Could Caynobacteria outbreaks be seasonally linked

FransSny

FransSny

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Having chatted to a few different reefers (both from MASA and others not) it seems like there is a bit of a Cayno outbreak doing the rounds at the moment.

This has started making me think that maybe seasons could have something to do with this. Reasoning being:


  • Everyone is running their tanks differently , so we cant all be making the same mistake.
  • Some of these guys have run their tanks for months without any issues and have just "picked" up issues over the last few weeks.
  • Nobody I have spoken to has changed anything major
I myself is having one, taking into account I use NSW , just buffed for pH , RO etc etc...

Any thoughts on this. I have looked a bit on Google but haven't really found anything
 
i would say it could be and found guys got it more here in summer than in winter but i think there are various reasons for this

east london guys generally start their tanks in winter in anticipation for the summer fish season and tend to overload their tank as tropical species become freely abundant..

but my explination for winter is that people tend to loose interest as there are not to many fish about and start to slack on water changes...

i personally have found that i get a small patch from time to time in my gravel (between the front glass and the gravel bed).. which comes and goes.. and increased temperatures seem to allow it to populate more freely..

so directly linked to a season? it could quite possibly be but in the 2 scenarios i have illustrated above it could be the simulation of a season through the use of heaters during start up that could be offering a simular setting..

hope that makes sence...
 
I have no cyano, maybe it's something in the water? :p
 
The water is also much cooler in winter and as we know cooler water holds more oxygen. In summer when things heat up cyano problems tend to start as O2 levels drop.
 
Why would it be seasonal if your tank runs at the same temp all year long ?

Mine is always range bound 25C - 28C, and I have cyano on/off throughout...
 
or an overstocked system with a filtration system either too small or batteling to build up enough bacteria to assist in consuming the excess waster, but i am definatley in agreement with tony on the oxygen comment...
 
rakabos said:
Why would it be seasonal if your tank runs at the same temp all year long ?

Mine is always range bound 25C - 28C, and I have cyano on/off throughout...
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Maarten that 3 degree fluctuation can affect O2 levels dramatically. Cyano has been linked to low O2 levels whic is it is suggested you point powerheads to break the water's surface or increase flow in poorly circulated and/or deep tanks
 
I know the feeling but cyano(which I had a fair problem with myself)) and dinoflagellates have been linked to the recovery of the seas/world (not too sure), post the asteroid just about destroying the planet a gizillion years ago. A bit of useless trivia:p
 
if you dose carbon source and you dont have a strong enough skimmer or enough other bacteria, cyano will flourish.(carbon sources feed bacteria and cyano is a bacteria)
 
going to throw a cat among pigeons here and also say that adding live bacteria cultures might also increase cyanobacteria . In fact how do you know some of the strains in the cultures arent Cyano- they also chow nitrate and phosphate but kill corals and make tank look ugly
 
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Achilles said:
going to throw a cat among pigeons here and also say that adding live bacteria cultures might also increase cyanobacteria . In fact how do you know some of the strains in the cultures arent Cyano- they also chow nitrate and phosphate but kill corals and make tank look ugly
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Interesting ...I was also wondering along those lines (especially with the amount of products out there...and not all being forthcoming in terms of what strains they use etc).

I was however wondering weather increased bacteria levels could not be lowering O2 levels during the normal biological processes
 
Well that makes sense then that adding aerobic bacteria would result in a reduction of oxygen and a resultant increase in Co2 leading to cyano outbreaks its fine balance on a balance beam with these systems
 
Achilles said:
Well that makes sense then that adding aerobic bacteria would result in a reduction of oxygen and a resultant increase in Co2 leading to cyano outbreaks its fine balance on a balance beam with these systems
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Agreed, but our systems also have a wonderful way of balancing themselves out again.
 
Achilles said:
going to throw a cat among pigeons here and also say that adding live bacteria cultures might also increase cyanobacteria . In fact how do you know some of the strains in the cultures arent Cyano- they also chow nitrate and phosphate but kill corals and make tank look ugly
Click to expand...

Dominant strain of bacteria will consume lesser bacteria which is known as old tank syndrome. We constantly replenish the bacteria in our aquariums constantly repopulating strains that may have dis back from a lack of food or which have been consumed by a dominant strain. I dont think cyano actively eats/feeds on our bacteria in our tanks as I had a bad dose of cyano a few months back with aggresive probiotic dosing. Only when I switched carbon sources (from vodka to sugar) did I see the cyano die back. The negative to the sugar dosing was an increase in phosphates whereas vodka kept both N and P in check.

To add to Nemos reasons for cyano along with low DO and high CO2 levels is, high DOC levels, carbon dosing, amino acid dosing, deep and poorly circulated tanks which trap CO2, temperature and salinity (these affect the amount of DO in water), poor surface skimming of the tank and a lot of fish which deplete oxygen levels. The first few points are foods for the cyano and the last few have to do with low DO levels.

I would like to debate the reduced light cycle. Surely turning off lights for longer increases the CO2 in tanks as photosynthesis is reversed aggravating the O2 problem. Shouldn't the light be on for longer to promote O2 production?
 
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