In this video I am going to take you through the journey of battling Cyanobacteria, commonly called Cyano or Red Slime Algae.
In the video I will talk through:
- Why I got Cyano
- 5 Correction Methods
- Prevention
- What I Did to get rid of Cyano
- Progress and Timeline
What is cyano?
- It is a photosynthetic bacteria that behaves like an algae
Best Tip - Act quickly before it gets out of control!!!!
- If you didn’t, don’t worry, you can still win the battle.
Why I ended up with Cyano:
- Lack of Cycling Bacteria
- 2 Months No Water Changes
- 2 Months No Filter Cleaning
- Diminished Clean Up Crew
5 Methods to Correct the Outbreak
1 - Physical Removal
2 - Good Bacteria Addition
3 - Balance Nutrients
4 - Targeted Clean Up Crew
5 - Chemical Treatment
Physical Removal
- Syphon
- Turkey Baster
- Fish Net
- Hand
*Note - Turkey Baster is my preferred method.
Good Bacteria Addition - add beneficial bacteria to outcompete the cyano for resources
There are 2 options:
1 - Bacterial Treatments: bacterial treatment goal is to treat the outbreak while adding good bacteria to sustain results.
- I did not do this
2 - Add Bacteria Only - I did this
- Microbe Lift Special Blend
- Microbe Lift Nite Out II
Microbe Lift Special Blend - Special Blend is a specifically formulated consortium of bacteria designed to create a stable biological system
- Beneficial Bacteria
- Removes Odors
- Clears Water
- Reduces Maintenance
Features:
- Breaks down organic waste
- Improves growth and nutrient uptake in corals
- All Natural Live Bacteria
- Biologically reduces nitrates, breaks down excess proteins, and aids in the reduction of ammonia and nitrates
Unique Blend - mixture of spore-based and vegetation strains of bacteria
Microbe Lift Nite Out II - Nite Out II is a specifically formulated bacterial
Blend which rapidly starts and stabilizes the biological filter
- Quickly and safely decreases ammonia and nitrite toxicity
The Nitrogen Cycle
- Fish eat food
- Fish waste turns to ammonia
- Nite Out II converts ammonia to nitrite
- Then nitrite to nitrate
- Plants and algae use nitrates and fertilizer. This is where Special Blend comes in
Key Features
- Instantly cycles aquariums
- Reduce fish loss
- Reduce ammonia and nitrites
- Safe to use
- Improves water quality
Balance nutrients - specifically Nitrate NO3 and Phosphate PO4
Increase Maintenance
- Water Changes
- Filter Maintenance
- Keep Sand and Rock Scape Clean
- Use 0 TDS Water (Total Dissolved Solids). If buying, ask them to test it in front of you. If making on own, you may want to test it yourself
- Add absorber like Purigen to removed organic waste and aids in controlling ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates
- Add absorber like ROWA Phos to to remove PO4 (Phosphate) and SiO2 (Silicate)
*Note: Silica is a contributor to diatoms, so you are helping to control 2 issues with 1 treatment
*Note: this alone may not solve your problem as Cyano can thrive with nitrate and phosphate at 0!!!
Targeted Clean Up Crew
- Blue Leg Hermit Crab
- Astrea Turbo Snail
Chemical Treatment - these will work to remove the existing Cyano but will not prevent it from returning and it will likely return as soon as the chemical is no longer present
Prevention
- Maintain Balanced Nutrients
- Good Flow Free of Dead Spots
- Routine Water Changes
- Maintain Clean Sand Bed and Rock Scape
- Maintain Clean Filtration
- Don’t Over Feed
- Balanced CUC
What I did to get rid of Cyanobacteria
Day 1
- Used fish net to remove cyano from sand bed
- Added Microbe Lift Special Blend (120ml)
- Added Microbe Lift Nite Out II (80ml)
- Added 20 Astraea Turbo Snails
- Added 8 Super Tongan Nassarius Snails
- Added 1 Sand Sidting Starfish
- Replaced Purigen Filter Media
- Replaced ROWA Phos Filter Media
- Stopped Feeding Reef Roids
Day 2
- Turkey Baster Sand Bed
Day 4
- Small Water Change (3 gallons)
- Syphon Sand Bed
Day 5
- Added 50 Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
Day 6
- Turkey Baster Sand Bed
Day 8
- Turkey Baster Sand Bed
- Added Microbe Lift Special Blend (120ml)
- Added Microbe Lift Nite Out II (80ml)
Day 10
- Syphon Sand Bed
- Small Water Change
Day 11
- Turkey Baster Sand Bed
Day 15
- Turkey Baster Sand Bed
- Added Microbe Lift Special Blend (120ml)
- Added Microbe Lift Nite Out II (80ml)
Day 16
- Small Water Change
Day 20
- Turkey Baster Sand Bed
Day 23
- Added Microbe Lift Special Blend (90ml)
- Added Microbe Lift Nite Out II (80ml)
Day 25
- Turkey Baster Sand Bed
Day 30
- Small Water Change
- Syphon Sand Bed
- Clean Filter
Day 37
- Turkey Baster Sand Bed
Day 38
- Small Water Change
Day 42
- Turkey Baster Sand Bed
Day 45
- Water Change
- Syphon Sand Bed
Day 51
- Small Water Change
- Syphon Sand Bed
Day 57 - GONE
Moved to Routine Maintenance
Progress and Time Lapse
- Day 1 Starting Treatment
- Day 8
- Day 17
- Day 24
- Day 38
- Day 44
- Day 50
- Day 57
- Day 64
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