After a battle spanning most of 2009, I am happy to report that the cyanobacteria plaguing my reef aquarium has finally been beat. I've been holding off on this post for most of the month of January, waiting to see if a relapse might occur. As it hasn't, I'm ready to summarize a struggle that occupied most of 2009 and how I finally won the war.

The biggest problem with a major algae outbreak in the aquarium is how demoralizing it can be for the aquarist. In the end, all the money and hard work we invest in this hobby is for the purpose of having a beautiful aquarium in the home. A tank overgrown with red slime is an eyesore, and after months of ineffective manual removal thoughts being to turn towards tearing the entire setup down, starting over, or getting out of the hobby altogether. The most important thing is to stay diligent, even if the process extends for months.

In this post I'll outline my thoughts around how the cyanobacteria formed in my tank, what methods failed to remove it, and how I finally succeeded.

What Caused the Outbreak
The cyanobacteria began settling in around June of last year. I attribute this to a combination of overfeeding and the loss of a fish that I was never able to remove, leading to a spike in nutrients from decomposition. Additionally, I was having some serious detritus issues, lacking a proper way for exporting the organic matter accumulating within my tank.

Another mistake I made was not removing the cyanobacteria immediately once it began forming on the substrate. I was not aware of how tenacious it can be once it begins growing within an aquarium. Manually removing as much as possible as soon as it becomes visible within the tank should be the number one priority of a reef keeper.

What Didn't Work
Most of my posts on this blog over the last half of 2009 involved various attempts at defeating cyanobacteria:

Rising Nitrates
In April I started to note my nitrates rising. I replaced my RO filters, which needed to be done anyway, but testing revealed this wasn't the source of the nitrate issue. In hindsight it was more likely detritus build up and overfeeding leading to the rise in nitrates.

Zeolites, Purigen and AlgaeFix
In June I tried reintroducing zeolites, to little effect on nitrates. I added Seachem's Purigen chemical filter media, which I believe helped stop the rise of nitrates, and temporarily reduced them. And finally, I tried API's AlgaeFix Marine, a chemical additive that was quite popular on the reef forums and supposedly could magic away any algae outbreak.

AlgaeFix did absolutely nothing against the cyanobacteria, and had only moderate success on the green hair algae. In addition, I noticed a die off in snails and some shrimp after two weeks of the recommended dose. I would not encourage use of this product, regardless of the positive things one might read on aquarium forums.

Bolstered Clean Up Crew
In July I brought in a larger clean up crew to deal with the detritus buildup and hopefully stir up the sand bed preventing cyano from forming. A large number of these snails died off immediately, something I am inclined to link to the AlgaeFix additive.

Manual Removal
By July I'd been reduced to manual removal, a process I performed at least twice a week for the rest of the year. Manual removal involved getting into the aquarium with my hands and a toothbrush, scrubbing the cyano off the rocks so it wouldn't overgrow corals, and removing large mats of the stuff from the substrate. Due to the decaying organic matter and constant water changes for removal purposes, parameters in my small tank were exceedingly hard to keep stable, and a number of corals were lost as a result.

Algae Filter and Vodka
In October I converted my filter into an algae scrubber with Chaetomorpha macro algae. I think this provided a marginal amount of nutrient export, and definately boosted the population of copepods and other beneficial bugs in the tank. But what ended up being the miracle cure was the addition of vodka dosing.

How I beat Cyanobacteria
I absolutely attribute the daily dosing of a small amount of vodka into my reef aquarium to the end of the cyanobacteria problem. Rather than butchering the explanation of how an organic carbon source like vodka effects an aquarium, I will link to an Advanced Aquarist article that will do a much better job:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/8/aafeature3/

For my dosing, I followed the regimen documented by Melev on his (infinitely useful) website. This schedule began with what was merely a drop of vodka per day, and built up to a full dose of nearly 1ml daily. By October 23rd I observed that nitrates, which had been close to 40ppm for the majority of 2009, had been reduced to zero. They have tested at 0 ever since.

I had long assumed that the nitrates were the primary source of fuel for the growth of the cyanobacteria. Confirming this, after the nitrates were testing at 0 I noticed the health of the cyano immediately decline. Once a very thick carpet of deep red coloration, it began to take on more of a browned out appearance, growing much thinner. Eventually it changed form, appearing as strands waving in the current rather than a thick mat covering the substrate. Manual removal went from a daily process to weekly, and eventually became completely unnecessary. By mid-December my tank was free of cyanobacteria.

Another good article on vodka dosing: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

Dosing vodka as a carbon source has cured my tank of nitrate issues, cyanobacteria and hair algae, and (indirectly) detritus build up. The corals, invertebrates and fish have never looked healthier, and I've been able to resume heavier feeding without issue. I would suggest researching this method for anyone dealing with nutrient and algae issues in a marine aquarium.

