is not the case. Adding nutrients typically eliminates or prevents BGA or other algal forms.

Something happened in the tank, whether it be low oxygen levels or excessive lighting or inadequate dosing or some combination. It didn't just happen yesterday but over a period of time. The spores, pathogens and bacteria living in your tank alongside your fish and plants and are never truly gone. They wait for an opportunity to attack and usually that opportunity is when conditions in the tank decline and when the plant health declines. As mentioned above, improving the conditions does not always immediately eradicate the bloom, but persistent removal and the maintaining of improved conditions will work.

As mentioned, you need to mechanically remove the BGA consistently and aggressively. Also need to ensure that your flow/distribution is adequate. A lot of people use test kits to determine how much NPK to dose and this often results in failure. You cannot accurately measure NO3 or any Nitrogen compound in an aquarium. Your test kit can read 20 ppm and the true number can easily be 2 ppm.

First ensure the dosing numbers. How much of what powders are you adding, and how frequently are they being added?
What is the configuration of your filter outlet pipes?
What is the lighting, how is it arranged?
Have you tried the blackout + KNO3 as Edvert mentioned? Did the BGA return afterwards?

I'm not seeing any photos or real data here, just a bunch of panic response based on myths and old wives tales.
You need to be systematic and logical. Examine every aspect of your procedures. It's not always obvious that something in your procedures has a flaw.
I've seen cases where someone thought they were dosing correctly and it turned out they had completely miscalculated the dosage.
Some people miscalculate their gas injection technique. Others have more light than they bargained for, and without a PAR meter it is impossible to tell. The light may look dim to you but may be bright to plants. The reverse can also be true.

Try the blackout+KNO3. That is always the first step with BGA. Then observe the results and go from there.

Cheers,

hmmm i did stop water agitation on top. I also stopped my skimmer from from taking in surface water because it kept making sounds. i will take pics today. thanks i am injecting more co2 so i will try to increase oxygen

 

[Roediger]

whats up guys heres the tank pics!

so I trimmed.. and trimmed and used a tooth brush to get any cyno off. did a water change. dosed ferts. and also added extra kno3. covered the tank with a dark blanket. hope everything goes well. i only get cyno on my floor i seen pics of tanks and man! thats bad

 

[ceg4048]

OK mate, thanks a lot for the additional information. It confirms from the photos that the BGA is on the substrate and is not encroaches on the plants, and that is good news.

Is that brand new ADA Aquasoil? If so, be advised that new Aquasoil leaches ammonia and that can trigger BGA blooms. That could be a factor.

Trimming will have helped the flow.

Remember that blackout means blackout. No feeding, no peeking.

Cheers,

 

[Roediger]

OK mate, thanks a lot for the additional information. It confirms from the photos that the BGA is on the substrate and is not encroaches on the plants, and that is good news.

Is that brand new ADA Aquasoil? If so, be advised that new Aquasoil leaches ammonia and that can trigger BGA blooms. That could be a factor.

Trimming will have helped the flow.

Remember that blackout means blackout. No feeding, no peeking.

Cheers,

thats correct sir! full blackout. made sure i fed them few flakes. did a WC. trimmed and blqckout time. Ada soil is about 5 to 6 months old. i didnt put anything in the tank until my ammonia showed 0

 

[ceg4048]

Well, just because your test kit says zero it does not actually mean that the number is zero, especially in the sediment. In fact, ammonia is never zero because it is constantly being produced. Aquasoil is prepared using ammonium nitrate baked onto the surface of the pellets and retains some amount until it is mineralized and then depleted. The events leading to this issue could have been set into motion 5-6 months ago, for example. Again, it could be also related to flow or gas exchange over that area of the sediment. Keep in mind that as others have mentioned, this is a bacteria, not a plant like real algae is. We just call it algae, but it isn't.

Cheers,

 

[Ben C]

Having read this thread, I just did my own three day black-out (Saturday morning, all day Sunday, all day Monday and into Tuesday evening). There is now not a trace of cyanobacteria - its like it was never there. I will now be doing a 50% water change as that dead algae will be in the water column somewhere and I'll want rid of it.

The ONLY thing I would do differently is that condensation formed on the inside of the black bin bags I used and ran down the tank. I can see some water ingress in the cabinet, which has led to the laminate warping in a few small places - not the end of the world, but something to be aware of if you do this yourself. I'm not sure what the solutions are - I'd cross that bridge next time I were to do this.

In short - the process appears to work. Now to just keep it away 😉

 

[ian_m]

I used multiple layers of my DIY dust sheets..old blankets and sheets when I did my blackout. No condensation.

 

[Edvet]

dead algae will be in the water column somewhere and I'll want rid of it.

Technically they are not algae 😀, it's good to do the big water change, but the bacteria will always be lurking around, in all tanks, all over the world😉

 

[Coys]

The only thing that works 100% is a product called chemiclean

Ultralife Blue Green Lime Stain Remover does the trick too. Worked 100% in two aquariums with horrible cyano outbreaks. Around £20 including p&p (from USA) from Amazon.co.uk.

 

[Edvet]

not a trace of cyanobacteria

Tadaaaa😀😀

 

[Edvet]

Ultralife Blue Green Lime Stain Remover

Sadly it doesn't say what the ingredients are, but a 3 day blackout works too ( as shown) and doesn't cost anything😱

 

[Ben C]

Thanks Edvet - yes, I didn't mean to write 'algae'! A slip of the keyboard 😉

 

[zozo]

black bin bags

Hop into the first IKEA store you see.. 😉 They sell extremely large (+/- 175cm x 100cm) and rather thick material "Black" beach/bathroom towels and also rather cheap as well. These towels are thus thick textile they are completely light proof. Obviously regarding the size of the tank use as much as you need overlap them and use cloth pins to hold together.. Euraka!! They breath and don't condence..
And when you are not blacking out your tank take it to the beach or your bathroom and enjoy it's softness..