Removing Cyanobacteria??

Over the past few months I’ve been battling a nasty Cyanobacteria infestation in my 10 gallon tank, all manner of gross black and dark green algae looking stuff. I’ve tried all the usual recommendations: deep clean and scrape it all off, no excess light, keep feeding low enough for no leftovers, give more food to the plants I have in there in a desperate attempt to make them strong enough to kill the algae. But to no avail, the Cyanobacteria persists.
Every creature that was once in there has either been moved or has passed away. So at this point, I am ready to bring out any necessary “big guns” and simply totally deconstruct the tank and wipe it all down with a strong cleaner. But I know that by doing that, I would totally lose my cycle and I would like to avoid that.

Does anyone have any tips on removing Cyanobacteria? Should I just dump in some ammonia and hope that kills it? I’m honestly at a loss as to how I should continue.

 

Ok no critters just nastiness right? I’ve had wonderful luck using three percent hydrogen peroxide. I used one ml/gallon. Watch it die. You can use a bit more if it’s heavily infested. Let me know, ok?

 

Ok no critters just nastiness right? I’ve had wonderful luck using three percent hydrogen peroxide. I used one ml/gallon. Watch it die. You can use a bit more if it’s heavily infested. Let me know, ok?

Thanks for the suggestion! Is that safe for any plants I have or should I remove them beforehand?

 

My tank was infested with cyanobacteria a few months ago. A two week blackout didn't even affect it and I came to a point that I even bleached my sand but it still came back. What totally eradicated it in my tank is erythromycin which I bought in the pharmacy. For the dosage, I used 2.5mg/L for 1 week and it hasn't come back ever since. Also monitor the levels while you're at it; there are some instances of the cycle being affected though mine wasn't. Surface of the water will be foamy during treatment due to the dead BGA. Perform water change before each treatment to address that.

 

I agree with trying erythromycin.

 

Oh my, that's a nightmare. I had a bad infestation some years ago and lost several fish. I tried blackouts but couldn't make it work. Then I used something called Blue Exit from Easy Life, and it got rid of it. You should perhaps also change your lights. How old are they? When they get older the light changes to a different light spectrum which the cyanobacteria likes more, so even if the lights are still working it could be a good idea to change them every year.

 

There is often no single cause that leads to a Cyanobacteria bloom, it is more likely that a combination of improper lighting, an abundance of freely available nutrients and a stagnant low-oxygen environment that hasten the bacterial growth. Tanks that exhibit this red slime, or blue-green algae, growth often have good water quality (low ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels) and are otherwise unremarkable.
The method for completely removing Cyanobacteria involves a multI faceted approach including limiting or changing out lighting, modifying the tank feeding schedule, physical removal with a gravel cleaner, lowering tank temperature and adding additional aeration to the tank. Although this combination will eliminate the appearance of Cyanobacteria, there will still be minute pockets that survive, they will be so small that they won’t be visible, and you’ll still have to maintain an environment that won’t allow the reappearance of the bloom.

 

Thanks for the suggestion! Is that safe for any plants I have or should I remove them beforehand?

It’s safe and won’t harm your bacteria. It oxygenates the water and BGA doesn’t like that. At all. I do it at night when the plants are taking in oxygen anyway.