Labels: Algae, Chemistry, Maintenance, Parameters, Reef Aquarium

I have made some small progress against the cyanobacteria, primarily through manual removal. And by manual, I mean scrubbing things with a tooth brush. The scarlet hermit crabs added recently showed absolutely no interest in consuming cyano, so I think we can safely say they are not to be considered an effective solution for those dealing with this problem. The snails that I added are doing well for the most part. Upon their introduction to the tank, Boris made his first appearance in months, immediately slaughtering a turbo snail and taking over the new, larger shell. Several other hermits followed suit.

Suffice to say, I could not rely on this half-assed janitorial crew to solve my problems. I half expect them to unionize and demand four day work weeks in the near future.

Although nitrates continue to test at or close to zero, my working assumption is that the algae is consuming these nutrients prior to testing. The rampant algae scrubbing I have been performing on a daily basis has led to a detritus build up that my filter capacity is simply not equipped to deal with. Regular turkey basting of all surfaces results in a cloud of debris, but my skimmer is not readily capable of dealing with the volume, especially in the larger form of snail poop and dead algae.

Water changes can be effective at removing debris, but I am hesitant to perform more than a small change each week. This is simply not enough turn over to remove all detritus from the tank. As such, I've decided to increase mechanical filtration.



The H.O.T. Magnum from Marineland is an interesting filter, specifically designed for powerful mechanical filtration in a temporary capacity. With standard filter pads, the detritus is trapped in the filter, and presumably broken down for bacteria to consume. I want to avoid a situation where mass amounts of organic material is broken down within the tank, as that would presumably create a rise in nitrates and dissolved matter, fueling algae growth.

The trick is to get this stuff out of the tank quickly. The Magnum filter includes a micron-sized filter core, surrounded by a larger filter pad. It is frequently used to polish the water of multiple aquariums, and is designed to be quickly and easily setup on the side of a tank for temporary filtration. My hope is that a daily ritual of scrubbing algae and basting the rock to suspend organic matter and waste, combined with this filter for quickly removing it, will get my tank back to a pristine state in a hurry.

Labels: Algae, Equipment, Maintenance, Reef Aquarium

The algae war in my reef tank continues. Despite some recent success, specifically in taming a rise in nitrates, the nuisance persists. Dosing AlgaeFix has greatly reduced forms of green algae on the rock and tank walls, but cyanobacteria continues to be an issue.


Cyanobacteria from my freswater planted tank

Also known as 'red slime', cyanobacteria is an obnoxious problem within the aquarium. It first appeared on the substrate, and not fully understanding how difficult it is to remove once it spreads, I was lazy on removing it fast enough. Scooping it off the substrate is simple, as it forms a tight mat that can be removed by hand. Once it spreads into the rocks and corals though, it starts to create strands that are extremely difficult to completely remove from the tank. Leftover pieces quickly spread across the tank mere days after cleaning.

While my water chemistry is good in regards to nitrates, a primary food source for algae and bacteria, the tank still has quite an issue with detritus build up. To rule this out as a possible source of energy for the cyano, I've decided to add some new snails to my tank. I'm hoping the combination and numbers that I've selected with be able to efficiently trim down new algae growth, while contributing to stirring up the sand bed and consuming waste and detritus.



6x Nassarius Snails (Nassarius sp.)
An effective detritus consumer, that will hopefully remove quantities of uneaten organics from the rock and substrate.



6x Bumble Bee Snails (Engina sp.)
Smaller in size, they can get into crevices within the rock, in addition to burying in the sand for food. Plus they look cool.



6x Turbo Snails (Turbo fluctuosa)
An algae removing workhorse for the marine aquarium.

When I dealt with algae issues in my freshwater aquarium, the ultimate solution ended up being the addition of a dozen Amano shrimp, which quickly and efficiently removed all traces of nuisance algae from the tank within a few weeks. Looking for an equivalent silver bullet to deal with marine cyanobacteria has turned up mixed reports. Conventional wisdom states that nothing common to the aquarium trade will consume red slime. However, a few livestock dealers make the claim that scarlet hermit crabs, Paguristes cadenati, will eat it. Being in their commercial interest to market livestock as cures for common frustrations within the aquarium hobby, I remain skeptical.



As an experiment, and because Live Aquaria offers free shipping from Florida when you order $60 worth of 'clean up crew' animals, I am also bringing in 8 of these crabs. I'll monitor them carefully for any evidence of wether they eat this pest or not.

Labels: Algae, Invertebrates, Maintenance, Reef Aquarium

Tonight I tested some algae-specific parameters for the first time since changing my filtration strategy. The good news: nitrates dropped from 40ppm to 0. Phosphate remains at zero as always. Looks like the Seachem Purigen was a success.

