Cyano/MAM

Cyano Control Checklist

by Mike Jones (Michael)

Cyanobacteria or Red Slime algae has been a problem for almost all marine aquarists at one time or another. I'm presenting this article in response to my frustration with some of the advice I see on aquarium sites throughout the web. Typically, I will see advice to simply increase flow as the only measure necessary to control Cyanobacteria blooms. Although I consider myself to be a novice reef aquarists, I have kept marine aquaria on and off for over twenty years and I can assure you that increased flow alone will not control Cyanobacteria permanently regardless of the hundreds of threads posted daily world wide, (quite a statement in itself). One of the more important factors, often ignored, for controlling Cyanobacteria among other nuisance algae is the limit of dissolved nutrient available in the water. Here are my suggestions for keeping your tank; rock and sand bed clean of Cyanobacteria.

Provide nutrient free fresh water for making new seawater and for evaporative makeup.

*Use water filtered by Reverse Osmosis and Demineralization.

*Use an accurate Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) meter to monitor the filter effluent. In my opinion, hand held meters are more accurate and reliable than less expensive in line meters. Check the TDS meter regularly on a known source of quality water or calibration fluid.

*Replace filters and membranes when recommended by the manufacturer or when water quality decreases.

Provide a means of nutrient reduction in the aquarium

*Employ a quality protein skimmer to remove Phosphates and other air active dissolved compounds.

*Use Granular Activated Carbon in a passive mode in a filter sock, if in a sump point a powerhead at it for enforced flow or in a fluidized chemical reactor to aid organic in dissolved waste removal.

*Use a fluidized chemical reactor with an iron based Phosphate absorption medium such as Phobia or ROWAphos, I can recommend Kent or Two Little Fishes reactors with flow provided by a power head such as a Maxi-Jet 400. I find that one part media to three parts water is just right for the media to tumble ensuring it all gets contact with water. I would suggest replacing the media every two months on a clean system. Regardless of hearsay, in my opinion, it wont be effective for long in a tank which has high Phosphate levels; it could be ineffective and useless after a time as short as a week.

*If you have the means, use a nutrient control system such as a refugium with macroalgae or Algal Turf Filter to promote algal growth in a controlled area rather than the display tank.

Maintain the aquarium and equipment to minimize accumulation of dissolved nutrients.

*Keep your protein skimmer clean, I've been amazed at the number of skimmer cups I see which have two to three inches of dark smelly skimmate in them. A clean skimmer is much more effective at export than a neglected one.

*If Cyanobacteria starts to become evident consider wet skimming, the extra aggressive skimming will help remove Phosphate as well as other dissolved organic waste. If you do so please ensure that you keep an eye on your salinity as some salt water will be removed. I recommend replacement of carbon every two weeks to prevent the saturated carbon from leaching nutrients back into the water as well as producing Nitrate when aerobic bacteria colonize the carbon.

*I recommend 10-15% water changes, weekly for small/medium sized tanks and every two weeks for larger tanks. Keep the tank free of detritus and uneaten food by means of regular siphoning of rocks and sand bed. manually remove as much cyano off the sand bed as you can when you water change.

*Keep detritus suspended in the water column by using a turkey baster on your live rock so that it can be removed by mechanical filtration and keep the glass clean to prevent algae from getting a foothold.

*Change your light bulbs before their intensity decreases and spectrum shifts. Lower light intensity and redder spectrum can aid nuisance algae to gain a foothold as more desirable macroalgae need proper spectrum and higher light intensity to compete with the more aggressive nuisance algae.

*Always keep feeding of your prized fish to a minimum. Only feed what they can consume in a minute or so.

Conclusion

The primary cause of algal growth is excess dissolved nutrients, commonly Nitrogen and Phosphorus based. To ensure your aquarium remains pleasing to the senses and all parameters are maintained within prudent limits, make sure you carry out regular husbandry practices with the aquarium. Regardless of all the advice you will see on the web to the contrary, one of the best and most effective ways to help your aquarium remain clean and attractive is by performing regular partial water changes with top quality nutrient free water.

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