cynobacteria, should i worry!

[dorian965]

i just moved my 55 gallon tank across town and after being setup for 3 days i have noticed that im getting a little build-up of cyno in deferent places. i have never experienced this stuff and other than hair algae, which i have defeated, have had no problems for a year.

just wondering if this is something to worry about or if it will go away. im doing all test now and when i moved i replaced about 70% with new ro/di water from my new house. ill post results to my testing soon.

well with regular water changes, it should go away after a few weeks...give it time. you using ro/di water??

[dorian965]

i just run my test and the water looks great.

amn. 0
trite. 0
trate. barley detectable
ph 8.3

the phos. is high though. .6
just checked my tap water and it reads pretty good so im not sure where it came from.

does this contribute to cyno. i know my hair algae will come back with a vengance.

well they will thrive in high phospate environments. just make sure you are not overstocking and overfeeding fishes and invertebrates. just wait untill your tank settles in...you said that its been setup for 3 days. thats verry common for a new setup. in time they should go away..

[melosu58]

That is pretty high on the phosphates. Make a new batch of SW and check it before you put it in the tank. That will tell us if the problem is your tank or your water source

[dorian965]

tested new water and there are very low phosphate readings if any. im using the same salt (instant ocean) and have not changed anything other than the source water , which tested fine, and i used some aqua pure filter fiber to clean everything up after the move.

maybe it came from the rock. i know people have differing opinions on rock absorbing phosphate and leaking them back into the system but i cant see where it is coming from. the tank is actually around 5 years old. i bought it in bad shape about a year ago and replaced the cc with arganite sand.

all i know is that i can see the cyno getting worse by the hour. it is not bad but it was on one of my hermits shells and i got it out and cleaned it off, then just 2 hours later i see it on there again. ill order some phosgaurd this week and get that running.maybe some large water changes the first of next week.

any opinions? thanks dorian

[melosu58]

How often are you feeding and what? Foods give off phosphates too. You should feed your tank every other day. I definitely think that some PWC would help in this situation.

[dorian965]

i feed sparingly every day. dried pellets every day, algae sheet for my tang, and frozen mysis and brine shrimp every 3 days. i havent fed them much of anything since the move. probably twice in three days, all dried food.
i have never seen this in my tank and only had diatoms for about a week when i set it up a year ago. i have had the same lighting and feeding schedule for 6 months. it must be linked to the pho4 level so maybe the water changes will help. as i said before, i just cant figure out where it came from. thanks for the help.

[Lagger]

I'm currently having the same problem. It just appeared one day and I can't figure it out. I use ro/di and my tank tests phos at .5. I've cut back on feedings and light period, but I've noticed mine pretty much grows in areas where I have less flow. I hear old bulbs can have an effect on it also.

I'm trying to get rid of it thru PWC, less food and light before I resort to something like PhosSponge or Rowaphos. GL

[Brenden]

PO4 at .6 is definitely feeding this cyano. If source and newly made SW do not have PO4 the only thing left is food.