(upbeat music)
- Hello fellow reef keepers.
This is Wayland from Marine Depot
and I'm here to talk to you
about a common reef aquarium pest
called cyanobacteria, or cyano for short.
A lot of people think cyano's a type
of algae, but it's actually a photosynthetic bacteria.
It's slimy and often grows in sheets
that can be siphoned or blown off
of the rocks or substrates quite easily.
It comes in different colors like red,
green, or deep purple.
In the ocean, there are species of cyanobacteria
that cause toxic red tides, which can be detrimental
to the entire ecosystem where they bloom.
In our aquariums, the cyanobacteria is not toxic, per se,
but can have some nasty side effects.
Not only is it ugly, cyano will shade
and out-compete your corals for real estate,
thus blocking photosynthesis.
If the conditions are right, cyano can grow quickly
and can cover any surface in your tank.
Your aquarium can't really catch cyano
from another tank because it's pretty much
always around and in your tank.
Cyano outbreaks are caused primarily
because of elevated nutrients and insufficient flow.
These conditions then allow cyano
to grow rapidly and out-compete
other beneficial bacteria and algae in your tank.
Light spectrum and bacterial balance come into play
as well, but in most situations,
these are only secondary contributors.
Cyanobacteria feeds off the waste
in your tank called detritus and will likely grow
in areas where this waste accumulates.
These areas are the sandbed, live rock,
and even your filtration compartments.
Cyano loves dead spots in the tank
where water flow is very low.
So make sure you have a high enough flow rate
in your tank and that all corners
of your tank have excellent water movement.
This helps to keep the detritus suspended
for easy removal and prevents waste
from building up in one particular area,
which is how 99% of cyanobacterias arise.
Wave makers like the EcoTech VorTech MP10
and the Maxspect Gyre are awesome
for achieving flow patterns that inhibit cyano growth
because they move large volumes of water.
High water flows help to eliminate dead spots
throughout your entire aquarium
without the need of multiple pumps.
You should siphon cyano and detritus off your rocks
and substrate immediately upon noticing it
in your tank and then daily thereafter.
If cyano has a fuel source,
it will grow back almost right away.
Also be sure to change your filter media often
and clean up any uneaten food within an hour of feeding.
Siphoning cyano and detritus out of your tank
will really help your efforts to beat cyanobacteria.
You'll be removing the locked up nutrients
the cyano has consumed.
You'll also be diluting your tank
with clean saltwater, helping
to reduce the general waste levels in the tank.
Test your nitrate and phosphate levels regularly
because these parameters are a direct indication
of your waste levels in your tank.
Elevated phosphates and nitrates mean
your tank is not efficiently processing nutrients
that are going into the system.
You can reduce nitrate and phosphates
in a variety of ways.
The best option is a frequent
and consistent water change schedule.
Of course, proper biological filtration,
along with an efficient protein skimmer,
and efficient mechanical filtration are also necessary.
In situations with a heavy bio load,
you might want to consider using media
or chemical solutions to target
and remove phosphates and nitrates.
GFO or granular ferric oxide,
such as AquaMaxx Phosphate Out Pro
or ROWAPhos are excellent at removing phosphates.
The use of the liquid chemical lanthanum chloride
is becoming a very popular way
to remove phosphates rapidly, but it should be noted
that this stuff works very quickly
and you'll have adverse effects
on your tank inhabitants if you do it too quickly
and use it incorrectly.
Bio pellets are are popular solution
for tanks with higher nitrate levels.
This system actually utilizes bacteria
to remove nitrates and is a great way
to combat prolific cyanobacteria problems.
Natural methods of nutrient control,
like refugiums or algae scrubbers,
like the Clear Water External Algae Scrubber,
will help reduce harmful nutrients as well.
This natural method of nutrient control
is becoming more and more prevalent
in aquarium applications.
It's become more commonplace
in many successful filtration systems.
After addressing your nutrients
and flow inside the aquarium, nine times out of 10,
you can defeat cyano in just a few weeks.
However, the problem can be so severe sometimes,
so bad that you need to kill it off
completely and start fresh.
In these serious cases, you can do what's called a blackout,
which means you turn off your lights
and lay a blanket or tarp over the tank
to block out any ambient light for 72 hours.
Cyanobacteria cannot survive without light for this long
but your fish and corals will be fine.
Just keep in mind that when the blackout is over,
the cyano can bounce right back
if you have not addressed the elevated waste
and water flow issues.
You might also look at one of these easy chemical remedies,
such as the UltraLife Red Slime Remover
or Boyd's Chemi-Clean.
These solutions help eradicate the cyanobacteria
that is growing inside your tank.
UltraLife Red Slime Remover and Chemi-Clean
red slime cyanobacteria remover are at the top
of the list because they're safe for all fish, corals,
inverts, desirable microalgae, and nitrifying bacteria.
They're simple to implement and fast-acting.
A couple things to note during a chemical treatment,
remove carbon or similar chemical filtration medias
that can remove the medication from your tank water.
You will need to turn off your protein skimmer,
as well as your UV sterilizer
and ozone generator, if you have one.
It is best to also add an airstone
to your system during treatment
because oxygen levels can get quickly depleted.
The airstone will ensure this does not happen.
An airstone will also keep your pH stable during treatment.
Always be prepared with extra salt water on hand
because you will need to perform a substantial water change,
24 to 48 hours after treatment.
Although very rare, it is possible
for cyano to grow on living coral.
In this case, you can dip the coral
with a coral dip like Coral RX Coral Dip.
Swish and shake the coral well in the dip
to remove or dislodge any cyanobacteria
that is present and then rinse
in a separate container of saltwater
before placing it back into your tank.
Your aquarium maintenance techniques
will drastically affect what happens to your tank,
so unless you have a strange desire
to battle any one of these aquarium elements,
don't let your waste levels become a problem
in your tank to begin with.
Something to understand about cyanobacteria
and many of the algae problems that'll arise
in similar situations is that an ounce
of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Be sure to check out the Marine Depot blog
and education center.
For articles containing more information
about battling nuisance reef pests,
we've included a few helpful links below.
If you found our video helpful,
subscribe to our channel to stay up-to-date
on all the latest Marine Depot videos.
Thank you for watching today, please reach out
to us anytime because we're here to help you succeed
in keeping a beautiful saltwater aquarium.
(upbeat music)