What is this?

[STP wellsophyllia]

Yes. These types of algae and bacteria come in all different shapes, sizes, colors etc.

 

[Sonja]

I wouldn't add any chemicals to the tank. Water changes/upping nutrient export, and cutting back on feeding would be what I would suggest. I would not add another fish to the bio load to correct this problem either.

I agree with Mr. X as far as adding another fish. That is not the answer
If you have cyano there's most likely one or two underlying problems
1) you either have too many fish in your tank or
2) your not doing enough water changes

Cleaning your tank once a week and doing a water change SHOULD be sufficient. And when I say clean I mean CLEAN. Try to remove all of the algae from the rocks (a tooth brush works great. It's tedious but it works) and siphon all the algae off the sand.

However I do not agree with mr. X when he says not to use chemicals. I use Algaefix and it works wonders if you use it properly. Only AFTER you have removed all the cyano you possibly can from the tank and done a water change dose your tank. I believe it's 1ml for every 10 gallons or 5ml for every 50 gallons.
However it will NOT work if you have activated carbon in your tank or filter so if you use chemical treatment you will have to discontinue using activated carbon until you have completed the treatment.
After that your supposed to dose Algaefix every 2-3 days until the cyano is gone.

Once you have gotten rid of the Cyanobacteria I can not stress enough how important it is to keep doing water changes once a week or it will come back, especially in a fish only tank.

There are a million other things that can contribute to cyano but I found these as the main causes as it is fueled by nitrates and phosphates, and without some sort of macro-algae to export nutrients I'm afraid your best option is high maintenance.

Good luck hope this helps

 

[mr_X]

The cyanobacteria is merely a symptom of excess nutrients. It will always come back unless you correct the underlying problem. Using chemicals may take away the visible cyano temporarily, but why bother if you are correcting the underlying issue and it's going to go away on it's own?
I've used chemiclean on tanks before, but I did it knowing it was just a temporary visual fix and not a solution.

 

[STP wellsophyllia]

I have to agree with mr. X. The chems really dont kill the spores that are left in your system. The only way you can truly be rid of this is by cutting back on feeding (and light a bit) and staying on top of your water parameters as much as you can. You also have to increase the frequency of your water changes so you can cycle the spores and microscopic bacteria out of your system so it does not come back. Its impossible to completeley eradicate these things but certainly controlling and supressing them is an obtainable goal.

 

[STP wellsophyllia]

Do you have a protein skimmer? Just wondering.

 

[SaltwaterNuB]

I too have a small problem with cyano in my tank. I siphon it before it gets too bad. I cut back my feeling. I upped my w/c. Would a skimmer help? If so I'm in luck cause I just fired mine up. Fingers crossed.

 

[Sonja]

Would a skimmer help? If so I'm in luck cause I just fired mine up. Fingers crossed.

Yes a skimmer will definitely help. it removes nutrients and proteins from the water before they break down into nitrates and phosphates that fuel the algae

 

[STP wellsophyllia]

A.K.A no more fish poop in your tank :] lol