Hi from Orkney

[Pappy297]

Hi folks,

Thought I'd sign up and say hello. I've used the forum on multiple occasions for advice/tips etc. I've got just a single 150litre setup running at present which is my first foray into a heavily planted tank. Currently battling a blue/green cyanobacteria issue but other than that loving it!
Cheers,
Gareth

 

[hypnogogia]

Hello and welcome to UKAPS. Cyano be difficult. What are you doing to get rid of it?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Welcome to UKAPS,
You may be our first member from Orkney, but not from the N. and W. Isles - <"Hello from the Outer Hebrides"> and <"Hello from Shetland">, so making it a full-house of islands.

cheers Darrel

 

[Cazza]

Hello there! I found Malaysian Trumpet Snails have been brilliant at removing cyano bacteria, as they will plough through it, bury it etc.

 

[Pappy297]

Hi Cazza,
I'll have a look into those - thank you. It'll be a while before I make a stock order as I have to order everything in from South. I'll keep on plugging away and head scratching to try and resolve it till then. 🙂

 

[sparkyweasel]

Welcome! 🙂

 

[Pappy297]

Hello and welcome to UKAPS. Cyano be difficult. What are you doing to get rid of it?

Hello 🙂
Currently doing a lot of reading and headscratching. I'm running the following:

Fluval Shaker 168l tank
Fluval 07 cannister filter: flow rate 550 - 1000lph, mix of sponge filter and ceramic tubes/granules
Fluval AquaSky programmable 16.5w lightbar. 8 hours a day with 90%red 90% green 20% blue 100% white
Additional airstone/airpump for O2 saturation
Nitrite 0
Nitrate ~ 20ppm
pH 6.5
Soft water (no exact measurement)
Substrate: Tropica Aquarium soil
CO2 injection (Co2 fire extinguisher) steady green on the indicator fluid. On an hour before lights come on and off an hour before lights out.
60ml Aquadesign Plant+ once a week along with 15% water change
15ml Easy-Life Potassium twice a week
Stock: 20~30 Caridina shrimp, 4 Octocinclus, 4 Corydoras
Plants: Egeria najas, Alternanthera cardinalis, Echinodorus ozelot leopard, Echinodorus reni, Echinodorus parviflorus, Heteranthera zosterifolia, Hygrophilia costata, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis


I'm flummoxed by the Cyano, I really am. Never had it in decades of fish keeping but now in my first heavily planted tank it's a real problem. Plant growth was utterly astonishing for the first 6 months with only a slight amount of beard algae. But then the cyano appeared and at the same time plant growth/vigour rapidly declined. I've tried the Potassium flushing method which appeared to boost the plant growth back up, and had a minor effect on the cyano. Hence the two doses a week to continue promoting plant growth. All I can think is the Tropica soil has become depleted in terms of it's nutrient level and hence the tank has become imbalanced and I'm yet to get it back to being correct for plant growth.

With the light bar it's been experimentation in terms of adjusting the levels but I'm not 100% sure it's currently on the optimal settings.

Currently using manual removal and hoovering, in combination with Aquadip Blue Algae Control but this has been a last resort as I dislike trying to curb the issue with treatments rather than changing what I'm doing to promote better plant growth.
Any thoughts you may have would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Gareth

 

[hypnogogia]

I’d recommend you do at least 50% water change weekly, given that you’re running a high tech tank. With the cyano, I might even be tempted to change twice a week and suck up all cyano soon as it appears - even if that means daily.

 

[PARAGUAY]

Welcome to UKAPS

 

[Pappy297]

I’d recommend you do at least 50% water change weekly, given that you’re running a high tech tank. With the cyano, I might even be tempted to change twice a week and suck up all cyano soon as it appears - even if that means daily.

Thanks - I'll give that a shot and see how I get on over the next month. Can I ask what's the thinking with such a large percentage water change?

 

[hypnogogia]

Thanks - I'll give that a shot and see how I get on over the next month. Can I ask what's the thinking with such a large percentage water change?

Hi tech tanks with fast growing plants also produce a lot of organic waste and there will likely be excess fertiliser as well. 50% weekly water change removes this and will help increase your chances of getting rid of the cyano as well.

 

[Pappy297]

Thanks so much for the info hypnogogia. I'll give it a shot and keep you posted. Thanks again.