What is this green stuff?

SeanPep · 08/10/2016, 08:22 AM

Was looking from the side of my tank and saw this green stuff in my sand. Can anyone tell me what it is?

scooter31707 · 08/10/2016, 08:27 AM

Looks like it could be the beginning of hair algae. May be a result from not having enough flow in that little area.

lespaul339 · 08/10/2016, 08:35 AM

Could be green cyano.

AlSimmons · 08/10/2016, 09:21 AM

Green Cyanobacteria would be my guess as well.

SeanPep · 08/10/2016, 09:49 AM

What do you do for green cyanbacteria?

mcgyvr · 08/10/2016, 09:51 AM

With a new tank its "normal" and more than likely will/may go away on its own..
During the "maturing" process of a tank you may get
diatoms/cyano/various colors and shapes of algae,etc..
Most go away with proper maintenance..

Its normal.. Don't do anything yet..
If it really gets bad (blankets the sand/liverock,etc..) then you can try a few things (3 day blackout, cyano chemicals,etc..) but again.. Hold off on anything for now..

lespaul339 · 08/10/2016, 09:54 AM

Syphon it out. Check your nitrate and phosphate levels. If they are high you may need to run GFO to help remove the phosphates. Water changes for nitrates. If you don't have a lot of flow in your tank try increasing the amount of flow.

Another thing to check for is your lighting spectrum if you run LED's. I found when I was running more whites on my LED's I had more cyano. Mine was the red stuff though. Now that I run more blues and reduced my whites, my cyano problem is clearing up. Some people do lights out for 3 days to help clear it up. I found that wasn't really working in my case. Just depends on how severe of cyano problem you have. Your's looks like a light case of cyano from that pic.

That gives you an idea for a few things to check for. I also believe cyano to be part a natural "cycle" on a new setup. Sometimes some things just have to run their course. If everything tests out fine, just keep up on manual removal and eventually you will get the upper hand. Good luck!

AlSimmons · 08/10/2016, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeanPep

What do you do for green cyanbacteria?

Check this out.

http://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

The remedy for green Cyanobacteria, purple Cyanobacteria etc is pretty much all the same.

mcgyvr · 08/10/2016, 10:00 AM

My belief is that cyano is there for a reason and actually serving a beneficial process.. (some say its what started life on earth.. due to it creating oxygen)
Unless its a real nuisance and overgrowing I let it run its course..

lespaul339 · 08/10/2016, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

My belief is that cyano is there for a reason and actually serving a beneficial process.. (some say its what started life on earth.. due to it creating oxygen)
Unless its a real nuisance and overgrowing I let it run its course..

I agree. I'm cool with seeing a little bit of it as long as it isn't covering my whole sand bed like it was before. I was almost ready to try Red Slime Remover on my tank but decided to hold off because if it kills that bacteria, then I almost think that it kills some other beneficial bacteria too. Not saying that Red Slime Remover doesn't work, but I was still hesitant and decided not to use it. Even after people saying they showed no negative effects after using it. Like I said in my post above, I just changed the settings on my lighting on my LED's and it made a world of difference. So that is definitely a factor people should keep in mind.

daquan44 · 09/08/2016, 06:08 AM

I had green cyano in my tank fire r months even though I had no detectable nitrates or phosphates. My flow is great, so I decided to use chemi-clean. It cleared the tank up in three days with no harmful side effects. After doing some research on cyano bacteria I decided that the chemical route was the way to go. Glad I did.

08/10/2016, 08:35 AM	#3
lespaul339 Reefer Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Iowa Posts: 903	Could be green cyano. __________________ Reefer Madness! Current Tank Info: 60x24x24 150 gallon reef, 55 gallon sump.

08/10/2016, 09:51 AM	#6
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	With a new tank its "normal" and more than likely will/may go away on its own.. During the "maturing" process of a tank you may get diatoms/cyano/various colors and shapes of algae,etc.. Most go away with proper maintenance.. Its normal.. Don't do anything yet.. If it really gets bad (blankets the sand/liverock,etc..) then you can try a few things (3 day blackout, cyano chemicals,etc..) but again.. Hold off on anything for now.. __________________ Who me?

08/10/2016, 09:54 AM	#7
lespaul339 Reefer Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Iowa Posts: 903	Syphon it out. Check your nitrate and phosphate levels. If they are high you may need to run GFO to help remove the phosphates. Water changes for nitrates. If you don't have a lot of flow in your tank try increasing the amount of flow. Another thing to check for is your lighting spectrum if you run LED's. I found when I was running more whites on my LED's I had more cyano. Mine was the red stuff though. Now that I run more blues and reduced my whites, my cyano problem is clearing up. Some people do lights out for 3 days to help clear it up. I found that wasn't really working in my case. Just depends on how severe of cyano problem you have. Your's looks like a light case of cyano from that pic. That gives you an idea for a few things to check for. I also believe cyano to be part a natural "cycle" on a new setup. Sometimes some things just have to run their course. If everything tests out fine, just keep up on manual removal and eventually you will get the upper hand. Good luck! __________________ Reefer Madness! Current Tank Info: 60x24x24 150 gallon reef, 55 gallon sump.

08/10/2016, 10:00 AM	#9
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	My belief is that cyano is there for a reason and actually serving a beneficial process.. (some say its what started life on earth.. due to it creating oxygen) Unless its a real nuisance and overgrowing I let it run its course.. __________________ Who me?

08/10/2016, 08:27 AM	#2
scooter31707 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Virginia Posts: 4,971	Looks like it could be the beginning of hair algae. May be a result from not having enough flow in that little area.

08/10/2016, 09:21 AM	#4
AlSimmons Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: California Posts: 2,482	Green Cyanobacteria would be my guess as well.

08/10/2016, 09:49 AM	#5
SeanPep Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 34	What do you do for green cyanbacteria?

09/08/2016, 06:08 AM	#11
daquan44 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 75	I had green cyano in my tank fire r months even though I had no detectable nitrates or phosphates. My flow is great, so I decided to use chemi-clean. It cleared the tank up in three days with no harmful side effects. After doing some research on cyano bacteria I decided that the chemical route was the way to go. Glad I did.