Gray Cyanobacteria

[mkszolo]

I have what I believe and have been told is Cyanobacteria. It behaves like cyano and responds to Chemiclean like cyano, but it is not red and not slimey. it is gray and clump-like.

I have reduced lighting, even tried lights out for 3 days. I have reduced feeding and increased flow (this has had the greatest effect). I tried phos remover (this had a devastating effect - pH drop and 3 dead fish). Any ideas, help, advise, etc. would be greatly appreciated!

Here's what I have:

125 gallons (previously treated with copper, but down to almost zero)
2 Fluval 406 filters with chemipure
UV sterilizer
800 gph powerhead at surface, 1300 gph ph near bottom
2 - 48" powerflo T8 + 2 12" LED things

Feeding Pellets 2-3 minutes morning, 2 Silversides & 10 Krill evening

10" Lionfish
6" Clowntrigger
7" Foxface
6" Heniocus
5" Spotted Sweetlips
3" Longnose Butterfly
5" Clown tang
5" Orange shoulder tang
5" Naso
2" maroon clown
4" porcupine puffer
2" sixline wrasse
4" cleaner wrasse
3" bicolor angel
4" navarcus angel
1 turbo snail

[FraggledRock]

can it be Marine Fungus?

[FraggledRock]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_fungi

http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/227
"Live marine fungus typically consists of a mass of threadlike filaments called hyphae that grow together in clumps to form mats"

Treatment Options

The key to dealing with marine fungus in the saltwater aquarium is to take action as soon as you recognize the problem. While you may be tempted to tackle the infection itself first, your first step should be to remedy the underlying cause of the infection. In many cases, fungal infections are precipitated by a drop in water quality or an increase in stress. Test the water in your aquarium to make sure the water parameters are in line and make adjustments if necessary. If you are able to determine that water quality is not the issue, look for other sources of stress in the tank. If one or more of your fish are particularly aggressive, it could cause the rest of your fish to become stressed. Physical injury as a result of aggressive tank mates or unsafe aquarium decorations may also be a problem.

After you have determined and remedied the underlying cause of the fungal infection you can move on to treating the infection itself. You will not be able to completely remove the fungal spores from your aquarium because they are resistant to treatment. Fortunately, it is unnecessary to remove all of the spores from the tank because they will not harm your fish unless they are already weakened by stress or injury. To deal with fungal infections you should quarantine the affected fish in a hospital tank and treat the water with an anti-fungal medication. There are many anti-fungal medications available including malachite green and formalin – salt may also be an effective treatment for some fungal infections. When treating your fish, make sure to remove any activated carbon from your aquarium filter and follow the dosing instructions carefully. If the infection is particularly stubborn, you may need to use potassium permanganate – this product can be toxic in water with a high pH, so use this product very carefully.

The best way to deal with fungus in the saltwater aquarium is to maintain high water quality so it does not become a problem. Remember, fungal spores are present in all aquariums and they are generally not harmful to fish under normal conditions. If the water quality in your tank drops, however, or your fish become stressed you may have problems with fungal infections.

[mkszolo]

Thanks for the info and links. I will do some research on this.

Do you happen to know if red slime treatments like chemiclean would have the same effect on marine fungus?

I ask because I have treated with chemiclean and it wipes the grey stuff out. Problem is that it comes back after a few weeks, so it must be feeding on something - detritus, light, phosphates... or something.

Anyway, thanks for your help!

[tkeracer619]

Your tank is way overstocked and your filtration is lacking. The cause is likely poor water quality.

What do your nitrates and phosphates measure?

[mkszolo]

Could you point me in the direction of good info on stocking - quantities, sizes, filtration, etc.? That would be really helpful.

Also Nitrates are 80 ppm. I don't have a phosphate test kit. Is it worth it?
Where is ideal for nitrates and phosphates.

Thanks!

[asylumdown]

Ideal for nitrates are under 5ppm, but most people aim for much lower. Phosphates in the 0.05 or under range. The water these fish come from have levels of nitrate and phosphate we would have a hard time detecting using hobby grade equipment.

80 is very high, but it's definitely within the expected range of an overstocked tank filtered by canisters.

To put it in context, the adult length of many of your fish is up to 1/3 to 1/2 the length of your entire tank. If you only had one fish that large you'd probably get away with it, but you've got half a dozen.

If you're not going to reduce stocking, you'd go a long way by ditching your canisters, getting a sump with an over-sized skimmer and starting to carbon dose. That will bring your nitrates down.

[mkszolo]

I can reduce stocking and I can do a sump, skimmer, etc. It will take some time but seems like worth it. I am not familiar with carbon dosing - just heard the term here and there. I will look that up as well. Thanks again!

[asylumdown]

Look up the adult sizes of all your fish and decide from there. You probably don't want more than one fish that will approach 2 feet long in a tank that size

[tkeracer619]

Carbon dosing is definitely an option once you have a good skimmer on the tank but you would need to reduce your nutrient levels prior to starting or you would likely risk some bacterial blooms.

Reducing the fish load would be a big first step in bringing the tank around.

Large water changes will reduce nitrates safely.

[mkszolo]

Thanks for all the help. I will gladly take all the help, advice, tips, corrections, changes, etc. anyone can send my way.

[tkeracer619]

You're welcome! We'll get you squared away. Can you post some pics?

[mkszolo]

I will get some pics up in the morning...kids have my phone right now playing some games.