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Cyano outbreak - Easylife BlueExit?

maboleth

Member
Joined
5 Jan 2014
Messages
74
Location
Serbia
I have a 250l tank that I thoroughly cleaned and rearranged. It still new in a sense that over 90% of water was changed, hardscape changed, new plants added. I still get diatoms everywhere, but that's normal for a new setup.

But this Cyano is driving me crazy. What to do when you have Nitrates 15ppm, do water changes and they STILL appear? I don't have a P test, so I cannot measure phosphates.

Yesterday I cleaned and siphoned the gravel, 12h later I see cyano reemerging from the gravel again. :(

I tried covering 50% of my tank that is exposed to the morning sun with thick black blanket for several days, but that didn't help.

Did anyone try Easylife BlueExit? It's marketed as an effective treatment for Cyano.
 
Try a ramshorn snail - they did something for it in my tank - it is not conventional wisdom but it'd try it before adding chemicals


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Ramshorns eh? Well, I successfully kept my tank snail free, except few Neritas that I bought in the past. Don't know if that's good or bad, but I kind of have snail-o-phobia. :-/

Ramshorns do look nice, but hopefully don't grow very large and in infinite numbers?

As for chemicals, I can't buy ChemiClean though, only Easylife products.
 
Well I have quite a few ramshorns now but no cyano. Hydrogen peroxide will kill cyano it but it will not eradicate it.


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I really thought the Cyano appeared as a part of the new-tank-syndrome. Same like diatoms. So I didn't panic. But they have taken out of control so further action is needed, despite my stubborn cleaning to keep them at bay.
 
Yes - I read you need to increase flow, co2 etc but also make sure no organic waste. Also having the right bio load is important - not enough fish is a problem (strange but true) . I still have cyano but the ramshorns seem to manage it


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Thanks everyone!

I thought about adding nitrates, but since it's already 15ppm after the water change, I'm afraid to go above that. It would probably be best to lower phosphates...
I'm about to find ramshorn snails though.
 
You could try adding a pouch of Seachem Purigen to your filter. This will remove dissolved organics and might help. I added a pouch about six weeks ago, and the water is clearer and the few tufts of BBA seem to be on the retreat. Might work against Cyanobacteria as well.
 
I can't buy Seachem products, but I'm still trying to sort this out natural way. Three days shade eliminated 95% of cyano. However, it's not completely gone and I'm afraid it will raise again with the lights turned on.
Biggest problem for my tank is its location - part of it gets early morning sun. In the past this didn't make problems, but with cyano outbreak, that's the spot where this algae/bacteria develops and thrives, even though I put the curtains down. We'll see.
 
I've had similar problems with a tank that got covered in Cyano (Partly because of neglect since I was going to move and tear it down any way). I did use Blue-Exit in that tank at some point and it reduced the Cyano by about 90%. If you decide to use it make sure you follow through the complete treatment. I would recommend a back-out followed by a good gravel vac before starting the treatment.
 
I wonder if I could just spot treat those areas with blue-exit? The blackout worked, I have like 80-90% less Cyano on the fifth day. But I want it to be 100%.

I have also bought Sera phosphate test and appears that my P levels are ok, 1ppm - 1,5ppm with 15ppm nitrates. Comparing with the Redfield ratio, that should be ideal, yet I still see Cyano.

I didn't buy ramshorns (I read about them and some said they bred inside/clogged the filter), but I introduced 28 Danube Nerita snails (Theodoxus danubialis). They are small local freshwater snails that are extremely efficient algae eaters. I'm yet to see whether they will touch Cyano.
 
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I increased the flow by adjusting the spray bar to make more water surface disturbance, in addition to have more "wavy" effect on my plants. I have also started using BlueExit, as these Cyanos didn't think about leaving my tank at all. I'll post here the results once I finish the treatment.
 
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