The bad news is that I still have algae. After two weeks of doing the API Algaefix, I noticed it was growing back slower after a cleaning, and that some of the stringy algae was less green. Supposedly this is a sign of it working. I plan on continuing dosage for now. I'm hoping that by removing the nitrate, my corals will bounce back soon, and the algae will begin to disappear.

Another item of note, my clownfish have begun to display mating behavior. They've also been regularly digging a small pit in the gravel, which seems odd as I was under the impression that they generally prefer flat, solid surfaces for egg laying.

And finally, after a year of barely keeping SPS alive, I've been considering switching over to primarily soft corals. Live Aquaria has recently stocked up on some very interesting and colorful species, flying in the face of conventional wisdom that all soft corals are brown.

Labels: Algae, Maintenance, Parameters, Reef Aquarium

Like everything else in my tank as of late, the Vortech MP20 is growing itself a fine outer layer of green algae in addition to the usual assortment of encrusting worms. Today I took it apart for a warm water and vinegar dip to loosen some of this stuff. For a refresher course on disassembly (actually very easy), I stopped by the EcoTech website.

Labels: Equipment, Link, Maintenance

In light of my continued issues with nitrates (~40ppm) and the resulting algae, I've decided to make a few changes to the filtration mediums used in the filter. Up until now I've been running two bags of carbon along with some live rock rubble. Carbon is great for polishing the water, but it isn't actively helping with an accumulation of organics. The live rock has proven a good breeding ground for micro fauna (I regularly find abundant copepods and sponges), but there isn't enough volume to consider it an effective biological filter.



First, I reintroduced the zeolite media I had experimented with last summer. The highly porous nature of zeolite absorbs impurities and serves as a breeding ground for beneficial bacteria that reduce organics. I started low with the volume of zeolite, and hope to increase it based on how the corals react.



Secondly, I added 100ml of Seachem Purigen. This is a porous chemical filtration medium that works as a sponge for organic matter in the water. By removing this material from the water column, it never has a chance to complete the nitrogen cycle and become nitrate. Thanks to the abundant volume of the Aquaclear filter, I am also able to continue running a bag of carbon and the live rock rubble.



The last change to my maintenance routine is a little more controversial, at least in my mind. I am generally very conservative about introducing any form of additives, and especially opposed to chemical treatment of algae. That said, after reading a long thread about the effectiveness of API's Algaefix, I had to try it. The experiences of many aquarists confirmed the claim that this product will not harm anything within the tank, from fish to invertebrates, but will eliminate most forms of algae within weeks. An $8 bottled solution is very tempting after spending a few months scraping algae and performing multiple water changes each week. 

Labels: Algae, Maintenance, Parameters, Reef Aquarium

Here I am prattling on about my nitrates rising, completely oblivious to the aging to do item "Buy RO filters for aquarium". Thankfully Ocean@Home posted a reminder that parameter issues often start at the source, the water you put into your tank. Doing frequent water changes to combat nitrates isn't going to help if the tap water is the source of your nitrates. Tonight I'll test my tap and RO output just to verify.



A quick online order from Drs. Foster Smith, and I should have some new RO filters here within the week. I took the opportunity to order a new XM 15k metal halide bulb as well, another yearly maintenance task I've been slacking on. Better late than never!

Labels: Link, Maintenance, Parameters

Note: I waited until returning from vacation before writing these steps up, just to confirm that they weren't disastrous. Fortunately everything went peachy.



Something I didn't know when I jumped headlong into this hobby a year ago was just how much daily care and worry is involved in keeping a reef aquarium. A seemingly endless list of variables related to inhabitants, equipment, feeding and parameters are available for the aquarist to worry and fuss over. Leaving for an extended vacation then requires the foresight and planning involved in moving a tank, and the ability to put faith in your caretaker. What follows are the issues I considered and how I prepared for them prior to our annual Dominican trip.

Evaporation and top offs
With a nano tank lit by halides and cooled by a fan, evaporation is fast. I generally top off close to half a gallon of fresh RO/DI filtered water every two days in order to maintain stable salinity parameters and maintain an appropriate water level for my pump and skimmer. To streamline this process for the friend would be checking on the tank, I filtered five gallons of new water and left it next to the tank. We established a schedule for check ins around what I considered to be the maximum length between top offs, having him stop by every three days.

Skimming
While I don't have the worry of an external sump and plumbing system that could conceivably fail and result in flooding, I do have an extremely finicking external protein skimmer. This unit is on my shortlist for replacement, due to its tendency to randomly begin skimming far too wet, resulting in a potential flood. I made the decision to run the tank without a skimmer during the duration of my vacation to negate any possibility of flood.

