What is this stuff and how do i kill it?

[jeffmuse]

Hammcd;591439 wrote: the reason im afraid its cyano is that even after i scoop it all off the top of the sand its as if more raises up within an hour or 2

No, it is not Cyano (Cyano is a dark red and stringy)... that is a diatom bloom. High nitrates/ higher phosphates cause the diatom outbreak.

I had a Cyano outbreak last year, here are the pics. BTW, Cyano sucks...

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[patrick]

Diatoms are actually not a bad thing. The "pristine" reefs are covered with them. The key to control is to get the inverts that the natural reefs have to eat it. You do not want to create conditions that "kill" diatoms from growing......because they are the same conditions that promote coral growth. You do want to favor the corals from getting the light and nutrients though over the diatoms. The best way to do that is to have snails and crabs that will eat it and slow down the spread and to keep dissolved organics down.......especially nitrates.

 

[hammcd]

ah ok...thanks for the cyano pics btw...sucks u had to go through that

i thought i had a good cleanup crew...i have about 12 snails, lots of bristleworms, and a hermit crab as well as some tiny feather dusters...anything i should add to this?

 

[hammcd]

oh and 2 red dward hermit crabs and a dwarf blue legged hermit

 

[hammcd]

so this is what the stuff currently looks like...i have removed my cheatoh which i noticed had lots of crap caught in it as well as the fuge light..im now running filter floss, chemi pure elite and purigen..the purigen is the new addition instead of the cheatoh...lots of bubbles on this stuff now...ugh tank so ugly...the concensus is still diatoms?...ack

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[brianjfinn]

I'd say it's brown cyanobacteria. Only way to kill it is to remove nutrients from the water and reduce the light cycle. Keep up your water changes, try not to over feed, remove as much manually as possible, and don't keep your lights on any longer than you have to.

 

[brianjfinn]

Also, keep in mind that it's much harder to get rid of than it is to start growing it in the first place. In other words, patience and diligence really pays off.

 

[patrick]

The brown stuff is certainly diatoms. The bubbles can make one think of dinoflagellates, but that is diatoms. The bubbles are the oxygen gas it is producing from photosynthesis. If you leave the lights out for and extended period of time, the diatoms will actually use that oxygen in the reverse process and they will disappear. The best thing to do is to suck it out so as to remove it from the tank. If you just stir the sand, it will look better, but the diatoms will still be there and reclaim the sand within a couple days. If you are wanting to have a cuc remove that kind of growth, you will need about 10-20 crabs and snails for each square foot of your light exposed surface area. Rarely do folks have enough inverts to cover the job desired. I know that is a lesson I learned personally in the last couple years. Hope you get it under control.