Morning guys & gals, I came across this article, and thought I'd post it here since we seem to have a few peeps asking about the dreaded cyano.
Getting to Know Cyano
by: Elizabeth Mitchell
Ah yes, the bane of every aquarist, from the humble goldfish tank to the advanced reef or freshwater Takashi Amano style planted aquarium. Even the most diligent hobbyist can suffer from an unsolicited outbreak. What is Cyanobacteria and how does it come to be? How can it be treated and prevented? Fortunately for you and I, Cyanobacteria can easily be avoided. With the proper care and discipline any aquarium can thrive without this nuisance.
Most aquarists have encountered it at one point in their hobby if not multiple times. This can often be the final straw that drives a hobbyist to call in professional help. Cyanobacteria is often mistaken for common algae, although that statement would be untrue because Cyanobacteria is both older (some believe 3.5 billion years!) and more abundant. Cyano is often credited for the drastic atmospheric transformation during the Achaean and Proterozoic eras that made our planet habitable to higher life forms. Cyanobacteria has a beneficial side that is often overlooked in the aquarium. Now hear me out before you write off one of natures wonders entirely.
Cyanobacteria (in aquariums) only occur in closed environments where there is an overabundance of nutrients i.e. over feeding, too much light, poor filtration, fish overpopulation etc. In the closed aquaria, Cyanobacteria will consume and break down raw detritus into easily removable forms such as ammonia and nitrite. Also Cyanobacteria resides inside plants and some corals. However you may not recognize them because they go by different names. Chloroplasts are what plants use to convert sunlight and other nutrients into food, which is none other than our humble, all too familiar, Cyanobacteria repackaged inside plant cells.
Cyanobacteria is present in just about every aquarium system, but they are too small to observe. It is only when they form a colony that they become visible to the naked eye. Cyanobacteria can reproduce asexually, hence its apparent proliferation in the closed system. Cyano cares not where it lives. It has no worries (except us) and roams free to do as it pleases. It will occur in ANY aquarium fresh or saltwater. It will grow over gravel or sand. It will cover both natural rock or wood even your son?s plastic pirate ship will not be spared the wrath of Cyanobacteria. It can look anywhere from a deep blue/green (hence the name cyano is of the Greek root kyanos meaning blue) to a rich Pinot Noir wine, coming from central California somewhere between the Santa Lucia highlands, Monterey and Gonzales County. I digress.
Cyano is easily identified by its velvety fickle behavior. It can be removed from the surface it clings to by waving your hands over it. It blankets the aquasquape like natures soft quilt. It quickly breaks apart in ?sheets? and not a single algae eater will touch it! Now you may be asking ?so what can I do to eliminate nature?s art work?? Ah yes, the sheer irony of keeping an aquarium as a hobby. We take a vessel and fill it with water and animals of our choosing so that we may enjoy nature at its finest in our homes and offices. Yet despite attention to even the most minute detail, nature has a way of letting us know that despite our efforts we are not God. And our little living pictures of life aquatica will do as they please in spite of our direction or approval. Hence the topic at hand: Cyanobacteria.
Now, to eliminate this unsightly pest is quite easy and cheap. In fact you may even find yourself saving a few Georges by the time you are done treating. Like I mentioned earlier, without excess nutrients Cyanobacteria and other types of algae will find it very difficult to survive. The animals found in aquaria, even the photosynthetic ones probably do not need as much light, food or fertilizer as you are giving them. Six hours of light is plenty(in most cases). If you are away all day, then simply set a timer or manually turn on your lights at say five and turn them off at eleven pm. The amount of food your particular system requires is unique to you. However fine tuning feeding and supplement addition to just what is needed and no more is a skill that can only be acquired by careful observation of your system. If you are not sure about this stop by Aquatic Warehouse or any local fish store (LFS) and a technician will be happy to go over your individual needs. And of course water changes.
As a service technician, I have encountered many aquariums with this problem. By following the aforementioned steps I have been able to rid these systems of their affliction within three to four weeks. However there is the occasional stubborn system that requires a little more effort. Usually this means that the source of excess nutrients has been overlooked. Now we need to put on our detective hats and think like Arthur Conan Doyle. Is there a dead snail somewhere? Perhaps an unaccounted for fish? How long has it been since you changed your phosphate remover? Your carbon? What does your water quality look like? Are you using tap water? All of these are possible contributors to incubating our persistent slimy foe. Be sure to siphon out as much of it as you can. Does your system have a NRS (nitrogen reduction system)? If so (very carefully) check for tears in the netting. This can cause an imbalance of aerobic to anaerobic bacteria that can obviously wreak havoc on any system. Do you have a wet /dry sump or built-in filter? When was the last time you added beneficial bacteria? Do you have an undergravel filter? That could be adding to the problem as well.
