Cyanobacteria is a real pain. Took weeks of gently siphoning it off my carpet plants to eventually get rid of it.
Apologies but it's an Algae question
- Thread starter HumanBean
- Start date
Seems like I need to be patient and do what ever it takes to get rid of it.
I forgot to add I also used peroxide (very dangerous, do at your own risk). Take an airline pipe and see if you can suck sheets off, it doesn't adhere to surfaces well
I also had cyano in my tank for a good couple of months... I just thought it was algae I could never get rid of lol.. this was when i was trying my hand at keeping different ca cichlids together... what's funny is you say you feed massivore a few times a day? Massivore is terribly messy and dense... it's not only what doesnt get eaten.. but as soon as massivore hits the tank water is clouds up... my tank is now a heavily planted overstocked oddball community but only one of my cats eat massivore so feeding of that stuff has dwindled... try feeding a bit less of that and try some other pellets or feed less often
I was wondering what kind of green algae you might have? When you scraped it off the walls (glass?) and wood, how difficult was that? I've had green spot algae in high-light planted tanks which becomes so difficult to remove from the glass that you need something very hard and sharp in order to remove it.
This is caused by too much light.
This is caused by too much light.
Last edited:
Cyanobacteria primarily feeds on phosphate so even if your nitrates are low you can still have cyano growth.
It can even grow in low light conditions because it is a bacteria so unless you do a total blackout lowering the light will probably not help a lot.
Peroxide will work and is relatively safe but only as a topical solution, meaning if you can remove a piece of driftwood or rock and spray outside the tank it will kill it.
You can also spray things inside the tank while the water level is low, but not too much.
Hydrogen peroxide breaks down to its key components fairly quickly (oxygen and hydrogen) which turns to water so it is pretty safe.
But what you cannot do with Hydrogen peroxide is use it as a dosage by adding it directly to the aquarium.
Because it take a certain amount of time to break down, during which it can be harmful to fishes gills and slime coat as it will break down organics during this time.
Antibiotic type medication like erythromycin will kill but is really not necessary, except in extreme circumstances.
I’ve never used septic tank bacteria to control Cyanobacteria but I can see where it may be a good option.
It can even grow in low light conditions because it is a bacteria so unless you do a total blackout lowering the light will probably not help a lot.
Peroxide will work and is relatively safe but only as a topical solution, meaning if you can remove a piece of driftwood or rock and spray outside the tank it will kill it.
You can also spray things inside the tank while the water level is low, but not too much.
Hydrogen peroxide breaks down to its key components fairly quickly (oxygen and hydrogen) which turns to water so it is pretty safe.
But what you cannot do with Hydrogen peroxide is use it as a dosage by adding it directly to the aquarium.
Because it take a certain amount of time to break down, during which it can be harmful to fishes gills and slime coat as it will break down organics during this time.
Antibiotic type medication like erythromycin will kill but is really not necessary, except in extreme circumstances.
I’ve never used septic tank bacteria to control Cyanobacteria but I can see where it may be a good option.
Scraping Cyanobacteria off, and vacuuming is a temporary solution because it almost never gets it all.
Cells always remain and regrow.
Treating with an antibiotic could affect your beneficial bacteria, and if not applied strong enough could create super Cyanobacteria resistant strains.
The point of adding Rid-X or any other probiotic product, is that the bacterial colonies they provide out compete Cyano, and prevent its return.
It comes as a dry mix, in a flour like material, and if added direct to the tank, can be quite messy.
When I used it I would put a tbsp in a filter sock hanging in a sump, near a flowing stream of water.
When the bacteria become hydrated, they easily pass thru the sock and enter the tank, after a day or so, I would then remove the sock and rinse out the flour like material, to not cloud the tank water..
It could also be added to a separate vessel of full of old tank water, which could then be filtered as that water is added to the tank.
Might add some temporary cloudiness until settled.
Cells always remain and regrow.
Treating with an antibiotic could affect your beneficial bacteria, and if not applied strong enough could create super Cyanobacteria resistant strains.
The point of adding Rid-X or any other probiotic product, is that the bacterial colonies they provide out compete Cyano, and prevent its return.
It comes as a dry mix, in a flour like material, and if added direct to the tank, can be quite messy.
When I used it I would put a tbsp in a filter sock hanging in a sump, near a flowing stream of water.
When the bacteria become hydrated, they easily pass thru the sock and enter the tank, after a day or so, I would then remove the sock and rinse out the flour like material, to not cloud the tank water..
It could also be added to a separate vessel of full of old tank water, which could then be filtered as that water is added to the tank.
Might add some temporary cloudiness until settled.
To piggy back off of what duanes said, another option when adding Rid-X is to place the amount in a net and release it near your canister filter's intake. In my case, I use a small telescoping shrimp net and release it near the intake of my FX6. It'll suck it all up and you won't see the mess.
Thanks. I only feed twice a day and even that not a lot of pellets. I agree the outcome is super messy. What else do you recommend ?
It was not that difficult to come off I managed to clean it up but what causing me grief is the re occurence. Also it was not rigid to touch either.
