on cyanobacteria, and active response to the alternation of generations in any reef aquarium...
poster query:
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micro bubbles
i have a problem with micro bubbles in my precula 120
i use 2x t5 lights during the day then in the afternoon 2x 250 halides comes on for 8hrs
when the halides come on i get micro bubbles on the top of the live rock and on the rear of the tank that i don`t clean
there is some red algae on these surfaces where the bubbles appear,and the problem seems to getting worse as the algae grows
after the halide go out i blow the bubbles with a powerhead and im bubble free until the next day
any idea`s please to stop or even reduce this would be great
cheers richard"
this was what I was thinking:
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that phenomena is more common in planted tanks that have driven saturation values past 100%, but I have seen it in reef tanks as well depending on lighting and other variables but it's less commonly originated in the organisms and more commonly associated with skimmer/sump mechanics. You are mentioning light infulenced cycles, I suppose it's possible anywhere you have oxygen-producing plants to spend part of the day filling the water faster than the gas is being used for respiration, so it reaches and exceeds a set point but this is unusual in reef tanks. I think it's more likely the extra light simply drives photosynthesis in algae and other symbionts faster than it can be liberated directly into solution, so regardless of water table oxygen values is simply being pumped out of algal stoma quickly and then the bubbles sit there dissolving slowly into solution or releasing and floating around.
I say leave them in place, microbubbles harm nothing no matter what you've read. If it's not skimmer/sump related it's not like they are being pumped in bulk into the water to irritate gills per your description, I have systems that run solely on airstones (check page two pico reefs) where I try to get microbubbles on purpose in the water column because I think they are nice! You can change aquascapipng to cover these algal ledges that produce oxygen, but I think your redox benefits outweigh the learned fear of microbubbles because your description is tame to some instances I've seen. Lastly, if you want to cease them if they are located in a portion of the tank where minor shading won't hurt, you can lay tin foil squares on the top of the tank, under the light, to shade that which is below. still I think these will not hurt and should be celebrated for their chemical and aesthetic benefits.
hey I just re-read and say your mention of red cyano. These are likely pockets of nitrogen gas and oxygen/methane mixtures, don't smoke around your reef.
lol j/j
If the bubbles form on green mats or on live rock where microplants may be abundant I think it's natural and ok, if it's forming in association with red algae and areas of the tank that are uncleaned you've got problems.
If you continue down this path, your tank is showing early signs of eutrophication, the next step is depending on scrubbing filter pads to remove phos or nitrate yet the algae will continue. If your tank is large, you are looking at another year or so of pleasant observation before your real work begins and the costs mount and the algae hangs around.
I strongly suggest you increase the flow directly in those areas by adding another powerhead aimed directly on those settling points, you clean and remove these spores consistently which may mean changing your aquascaping, and that you consistently check your water values to ensure they are in line with clean tank water values. Don't just test once a week or so, get a frequent reading to make note of so you can be sure you aren't fueling the cyano. Even clean tanks can get a cyano outbreak, but it will not remain if those tanks are cared for accurately. The blooming of marine organisms speaks nothing to their longevity in state, your husbandry practices do!@
Just because a bloom of cyano hits a tank, it does not mean there are waste issues, that's why you need to check your major values especially just before the time you schedule your water changes, this lets you know how low you are willing to let water quality dip and these low points are the best food for troublesome algae. Just like bacteria from the air will seed a tank in time naturally, without having to buy products, urinate in the water
add cocktail shrimp, dead fish, pure ammonia, and all the other silly anecdotes we read, cyanobacteria are normal aquatic organisms and their bloom does not necessarily mean their sustenance if you are actively taking steps to curtail them, the number one step is to remove them and never let them exist in a tank.
If I could make one point today regarding the application of pico reef science to the science of giant reef tanks, it would be to say that the bloom of undesired organisms has nothing to do with it's longevity in your tanks. Bad algae blooms may or may not be indicative of poor water quality. Either way they will bloom at one time or another, but if you are prepared they will not stay. Red, green and blue cyano can be sporulated from areas inside live rock, where it was dormant or active but not visually seen, and if your water is clean and you remove the cyano and increase flow in deadspots and clean your detritus better it will die off. You can even get cyanobacteria as airborne spores in the deserts of yuma arizona in your reef tank even if none came on the rock! imagine the constant intermixing of this phenomena in your tanks, via the air, no matter what you do to your water to prevent it, all you can do is starve them out and export them when they show up from time to time. This will help more in your algae battles than most anything you will read on the internet about marine tank science, have fun battling algae. Remove it, never settle for it!
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I do want to tell you that a UV sterilizer is a fine cheat to use to battle algae and disease. It can for sure make up for *some bad husbandry applications, but it's not necessary, just wanting to let you know an oversize one will clean your tank to prevent reinfestation if you don't want to make the other adjustments.
It will not remove cyano off the glass for you...that portion would remain. it only kills water borne items in suspension, but this includes ich during it's motile/transitory phase where it moves from the substrate to a host.
Your tank is not that reliant on microplankters which these do kill, I'd be concerned if you told me your cryptic tank habitat was failing then I'd say don't use a sterilizer. For your average fish and few corals tank, a sterilizer can be a huge headache remover, I always recommend them to aquarists as they do not hurt anything you care about in your tank regardless of what you've read on web...I've tested them personally with coral systems for years so that's why i am so passionate to endorse them in average situations where extreme biological engineering would be a headache.
