# Very Fast Growing Algae



## hpfanatic (Jan 7, 2011)

I only have this type of algae in one of my tanks. It only grows on the gravel and plants, not the glass or filter in the tank. It was pretty bad, so yesterday I did a big water change and vacuumed the gravel good. It doesn't seem to stick very well to the gravel, since it vacuumed up real easy, and washed right off the plants. You couldn't see any more of it when I was done, maybe just a few very tiny spots of it. This is a picture of it today, about 15 hours later.









My lighting on this tank is just regular T8 single Aquarium/Plant bulbs. I have two regular algae eaters and two zebra ottos and they don't even put a dent in it. What kind of algae is this, and what should I do to try to get rid of it?


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

cyno bacteria


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

http://www.aquariumslife.com/algae-control/blue-green-algae/

Click here 

Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk


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## hpfanatic (Jan 7, 2011)

Thanks for the quick information! Very strange, I do frequent water changes, about 25% each time, and only use reverse osmosis water. I will try adding a powerhead for better circulation and some airstones for more oxygen.


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## stonedaquarium (Jun 11, 2011)

erythromycin should do the trick. I had it in my ADA substrate before.... do one cycle of erythromycin, and do a major water change after should do the trick


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## AquaSox (Jun 9, 2010)

I found that decreasing the temperature might work to rid yourself of it.

I had blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) underneath the silicone on the corners of my tank....I could not get rid of it no matter what until I replaced by faulty Stealth Heater. Temperature was fluctating at well over 80 degrees F before and now it is steady around 78 (where I want it). When I went to clean the tank corners during last water change the algae was very much dead and came off easily. But I guess if you have discus you may not want to lower it that much.

Alternatively you could try erythromycin as per the poster above.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Honestly I think your tank is too small for those beauties. I would seriously consider a larger tank before the discus suffer very soon.

If you must keep them in the the 28g, I would recommend going bare bottom and do at least 60 - 75% WC weekly. Some discus expert here will probably suggest 75% - 90% WC daily - I tends to agree for your small tank.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

gklaw said:


> Honestly I think your tank is too small for those beauties. I would seriously consider a larger tank before the discus suffer very soon.
> 
> If you must keep them in the the 28g, I would recommend going bare bottom and do at least 60 - 75% WC weekly. Some discus expert here will probably suggest 75% - 90% WC daily - I tends to agree for your small tank.


Hello i agree with gklaw, that tank is probably to small for those discus, as for the algae i had the same problem with my 5g, it started on the lip of the outflow on my ac 20. and spread, at first i tried just removing it, but before long it was in the gravel and not easily vacuumed out. in the end i got fed up and tore down the tank and bleached it, and bought new gravel. i have had it going for a month or more now and no algie. Cheers


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## hpfanatic (Jan 7, 2011)

This is my 55 gallon tank. The picture just shows half of it.


I will try the erythromycin tomorrow.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Ah, I thought that is your 28g bow front. I had over 30 in a 55g before - bare bottom 2x XP3. What is your filtration? If all you get is the HOB, it may not be adequate?

Killing the bacteria is just killing the symptom. Your course gravel maybe trapping too much nutrient that your discus may not like.

What you really wants to do is reduce the nutrient level. Not sure what you mean by "frequent." I would try 75% WC every second day while vacuum the slime and gravel out. If that stops the growth, that is a sign that your water is good. I would still do > 60% WC weekly.

Your lighting could be a contributing factor as well but I am no expert in that.


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## ct22 (Feb 5, 2012)

make shure your tank isnt getting hit by outside sun that can create alge also will make your temp go up a bit to


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## josephl (Apr 21, 2010)

hpfanatic said:


> This is my 55 gallon tank. The picture just shows half of it.
> 
> I will try the erythromycin tomorrow.


Keep in mind that tthe erythromycin will also kill off the beneficial bacteria in any filters you are using.


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## Jaguar (Oct 19, 2011)

I find cyano thrives in low nitrate environments. It was a big problem in my planted aquarium until I started dosing small amounts of nitrate... it shows up every now and then but nowhere near as bad as before.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Erythromycin is what I use to get rid of it. Some people say it kills off all the bacteria. I have never had a problem with it doing that. I have used it on many tanks with great results. Some people also say do a 4 day blackout. Ive never tried it because erythromycin works so good. Dose it for 2 days, than do a 50% water change. Repeat dose for 2 more days followed by another 50% water change at the end. Problem will be solved. If you are worried it will kill all the good bacteria. Maybe remove some of your Bio media while you are dosing. Put it in a side bucket with an air pump. Probably a good idea to run some carbon afterwards to remove medication. Good Luck. Let us know how you made out!

Cheers
Justin


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## hpfanatic (Jan 7, 2011)

Here is a one week update. I installed an airstone and a powerhead to get the water moving and did 2 doses of erythromycin. The results are amazing. The bacteria has almost completely disappeared. I was out of town for a couple days, so I had to wait to repeat the doses. Today I did a 50% water change and another dose of erythromycin. I will follow that up with the last dose tomorrow, then another 50% water change and call it good.

I want to thank everyone for the great advice.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Good chance that the WC scheme itself, the added circulation and filter clean could have done the job. Glad you have that solved though.

I am trying to get rid of the same in my 20g wall. Just replaced the internal filter, which was a paint to maintain with a couple of Fluval Us. Will do a coupel large water change and light only for feeding. Pretty sure it will be done is a week


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## stonedaquarium (Jun 11, 2011)

HP fanatic, 

how is your tank? Just remember to do a major water change after the last dose of erythromycin... It also would help to reseed the beneficial nitrifying bacteria (stresszyme or Nutrafin cycle is what i recommend.) Furthermore a good syphoning of the gravel would also help to get rid of any excess dead Cyanobacteria. 

good luck


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## hpfanatic (Jan 7, 2011)

I did the 50% waterchange after the last treatment and all seems good so far. No sign of any cyanobacteria coming back.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Glad to hear it worked for you. Did you notice any side effects from treating the water with Erythromycin? If you tested the water did you notice any spikes or bacteria loss? Im sure people are hesitent on treating discus tanks with products like this. Its good to hear you gave it a try and had success. It lets people know you can use this product without causing harm to the tank IMO.


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## hpfanatic (Jan 7, 2011)

I didn't test the water. I removed my filters before treating, then reinstalled them after the last water change since they have charcoal in them. I didn't do anything to try to save the beneficial bacteria. I assume the tank is starting over now, and so far the discus don't seem to care.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

As others have said. This is a temporary fix. It will come back again eventually if you dont change what ever caused it in the first place. Most of the tanks I have seen with cyno are over fed and underfiltered. Lack of water changes also. Im not saying you arnt doing these properly but you may want to look closer at them.


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## tang daddy (Apr 21, 2010)

there is medication you can use to get rid of it called red slime remover.... although I would probally try to remove as much as you can manually and do large water changes... because you have discus and they are quite sensitive the meds will be a last option!


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