Cyano Bacteria

[forcrz6]

Cyano Bacteria InformationPlease excuse my spelling on this 1 all.
First question everyone has is how to get rid of it. No one really asks what is it, and what does it do to my tank? A while back you may remember that in my 55g I had break out after break out of this bacteria. It seemed like no matter what I did nothing helped. Well this was due to Lack of understanding what this bacterium was, and really not doing all I could to get rid of it. But hindsight is always 20/20, right?
So first off let’s start with a history lesson. Cyano bacteria has been found as far back as the Archean Period 2.5 to 3.8 Billion years ago, and really has not changed all that much. Cyano is credited for allowing life as we know it to spawn on Earth. Since Cyano was one of the first, (if not the first) phylum of bacteria to produce photosynthesis and change the Earths atmosphere, we may not be having this little forum conversation. So I say lets give a little respect to Cyano as it is what helped us come in to this world and is obviously a tough little bugger. Now then, Cyano is called Red Algae by some in the hobby. This is False. Cyano is really not an algae at all, but a bacteria. Red algae is not a bacteria and is Much younger then Cyano. In fact Red Algae is only about 1,600 Million years old. That is just a drop in the bucket for Cyano as far as age.
So now we know what Cyano is, and it’s approximate age. Now comes the time to find out what causes it in the Hobbyist Tank. Now then, please note that some of the points I am about to put on here are a hot debate point with some people, so I will append what is debatable with (Debatable).
What are the causes?
1.Infrequent or lack of water changes
2.Infrequent or lack of water testing
3.Over feeding
4.Lack of an adequate clean up crew (Debatable)
5.Tank Equipment/Maintenance
6.Lack of RO/DI water/ using tap water (Debatable)
7.Over Lighting
8.Lack of Proper flow.
Listed above are the most common issues. We will start from #1, and move on from there. Should I miss something, or you feel the information is wrong, please let me know so I can append this.
Infrequent or lack of water changes. This really dates back to the beginning of our addiction. Water changes are you best fried in the war on Cyano. Why you ask? Well imagine that you are back in the 7th grade science class. Remember looking at that bacteria under the magnifying glass and watching them multiply? Well that is what is happening in your tank right now. Water changes help to lower the #s of Cyano, the lower the #s the less chance of build up you have. The water changes also help to get rid of any of the food that cause Cyano (nitrogen).
Infrequent or lack of water testing. This runs hand in hand with water changes. Testing your water on a regular basis will help to stop a problem before it gets out of control. Most of the new comers and some old timers (I am guilty of this myself.) only do a water test when we see something going wrong. Well this is usually (Not always) too late. This is kind of like checking to see if the gun was loaded, after shooting your best friend in the face on a VP hunting trip (Yes I had to go there). We are also guilty of not comparing out test results against other results of the same water. While a little over the top, it will let you know if your test kit is bad or not. If you test the water regularly you will see the Spikes before you will ever see the cyano. Remember In war he who strikes first strikes hardest, and this is a war.
Over feeding. Over feeding does more then just cloud up your water, clog your filters, and look nasty on your sand bed and rocks. It also brings along Cyano’s food of nitrogen. We all know that when any chemical breakdown occurs in our tanks we get either trates, trites, or Ammonia. We tend to look at the Ammonia more in our tanks as this will wipe the tank. While we do pay attention to trates, and trites, we do not really focus on them. When we do not focus on these, this is when we get a Cyano break out. (we also get very fat fish)
Lack of an adequate clean up crew (Debatable). While debatable by some who swear Live rock and water changes will do this job. I feel that an adequate clean up crew is a must. We will never be able to get what our clean up crew can. A good clean up crew will help to balance out the tank and also help in those times that you are not home to watch the tank. The removal of the waste food in the rocks, and the ability clean up dead animals, and for some to eat Cyano (queen Conch and Cucumber) is a good line of defense.

 

[forcrz6]

Tank Equipment/Maintenance. Cleaning your filters, changing your socks (For your overflow not your feet), Cleaning bio balls (If you have them), Checking your pumps, Cleaning up your skimmer, Replacing your Phosban reactor media, changing you Carbon (If you have it), Updating your lights (MH, PC, T5s, and UV) should all be on your maintenance schedules. A few things that I would suggest if you don’t already have it. Phos ban reactor. This is a god send ad will really help on your war with Algea The less Algea, the less Nit in your water, The less chance of a Cyano bloom. Replace your lighting according to your manufactures recommendations. Keeping up on the lighting will not only keep the tank well lit, but will also allow the life cycle of the inhabits of your tank to do what they have to do. Cleaning the filters and Pumps will allow you to more efficiently move the water around in your tank, and will also promote the cleaning of the water and a lower electric bill.
Lack of RO/DI water/ using tap water (Debatable) Ok, flame on. This topic is the harshest debate in the industry. While generally accepted that RO/DI water is the best thing for your tank, there are people that will fight with you tooth and nail that there is nothing wrong with tap water. I personally love the RO/DI and will never go back to Tap water but to be fair and to give the correct information. Nether Tap water, or RO/DI water are the cause of Cyano. Cyano is caused from nitrogen, nitrogen is given off by plant matter in the tank producing nitrogen. Most plant mater in a tank is algae. Where or how you got the algae is another matter all together. But Tap water (while I think extremely bad for your tank) is really not the cause for Cyano.
Over Lighting. While our critters need the light to live, we need to watch how much we give them. Over lighting is 1 of the major flaws for the new hobbyist. Our human reasoning states we should have our lights on for the same amount time that we see the sun in the sky. Why? Well because that how it is in the wild, and that is how nature intended it. Well we are not in the wild, and we do not have all the makeup of the ocean that Mother Nature has provided us. With this being said we want to limit our lighting to a min, 7 to 10 Hours is a good for the normal tank. We also want to keep in mind that we want to keep our tanks away from windows. This is a known issue that will bring on the algae, and in the end Cyano.
Lack of Proper flow. Proper flow in the fish tank world means a few things. You have the proper flow to filter the water from your tank to sump then back to tank. You then have a flow of all your power heads. You then have the flow around your rocks. There is so much flo in the salt water tank world we should name it Mel’s Diner (It was an older TV show for our younger audience). The flow we want to be concerned about here is well the lack of flow (AKA dead spots). When you have a dead spot in the tank, you have a breading ground. You know that old saying “grass don’t grow on a busy street”? Well the same is held true for cyano. Cyano will not propagate in a good flow. Please note I have said propagate and not grow. To see this for yourself (if you have Cyano) look at your tank and the location of the cyano. Where is your power head in relation to the first breakout? Put your arm in there, (UNLESS YOU HAVE POISNESS FISH THEN DON’T!!) Do you feel much if any flow in that area? Cyano will normally propagate in areas of extremely low or no flow. This can be fixed by adding another power head or adjusting the power head you already have. Again the more flow the less chance you have of a breakout.
So, what have we learned from this? Well you can have a Cyano free tank but it will take effort. This hobby/addiction is not easy, and is never ending work. Bout our results are beautiful if done right. Never give up on your daily chores for your tank. That 1 time that you forget, may be that 1 time you have an issue starting that you did not know about.

 

[forcrz6]

Reserved for more to come.