Hello everyone! My tank is currently overran by, what I believe is, Cyanobacteria. This strain of Cyano isn't red and slimey but rather brown and slimey. I've attempted dosing Vibrant and it hasn't done much. I've tried Chemiclean and no avail either. I've considered the possibilities of having Dinoflagellates and have a microscope on order to help me ID. Here are my tank parameters that I took yesterday
pH 8.2
Ammonia & Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate 25 ppm
Phosphate 0.1ppm
Today is water change day so a 20% water change should lower these values. I'm doing 20% water changes weekly instead of 10% to try and lower my Nitrate and Phosphate levels.
I'm trying to find a faster way to combat the algae and I've devised a method but I need some input because I don't want to wipe out beneficial bacteria.
In about a week my CUC comes out of Quarantine and they will be able to help clean up the sand bed a bit, but I need a way to clean the rocks. My idea is to place the rocks into 5 gallon buckets filled with water and peroxide to dissolve some of the algae on the rocks. After about an hour or so I plan on placing the rocks back in the DT and hopefully they are algae free.
Here are some questions I need help answering:
Any input is greatly appreciated! Maybe if this ends up working we will have a good way to quickly rid our tanks of nuisance algae.
pH 8.2
Ammonia & Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate 25 ppm
Phosphate 0.1ppm
Today is water change day so a 20% water change should lower these values. I'm doing 20% water changes weekly instead of 10% to try and lower my Nitrate and Phosphate levels.
I'm trying to find a faster way to combat the algae and I've devised a method but I need some input because I don't want to wipe out beneficial bacteria.
In about a week my CUC comes out of Quarantine and they will be able to help clean up the sand bed a bit, but I need a way to clean the rocks. My idea is to place the rocks into 5 gallon buckets filled with water and peroxide to dissolve some of the algae on the rocks. After about an hour or so I plan on placing the rocks back in the DT and hopefully they are algae free.
Here are some questions I need help answering:
- What type of water do the buckets need to be filled with? Tap water, RO/DI, or Aquarium Water?
- At what concentration does the H202 need to be in order to kill the algae but not harm beneficial bacteria?
- How long should I allow the rocks to soak?
- Will this idea even work or will it kill all beneficial bacteria and cause my tank to need to cycle again?
Any input is greatly appreciated! Maybe if this ends up working we will have a good way to quickly rid our tanks of nuisance algae.