Is this cyanobacteria

[tabby25]

Can someone pls confirm if thats
cyanobacteria or coraline algae

Note- the color of the rock is synthetic means its an artificial rock

 

[Yates273]

Looks like you have some cyano there

 

[tabby25]

Looks like you have some cyano there

How to remove it any idea?

 

[Yates273]

Scrape off glass, blow off of rocks and vacuum up. Make sure you have some flow towards the front. Cyano will grow where there’s no flow. Also make sure your water parameters are in check. If not it will come back. There are many ways to remove it but take your time. It’s not really that bad. Dont go throwing chemicals in there either. They are last resort. Try natural approach first

 

[Subsea]

@tabby25
Some Cyanobacteria is not an emergency and in my 55 years of reefing a little Cyanobacteria is normal. Similar to diatoms in a new reef being normal.

Is this the shallow tank you started 10 months ago with the drawf Angel fish?

 

[Dom]

How to remove it any idea?

What are your Nitrate and Phosphate numbers?

I recently had this issue and found that while Phosphates were in an acceptable range, Nitrates were ZERO.

I dosed neo-nitro to get Nitrates up. It was gone in about 10 days.

 

[Subsea]

What are your Nitrate and Phosphate numbers?

I recently had this issue and found that while Phosphates were in an acceptable range, Nitrates were ZERO.

I dosed neo-nitro to get Nitrates up. It was gone in about 10 days.

To further make the point, Cyanobacteria can assimilate free nitrogen gas and convert it to ammonia in a process called “nitrogen fixation”.

For this reason, opportunistic algae’s like Cyanobacteria & Dinoflagellets flourish when inorganic nitrogen & phosphate are limited.

Overview

Nitrogen fixation in the marine environment is a critical, steady-state process that converts inert atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into bioavailable ammonia.

These processes are primarily driven by microorganisms called diazotrophs. It supports ocean productivity, particularly in nutrient-poor (oligotrophic) regions, by providing new nitrogen that fuels phytoplankton growth. Key nitrogen fixers include cyanobacteria like Trichodesmium and, surprisingly, non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs on marine particles.

Key Nitrogen-Fixing Organisms
While traditionally attributed to a few cyanobacteria, the diversity of marine nitrogen-fixers is broader than previously thought.

• Trichodesmium
  : A filamentous, colony-forming cyanobacterium responsible for nearly half of global marine nitrogen fixation, often forming large surface blooms.
• Unicellular Cyanobacteria (UCYN)
  : Small, single-celled groups (UCYN-A, B, and C) that are widespread and often equal or exceed Trichodesmium in activity.
• Symbiotic Diazotrophs
  : Organisms like
  Richelia
  that live inside or on the shells of diatoms, providing nitrogen in exchange for carbon and protection.
  
  
  
• Non-Cyanobacterial Diazotrophs (NCDs)
  : Diverse heterotrophic bacteria and archaea that fix nitrogen in the dark, on sinking particles, or in the deep sea.
• Nitroplasts
  : A recently discovered nitrogen-fixing organelle in certain marine algae (
  Braarudosphaera bigelowii
  ), representing an evolutionary transition from symbiont to organelle.

Environmental Drivers and Limitations
Nitrogen fixation is an energy-intensive process regulated by several physical and chemical factors.

• Nutrient Availability: The enzyme nitrogenase requires high amounts of iron (Fe)and phosphorus (P); limited supply of these elements often constrains fixation rates.
• Oxygen Levels: Nitrogenase is inhibited by oxygen; diazotrophs use strategies like temporal separation (fixing at night) or specialized cells (heterocysts) to protect the enzyme.
• Temperature: Most active diazotrophs prefer warm tropical and subtropical waters, though fixation has been detected in colder polar regions.