What are the main contributing factors in a Cyno outbreak? Fix?

[angelfan]

Looking for ideas to treat a recent cyno outbreak. Its in my 20 gal which has been stable for some time but I just moved. Nothing has been negatively affected but it won't go away and I don't really want to do a blackout. Is it phosphate? Any ideas are appreciated.

[Zoaelite]

Looking for ideas to treat a recent cyno outbreak. Its in my 20 gal which has been stable for some time but I just moved. Nothing has been negatively affected but it won't go away and I don't really want to do a blackout. Is it phosphate? Any ideas are appreciated.

How old are the bulbs? Over 10 months and the chance of them contributing to nuisince algea is much higher.

[angelfan]

at least a year. I thought you change them to enhance color? I didn't know they could cause algae blooms. Is this why everyone changes them and what do I do with the other bulb? also do you know if phosphates could play a role? They are higher than usual

[Drock169]

Most people change them because the lighting temperature, K, slowly changes over time, temps near 6500K or less seem to promote algae growth.

[Pan]

Looking for ideas to treat a recent cyno outbreak. Its in my 20 gal which has been stable for some time but I just moved. Nothing has been negatively affected but it won't go away and I don't really want to do a blackout. Is it phosphate? Any ideas are appreciated.
Something die you can't see...or have not noticed?

[mseepman]

I've been experiencing the same thing and the only idea I have as to what caused it was changing my lights. I recently modded an Aqualight pro to have the MH plus 4 T5HO's rather than the PC suppliments. When I went to get the T5HO bulbs, Mike at hidden reef convinced me to try some new ones he had (50K) and I'm suspicious that they are causing the problem.

[spreerider]

lights not only shift colour but they lose more then 50% of their light output in the first year, at least Flourescent lamps, MH keep brightness longer but lose their peak wavelengths and become a more ballanced light that turns more yellow and grows algea better.

[mseepman]

But do you think new lights in a spectrum we don't usually use (really high at 50k) would cause this?

[angelfan]

Something die you can't see...or have not noticed?
Nothing died, that I can find

[angelfan]

Maybe I'll pick up a new bulb and give that a try. Thanks for the help

[marie]

Cyano is definitely phosphate driven, if your phosphates are higher then usual then a new bulb will just make it worse. Moving could have released the phosphates from your rock and sand.

Are you running any phosphate removers? If not, now would be a time to start. Increasing the flow where cyano seems to settle will help as well and of course doing that good old standby...lots of water changes :biggrin:

[angelfan]

Cyano is definitely phosphate driven, if your phosphates are higher then usual then a new bulb will just make it worse. Moving could have released the phosphates from your rock and sand.

Are you running any phosphate removers? If not now would be a time to start. Increasing the flow where cyano seems to settle will help as well and of course doing that good old standby...lots of water changes :biggrin:

Sounds good. I just started with some phosphate sponge but I was unsure if that was the problem. Thanks! I thought I remembered reading that phosphate supports cyanobacteria growth but I wasn't sure.:lol: I'll let u know how it goes:biggrin:

[mseepman]

Thanks for the info, I will change up my phosguard tomorrow.

[angelfan]

36hrs of phosphate sponge and instantly all cyano is gone, even a little that was there when I put it in. Together with an extra water change it worked wonders, thanks for the help:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

Greg

[banditpowdercoat]

Hmm, Is there anything else than Phos? I had a bad outbreak, right after I added more light??!!? 4 t5's over 2. Did a blackout, it disapeared, week later, coming back. Just got Salfert Phos kit, no reading??? Ir, is it not Cyano? Looks red and slimy like. Covering my sand. Not like it was, speckeled now, not a thick carpet like before

[CRAP! Another Hobby]

For BGA (cyano) to appear, it means that your params are out of whack. :sad:
BGA is capable of getting a stronghold in your tank when the nitrates and/or phosphates are out of "optimal" conditions.

There is a formula called the REDFIELD RATIO (RR). It is used to help prevent cyano outbreaks from starting. Here is how it works (whether for SW or FW set-ups)

(NITRATE/PHOSPHATE)x0.7= RR

The perfect RR (again for SW or FW) is 16.

Example:NO3and PO4 measured in mg/l
NO3/PO4* 0.7= Redfield Ratio
(10/.25)*0.7=28 With this RR you would have a significant outbreak of cyano.

SO what do you do...well...lets play with the numbers...
If we increase our NO3, the results are
(20/.25)*0.7=56 So we are going the wrong way with the RR.

What if we increase our PO4?
(10/.50)*0.7=14 Much better...but still not an RR of 16...plus its alot of PO4!

You can see that a small change in one param or another can have a huge impact. What you need to do is measure your 2 key params, then figure out which one is easiest, and safest, to adjust.

Keeping an RR of 16 will cause the cyano to slowly start dying away. Manually try to remove as much as possible. A huge mass of dying cyano can and will spike your params.

Hope this helps:biggrin:

[angelfan]

Thanks