If even all of these possibilities check out and you still have a problem then it is time to resort to? [drum roll]?the dreaded chemicals. Fortunately for you and I, they are quite effective. However as with all chemicals, follow the dosing directions exactly according to the packaging, this is very important. Since Cyanobacteria is a bacteria what better to treat it with than an antibacterial! Erythromycin is very effective. To date I have not encountered a strand of cyano that did not die off within six days of using this stuff. Now be sure to dose for the recommended seven to ten days before ending treatment even if your case of cyano is completely gone before then. Remember just like penicillin or any other antibiotic drug there is the potential for resistance to occur in your aquarium just like in your body. And who wants antibiotic resistant Cyanobacteria other than a terrorist?
After you are done with treatment, be sure to perform a 25% to 40% water change and dose heavily with beneficial bacteria less we risk secondary problems like infections to the fish or a mass die off because of the lack of beneficial nitro - bacter.
What about those hobbyist who happen to have those pesky invertebrates that constantly hinder our efforts to quickly and easily solve these problems with chemicals i.e., corals, shrimp and live plants? No worries, you are in luck! There are several brands of treatment available that are erythromycin free. Two brands come to mind: Boyd Enterprise?s Chemi Clean and Blue Life?s Red Slime Control. I have used the former and found it quite effective. Sometimes it may take several doses. But again I emphasize that these should be a method of last resort. Follow the directions and be sure to dose with beneficial bacteria when the treatment is finished. Also I have lost a few more sensitive species of shrimp after treatment. Weighing the pros and cons, the shrimp (sorry little guys) it was a fair trade I was willing to make.
So every now and then we all get a little sloppy and lazy. The occasional Cyanobacteria outbreak will be no hindrance to the armed hobbyist. A few water changes, a little skimping on supplements and food and the cyano should be gone in no time. With the proper knowledge, we can be ready to face any challenge our aquatic worlds throw at us. Let cyano bother you no more. However the day that it crawls up your bathroom sink and eats your cat, you have much bigger problem. (2) One of the problems when you / anyone has a cyano out break, it locks up the nitrogen in the tank, so your readings for nitrates/nitrites are or may not be right at all. you will see a slight O2 depletion but since the nitrogen is locked up you can not get a real measurement.the nitrogen is coming in from the nitrates breaking down during the De-nitrification process, the cyano jumps all over that and lives off of this.
one of the best ways to combat this, is to have a good skimmer , don't over feed, vacuum when the lights are on( cyano seems to love the lighting we have) and keep up on good tank cleaning. If you have a tank up for a wile, one thing to do is also check your lights, as the bulbs get older they change the Nm of light coming out of them. once you start getting to the lower end of the scale the cyano seems to like that ( or at least form what i have seen)
Most aquarists have encountered it at one point in their hobby if not multiple times. This can often be the final straw that drives a hobbyist to call in professional help. Cyanobacteria is often mistaken for common algae, although that statement would be untrue because Cyanobacteria is both older (some believe 3.5 billion years!) and more abundant. Cyano is often credited for the drastic atmospheric transformation during the Achaean and Proterozoic eras that made our planet habitable to higher life forms. Cyanobacteria has a beneficial side that is often overlooked in the aquarium. Now hear me out before you write off one of natures wonders entirely.
Cyanobacteria (in aquariums) only occur in closed environments where there is an overabundance of nutrients i.e. over feeding, too much light, poor filtration, fish overpopulation etc. In the closed aquaria, Cyanobacteria will consume and break down raw detritus into easily removable forms such as ammonia and nitrite. Also Cyanobacteria resides inside plants and some corals. However you may not recognize them because they go by different names. Chloroplasts are what plants use to convert sunlight and other nutrients into food, which is none other than our humble, all too familiar, Cyanobacteria repackaged inside plant cells.
Cyanobacteria is present in just about every aquarium system, but they are too small to observe. It is only when they form a colony that they become visible to the naked eye. Cyanobacteria can reproduce asexually, hence its apparent proliferation in the closed system. Cyano cares not where it lives. It has no worries (except us) and roams free to do as it pleases. It will occur in ANY aquarium fresh or saltwater. It will grow over gravel or sand. It will cover both natural rock or wood even your son?s plastic pirate ship will not be spared the wrath of Cyanobacteria. It can look anywhere from a deep blue/green (hence the name cyano is of the Greek root kyanos meaning blue) to a rich Pinot Noir wine, coming from central California somewhere between the Santa Lucia highlands, Monterey and Gonzales County. I digress.
