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Re: cynobacteria & black brush algae
Bill Ruff asks....
>Does anyone have a good way to get rid of cynobacteria. I've battle this
>from time to time and after frustration I resorted to antibiotics. These
>really knocked it back but recurred over time.
>I now have a fully planted tank and the cyno is creeping back in.
>Any suggestions?
It will recede if you are able to raise the oxygen levels in the
tank. Do this any way you please. It works for me.
I've been trying to deal with red algae (brush/audouinella) for more
than a year in my 30 gallon. It thrives on low pH/CO2 injection and
bright light and grows almost as well as the plants. Thirty-two SAEs
have been grazing round the clock for three weeks now. I don't feed
these 1.75 inch workers. They love what Baensch calls the "pelt" algae,
but they avoid the black brush species. Tonight I got fed up and did
a thorough cleaning -98% of it is gone. I'll give them another three
weeks to complete the job and then let you know my opinion as to
whether or not they are being oversold as red algae munchers.
I never had much luck using the PMDD method. It does grow plants
though. Since I don't test for iron, levels may be a bit high. I do
keep nitrates at 3 to 10 ppm and I doubt that one could detect a
phosphate atom in the tank. I've found cessation of the CO2 injection,
or prolonged light deprivation to be somewhat effective. It doesn't
do much for the flora though.
I think Paul Kromboltz has the right idea.
--
Dave Whittaker
ac554 at FreeNet_Carleton.ca