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Increased water circ, increased nitrAtes (20), decreased phosphates. Photoperiod for nine hours a day.

Backtrack a second.

It's best if you kill the light compleatly for 2-3 days. Not just turn off the lights, but compleat blackout with the tank covered. Kill any ferts and CO2, increase surface agitation

NitrAtes may need to be increased more. What sized tank are you waging war on ? and what did you use for filtration/circulation.

Honestly if you really must use the meds, it's a final option, but I've heard a few members report back that it came back even after ethro.

^_^
*Proud member of the Committee for Sig Line Restoration*

I can't have a blackout--it's a heavily planted 10 gallon.

Plants will survive a blackout far better than any single-celled photosynthesizer. Even disregarding their root reserves, some aquarium plants have been known to survive a year of dry storage in the dark.

Last edited by Silverlight at 26-Oct-2004 11:46

Hi,
I'm glad to see everyone advising you to not use the
antibiotic, yet. When I had a breakout of that
dreaded stuff, I turned off the lights, and wrapped the
tank and part of the stand with an opaque blanket, so
that absolutely no light got to the tank. I then took
a three day mini vacation and left home.

When I got home, I took the blanket off, and there was
nothing left (the algae). I did a 50% water change to
remove the contaminated water, and did NOT turn the lights
on until the next day after another 50% water change.

The plants looked a little under the weather, but without
adding any ferts, they were back to normal and thriving
three days later.

Once it's gone, eliminate the cause or it will return.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

It's so easy to say "eliminate the cause" when in fact the very plants that are in any given tank contribute to the problem...

The chloroplast with which plants make food for themselves is actually a cyanobacterium living within the live plants' cells.

I'm not bragging but I've never had the dreaded cyanobacterium in any of my tanks. Why you ask?? Plastic (silk) plants.

Keep in mind that this bacteria has been seen in fossils 3.5 billion years old. "Billion" not million.

Almost as old as Frank and I put together.

Cyanobacterium are one of the largest bacteria groups on earth, so you can imagine what you're up against.

Cyanobacterium are both aquatic and photosynthetic and will return in all their blue/green glory unless you find something that has a taste for the bacteria.

But, after trying several Otocinclus trops or a couple of Chinese Algae Eaters, you may be forced into removing all your live plants and go plastic.

That should shake up all you live plant lovers.

--garyroland.

Last edited by garyroland at 26-Oct-2004 13:46

Chloroplasts are not cyanobacteria. While there are genetic similarities, chloroplasts do not have the same genetic code as cyanobacteria and cannot live free of plant cells.

I don't doubt that a tank with silk plants is going to have fewer problems with photosynthetic pests, but wouldn't it be a whole lot simpler to credit the achievement to lower light levels?

Kay, I'm sick and tired of this cyano gunk crawling all over my plants (I've tried almost everythin)----so naturally, there's only one thing to do at this point:

turn to the erthyro.

Any personal experiences with the stuff? I'm reluctant to use it as it will likely kill off my nitrifyers, but I have no other choise at this point.

My statement was: "The chloroplast with which plants make food for themselves is actually a cyanobacterium living within the live plants' cells."...

Chloroplast: "A plastid that contains chlorophyll and is the site of photosynthesis."

I only mentioned the reference to show compatibility and the relationship.

Reducing light

Reducing light does not kill the cyanobacterium because they are aquatic as well as photosynthetic. Take away one and you still have the other to contend with. You no doubt will slow down their progress by reducing or eliminating light but I can promise you they will readjust to the new light source when provided.

Cyanobacteria are relatives of the bacteria, not eukaryotes, and it's only the chloroplast in eukaryotic algae to which the cyanobacteria are related.

There may be an advantage, if you had algae-eating trops, to reduce light to some degree to weaken the cyanobacteria and let the trops do the rest.

--garyroland.

Last edited by garyroland at 26-Oct-2004 16:30

And if we didn't keep fish, we wouldn't have to sometimes run across disease in them ... yet somehow the lack doesn't appeal.

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

Disease was not the topic here...

"Blue/green" algae was.

--garyroland.

I've had my share of cyano problems. My 50B was full of it, to the point that the room smelled like it after I came back from a weekend away. Getting control over the phosphate levels in your water will help a ton; it's usually what causes blooms like that. Doing more water changes, eliminating questionable food, and balancing the nutrition for the plants are all things that will help immensely. BTW, do you have well water? Sometimes that can make things more difficult...

What I did was pretty much the same thing everyone else was doing, only I did a 50% water change before the blackout. I also didn't drape a blanket over the tank, just didn't turn the lights on. After I was done with the three days of darkness, the tank got another 50% water change and plants started getting their usual Flourish dosage. I also started using KNO3 (potassium nitrate) to keep the NO3 level at 5-10 ppm. Keeping it any higher isn't beneficial.

You might also consider switching brands of fish food. If you're feeding a really cheap flake, try switching to something else, like Omega One... it's made better and doesn't have as much "filler" in it. Just one more thing you can do to help.

Algae outbreaks can be hard to beat when doing things the right way (like not adding erythro), so just hang in there... it'll go away.

I sure hope so. Thanks for all the help---I guess I'll hold off on the erythromycin for a while, that is, until there're no options left.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 27-Oct-2004 15:33

I've had it, and beat it with tetracycline, no lights, and physical removal.

-- Gomer

Yes, Gary, obviously - my point is, to most people with plant tanks, giving up the plants to (possibly) eliminate the algae is about as good a solution as giving up the hobby altogether.

-Molly
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