Cyano is easily identified by its velvety fickle behavior. It can be removed from the surface it clings to by waving your hands over it. It blankets the aquasquape like natures soft quilt. It quickly breaks apart in ?sheets? and not a single algae eater will touch it! Now you may be asking ?so what can I do to eliminate nature?s art work?? Ah yes, the sheer irony of keeping an aquarium as a hobby. We take a vessel and fill it with water and animals of our choosing so that we may enjoy nature at its finest in our homes and offices. Yet despite attention to even the most minute detail, nature has a way of letting us know that despite our efforts we are not God. And our little living pictures of life aquatica will do as they please in spite of our direction or approval. Hence the topic at hand: Cyanobacteria.
Now, to eliminate this unsightly pest is quite easy and cheap. In fact you may even find yourself saving a few Georges by the time you are done treating. Like I mentioned earlier, without excess nutrients Cyanobacteria and other types of algae will find it very difficult to survive. The animals found in aquaria, even the photosynthetic ones probably do not need as much light, food or fertilizer as you are giving them. Six hours of light is plenty(in most cases). If you are away all day, then simply set a timer or manually turn on your lights at say five and turn them off at eleven pm. The amount of food your particular system requires is unique to you. However fine tuning feeding and supplement addition to just what is needed and no more is a skill that can only be acquired by careful observation of your system. If you are not sure about this stop by Aquatic Warehouse or any local fish store (LFS) and a technician will be happy to go over your individual needs. And of course water changes.
As a service technician, I have encountered many aquariums with this problem. By following the aforementioned steps I have been able to rid these systems of their affliction within three to four weeks. However there is the occasional stubborn system that requires a little more effort. Usually this means that the source of excess nutrients has been overlooked. Now we need to put on our detective hats and think like Arthur Conan Doyle. Is there a dead snail somewhere? Perhaps an unaccounted for fish? How long has it been since you changed your phosphate remover? Your carbon? What does your water quality look like? Are you using tap water? All of these are possible contributors to incubating our persistent slimy foe. Be sure to siphon out as much of it as you can. Does your system have a NRS (nitrogen reduction system)? If so (very carefully) check for tears in the netting. This can cause an imbalance of aerobic to anaerobic bacteria that can obviously wreak havoc on any system. Do you have a wet /dry sump or built-in filter? When was the last time you added beneficial bacteria? Do you have an undergravel filter? That could be adding to the problem as well.
If even all of these possibilities check out and you still have a problem then it is time to resort to? [drum roll]?the dreaded chemicals. Fortunately for you and I, they are quite effective. However as with all chemicals, follow the dosing directions exactly according to the packaging, this is very important. Since Cyanobacteria is a bacteria what better to treat it with than an antibacterial! Erythromycin is very effective. To date I have not encountered a strand of cyano that did not die off within six days of using this stuff. Now be sure to dose for the recommended seven to ten days before ending treatment even if your case of cyano is completely gone before then. Remember just like penicillin or any other antibiotic drug there is the potential for resistance to occur in your aquarium just like in your body. And who wants antibiotic resistant Cyanobacteria other than a terrorist?
After you are done with treatment, be sure to perform a 25% to 40% water change and dose heavily with beneficial bacteria less we risk secondary problems like infections to the fish or a mass die off because of the lack of beneficial nitro - bacter.
What about those hobbyist who happen to have those pesky invertebrates that constantly hinder our efforts to quickly and easily solve these problems with chemicals i.e., corals, shrimp and live plants? No worries, you are in luck! There are several brands of treatment available that are erythromycin free. Two brands come to mind: Boyd Enterprise?s Chemi Clean and Blue Life?s Red Slime Control. I have used the former and found it quite effective. Sometimes it may take several doses. But again I emphasize that these should be a method of last resort. Follow the directions and be sure to dose with beneficial bacteria when the treatment is finished. Also I have lost a few more sensitive species of shrimp after treatment. Weighing the pros and cons, the shrimp (sorry little guys) it was a fair trade I was willing to make.
So every now and then we all get a little sloppy and lazy. The occasional Cyanobacteria outbreak will be no hindrance to the armed hobbyist. A few water changes, a little skimping on supplements and food and the cyano should be gone in no time. With the proper knowledge, we can be ready to face any challenge our aquatic worlds throw at us. Let cyano bother you no more. However the day that it crawls up your bathroom sink and eats your cat, you have much bigger problem. (2) One of the problems when you / anyone has a cyano out break, it locks up the nitrogen in the tank, so your readings for nitrates/nitrites are or may not be right at all. you will see a slight O2 depletion but since the nitrogen is locked up you can not get a real measurement.the nitrogen is coming in from the nitrates breaking down during the De-nitrification process, the cyano jumps all over that and lives off of this.
one of the best ways to combat this, is to have a good skimmer , don't over feed, vacuum when the lights are on( cyano seems to love the lighting we have) and keep up on good tank cleaning. If you have a tank up for a wile, one thing to do is also check your lights, as the bulbs get older they change the Nm of light coming out of them. once you start getting to the lower end of the scale the cyano seems to like that ( or at least form what i have seen)
