Re: flames and Cyanobacteria

[Thomas Barr <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

Chris wrote:

> Cynobacteria is a bacteria. Treat it as such and you can remove it perminantly
> so long as nothing new is introduced to the tank.

This is not right. The species that infest our tanks can and does infest all
tanks. It is transported via the air.

I have not seen one single sample of gravel or plant material even without
some on there. I've sampled from many areas and tanks. It's ubiquitous.
Mt St Helens, high intensity forest fires, other extreme disturbances all
have this species colonize before almost anything else.
Takes about 20 days or so, our tanks inside etc, might fair a few more days,
If you have a Hepa filter/air filter etc, maybe a while longer.
Also depends on the time of year. Spores form and are much more common in
the spring/summer in the N hemisphere. Green water and other algae also have
seemed to follow this pattern.

> Everything that comes in
> should have a lime wash before being introduced. Erythromyacin (sp) is the
> antibiotic that I used to eliminate my infestation.

Why not treat the cause rather than killing the algae that will simply come
back? 

> You may be able to aquire
> it more cheaply from a vet supply than through a fish store, but you can't get
> it from a vet clinic or a pharmacy without a perscription. I thought that was
> hilarious, I can buy it off the shelf as a product in a fish store, but can't
> get it over the counter from a pharmacy.

Now I got flamed to no end about potential risk but we sell non prescription
antibiotics, put in our food supply, pets, you name all the ways to make
antibiotics ineffective and we are doing it.  This will/has happened
already. We might be able to keep ahead of the "arms race" with bacteria for
awhile. Bacteria above all other organisms are the best adapted to acquire
resistance to drugs. They should not sell antibiotics except by prescription
anywhere except for diseases infecting humans and animals. This risk in huge
and the effective don't effect a population of fish, it effects +6 Billion
people. 

Well the issue here can be solved with more ease, cheaper and faster than
antibiotics and addresses the root cause so why use the drugs at all?

I've done this a number of times and I've had folks try this out many times.
Basic routine and it works for many species of algae.

Pick off all you can first, trim plants that are close to the surface etc
back, then do a 50% water change, clean filter, add fresh nutrients back,
especially KNO3.

Turn lights off and cover with blanket/trash bags etc, something so that 0%
light light gets in. Turn off CO2 and increase surface movement/circulation.

Wait 3 full days.
Remove cover and turn lights/CO2 back on, do 50% water change and add fresh
nutrients back.

Now keep up on adding enough CO2/NO3/P etc.

Do that and it'll never bloom again.

Cost: 0$
Time: 3 days
Risk: very low

Antibiotic method?
Cost: Pricey/unavailable in many "enlighten" countries
Time: 5 days
Risk: high

If cyano doesn't grow and you have poor conditions for the plants........,
well something else will. But this time you will not be able use the
antibiotics to get rid of it.

Regards, 
Tom Barr