# Blue algae (bacteria) whetever it is



## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

I know Im not the only thats currently dealing with this crap. I know others have. I was going to black out my tank for a few days and see if that worked but I first reduced my lighting by half. I was running two dual shop light setup with two 40 watt bulbs in each. I am now only running one so I have only two 40watt bulbs. This is over a 125 gallon tank. Well just in the first day alone the stuff started receding. Two days later even more so hopefully when I get home tonight there will be even less. I actually like the look of the tank this way too and my pygos seem to like it alot more as well. Their color is frikn amazing now too. MY two large reds are almost black with that rainbow trout shimmer going on. I may snap some shots tonight and post them along with a few older ones so you can see the diffence in fish color along with the overall look. So to those dealing with this crap I suggest cutting your total light down by half first before blacking out the tank. I'll update results good or bad in a couple days.


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## roccov12345 (Sep 26, 2008)

How long were you running your lights?


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## Blue Flame (Jan 16, 2006)

The ONLY way to get rid of this blue algae is to get as much of it out of the tank as possible, remove the carbon, and treat the tank with Erythromycin. I had it once and battled getting rid of it for months, until I treated it with this stuff.

Blue-green algae/Cyanobacteria

"Blue-green algae" is not really a true algae at all, but Cyanobacteria - a group of bacteria capable of photosynthesis. It can appear as a slimy coating in a number of different colours. It can smother plants and may release toxins harmful to fish. It can fix nitrogen and may therefore occur in tanks with zero or very low nitrates (but possibly high levels of other nutrients, particularly phosphate). It can be removed manually quite easily, as it often forms loose sheets, but it's likely to return quickly. Improving circulation/aeration in the tank sometimes causes it to decline. It can be treated with erythromycin (200mg/10 gallons) - this may however affect the filter bacteria, so it will be necessary to check for ammonia and nitrite after dosing.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

^^excellent post


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## jman785 (May 8, 2005)

Ibanez247 said:


> I know Im not the only thats currently dealing with this crap. I know others have. I was going to black out my tank for a few days and see if that worked but I first reduced my lighting by half. I was running two dual shop light setup with two 40 watt bulbs in each. I am now only running one so I have only two 40watt bulbs. This is over a 125 gallon tank. Well just in the first day alone the stuff started receding. Two days later even more so hopefully when I get home tonight there will be even less. I actually like the look of the tank this way too and my pygos seem to like it alot more as well. Their color is frikn amazing now too. MY two large reds are almost black with that rainbow trout shimmer going on. I may snap some shots tonight and post them along with a few older ones so you can see the diffence in fish color along with the overall look. So to those dealing with this crap I suggest cutting your total light down by half first before blacking out the tank. I'll update results good or bad in a couple days.


That rainbow trout color your speaking off happens a lot during breeding as well...maybe the dim light has calmed them down to where they want to pair.


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

Blue Flame said:


> The ONLY way to get rid of this blue algae is to get as much of it out of the tank as possible, remove the carbon, and treat the tank with Erythromycin. I had it once and battled getting rid of it for months, until I treated it with this stuff.
> 
> Blue-green algae/Cyanobacteria
> 
> "Blue-green algae" is not really a true algae at all, but Cyanobacteria - a group of bacteria capable of photosynthesis. It can appear as a slimy coating in a number of different colours. It can smother plants and may release toxins harmful to fish. It can fix nitrogen and may therefore occur in tanks with zero or very low nitrates (but possibly high levels of other nutrients, particularly phosphate). It can be removed manually quite easily, as it often forms loose sheets, but it's likely to return quickly. Improving circulation/aeration in the tank sometimes causes it to decline. It can be treated with erythromycin (200mg/10 gallons) - this may however affect the filter bacteria, so it will be necessary to check for ammonia and nitrite after dosing.


Blue your my savior. Ive made a couple posts on this before and I thought the lower light was working but when I got home there was more than less. I remove that stuff manually two,three times a week and it seems you leave even one microscopic bit in their it comes back. Ill do some research on the stuff you said to dose with but for quick answer is it harmful to the plants or invertabrates? If so Ill just remove them. Ive been battling this stuff for too long now. I planned on redoing my tank this fall but if I can fix the problem now then Ill do it. I run the lights 8 hrs a day. My params are fine. They werent when this out break came out hence the reason I have it now bit since then Ive got my params to the norm. This stuff jsut does not go away. Thank you very much for replying. Going out and geting some or ordering that tonight.


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

Found this link. Good read and descibes this stuff and ways to remove it. I did remove two power heads and shortly there after I started getting it so that could be my issue.

http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/d...3791&search


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## Blue Flame (Jan 16, 2006)

Ibanez247 said:


> The ONLY way to get rid of this blue algae is to get as much of it out of the tank as possible, remove the carbon, and treat the tank with Erythromycin. I had it once and battled getting rid of it for months, until I treated it with this stuff.
> 
> Blue-green algae/Cyanobacteria
> 
> "Blue-green algae" is not really a true algae at all, but Cyanobacteria - a group of bacteria capable of photosynthesis. It can appear as a slimy coating in a number of different colours. It can smother plants and may release toxins harmful to fish. It can fix nitrogen and may therefore occur in tanks with zero or very low nitrates (but possibly high levels of other nutrients, particularly phosphate). It can be removed manually quite easily, as it often forms loose sheets, but it's likely to return quickly. Improving circulation/aeration in the tank sometimes causes it to decline. It can be treated with erythromycin (200mg/10 gallons) - this may however affect the filter bacteria, so it will be necessary to check for ammonia and nitrite after dosing.


Blue your my savior. Ive made a couple posts on this before and I thought the lower light was working but when I got home there was more than less. I remove that stuff manually two,three times a week and it seems you leave even one microscopic bit in their it comes back. Ill do some research on the stuff you said to dose with but for quick answer is it harmful to the plants or invertabrates? If so Ill just remove them. Ive been battling this stuff for too long now. I planned on redoing my tank this fall but if I can fix the problem now then Ill do it. I run the lights 8 hrs a day. My params are fine. They werent when this out break came out hence the reason I have it now bit since then Ive got my params to the norm. This stuff jsut does not go away. Thank you very much for replying. Going out and geting some or ordering that tonight.
[/quote]
NP......good luck!


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

Well last night I spent two hours cleaning my 125. My hands were leaking water they were so hydrated lol. Hopefully it pays off. I have yet to treat my tanks with any chemical to remove algae. By the time I rescapped it and called it done for the night I was beat. Ill post some pics tonight, probably start another thread to show what two hours of labor will do for ya hehe. Thanks for all the help guys.


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