Feeding and parameters
I demonstrated to my friend the appropriate amount of food and decided that a medium feeding once every three days would be enough to get the tank through the week. The lighter feeding schedule would also help offset any issue of excess nutrients building up while the tank is running without a skimmer. After experimenting with various supplements, I have since moved the tank to using only weekly water changes to maintain stable calcium, alkalinity, and mineral levels. As such, it wasn't necessary to establish instructions for maintaining a complicated two-part dosing schedule.

Keep it simple
I left a bulleted list of the maintenance steps along with instructions for the rest of our apartment (getting the mail, feeding the cat, etc) taped in two places around the apartment. I returned from vacation to a perfectly healthy tank, looking as if I hadn't been gone at all. In fact, a few colonies that had been showing issues seemed to be on the rebound. Some simple planing and a good friend made leaving the tank for over a week an easy process.

Labels: Maintenance, Reef Aquarium, Vacation

I wanted to provide a quick update on my reef aquarium. For the most part things are doing well, and I feel like the tank has established a good rhythm. Water quality has been great, the firefish has been quite healthy, and a plethora of small invertebrates has been emerging from the live rock.



Coral Growth
Of the ten coral specimens I've introduced to date, eight are doing great and showing good signs of growth. The Acropora millepora and tabling Acropora in particular have shown exceptional encrusting growth lately. The pink birds nest, Stylophora pistillata, has also been growing very fast.

Two species not doing well. The Pavona maldivensis has been pale and showing no sign of growth since within a few weeks of being introduced. I keep hoping it will come back, but it is seeming less likely with each passing week. More concerning is the recent demise of the Pocillopora damicornis. For the first month, this was my healthiest looking coral. Great color and polyp extension, and very obvious growth. One day it just started going down hill for no apparent reason, showing bleaching around the base which has since spread up into the branches. Some of the polyps still look healthy and extend to feed, but I fear there isn't much time left for this colony.

Flow Adjustments
I decided that running two Koralia 3 pumps, 850 gallons per house each, was too much for this tank. Corals demonstrated stressed behavior in the powerful current. I have since cut back to running just one, with a Koralia Nano on the opposite side to keep detritus off the bottom of the aquarium. This seems to be working out well so far.

Zeovit
Possibly suckered in by the great marketing photos on Zeovit USA, I've started to implement their system on my tank. Zeovit is a mineral that has been commonly used for filtration in commercial aquatic systems prior to becoming a trendy brand in the reef hobby. The pore density of zeovit makes it exceptionally good at filtering out ammonia, preempting the nitrogen cycle before it can occur. By removing the ammonia early in the cycle, bacteria never get a chance to convert it into nitrite, which eventually becomes nitrate.

Because of the sheer effectiveness of its ammonia removal, it is suggested that the reef keeper dose colonies of bacteria and bacteria food to keep the tank in a natural state. Conveniently, the provider of zeovit also makes these products. You can read more from the source in this PDF guide to the Zeovit filtration system.

To start, I've begun with ZEOBak bacteria solution, and the ZEOFood7 bacteria and coral food. I will slowly introduce the zeovite filtration material this coming week. There are a number of other supplements and foods in this product line that I have read good things about. Although too early to make any sort of useful evaluation, I've noticed the tank water appearing quite a bit clearer since the dosing start. Algae formation on the glass also appears to have been reduced quite noticeably. I like to pretend that the corals are beginning to color up and appear healthier as well, but that could just as easily be attributed to their finally becoming acclimated to the tank.

Labels: Coral, Equipment, Maintenance, Reef Aquarium

I haven't yet posted about my turtle aquarium on this blog, so I owe my non-existent readership some back story on the setup and specs of this habitat. In the meantime, I spent a few minutes this afternoon trimming some of the plants and other general maintenance. This tank was built with a plexiglass divider wall to retain the land area. The facade of this wall is built out of natural cork bark which creates a great natural aesthetic, in addition to being a nice soft material for the turtle to clamber across.



After three years of operation he cork is naturally quite saturated with water. Its been slowly chipping off ever since the tank was setup, but today I noticed that quite a large piece had finally started to break off. I attempted to adhere it back to the plexi, but the soft and waterlogged bark was not letting anything stick. I finally just broke it off and removed it from the tank.

I'll have to decide how to proceed with this tank. It could use a total breakdown and reconstruction, but I don't have any temporary space to house the turtle while I make that happen. Also I need some sort of plan. I've always looked at the revision as a chance to make more swimming area available within the aquarium, but I have yet to figure out how to do so while also keeping the natural aesthetic. It would make sense to do this before we move to a new apartment in July, so I best get sketching.

Labels: Maintenance, Plants, Turtle, Turtle Aquarium