20141102 Cyanobacteria (brown slime algae) problem

One of the most commonly discussed in forums for many beginner hobbyist is the brown/red slime algae, or cyanobacteria. Although they are referred to as algae, they are not really algae. Instead they are monocellular bacteria that obtains energy by photosynthesis. They will form enormous colony thus visible to human eyes without microscope with the appearance, and behavior of algae.

Cyanobacteria (Brown Slim Algae)

The photo above shows how a cyanobacteria can take over the substrate (or rock work) by covering up the surface and forms a "film". While they are considered a nuisance, they are not your worst enemy in a reef aquaria. There are plenty ways to tackle them. But to properly fight them. We first need to know what causes them to bloom.

Even though the bacteria can obtain energy by photosynthesis, like all bacteria, they also thrive under nutrient rich condition. So the two elements we can control here are: light- photosynthesis, and dissolved nutrient- food.
Three ways to effectively reduce the colony:
1. prevention- do not overfeed your tank
2. attack- stir up the sand with sifters such as goby, cucumber, nassaurius snails, or sand sifting stars*
3. elimination- with moderation, turn lights off for a day to discourage photosynthesis.
Cyanobacteria is a natural part of the tank cycling and path to maturity. There is no need to freak out when you experience a break out. Just stay calm and tackle them!

*sand sifting stars do require a LOT of sand to forage for food in order to properly survive and thrive. Please do not add one to a tank smaller than 125G.

20140613-Tank moving 3

Here is the peaceful group. All fish featured in this post are the best community fish one can find. They are also all very hardy*
The blue-eye cardinals are not rare, but they are also not very common in stores as they are one of the pricier cardinals. on the other hand, the bangaii cardinal is almost reaching goldfish status in saltwater (the percula clown already has). They are hardy, peaceful, and very easy to breed. People can often rear young's in their tanks since they are mouth brooders.

The fire fish are elegant, and fun to look at. They are also very peaceful and hardy- so peaceful that you must not keep them with any aggressive fish, especially with an open top tank, because they can "fly" out of the tank with ease.

The ranfordii Goby is inexpensive, cute, low maintenance and hardy. I put an asteric on the word hardy previously because they do have a specific requirement- You must have sugar grained size sandy bottom as their main diet is filter feeding the sand. Crushed coral and larger grain aragonite sand won't do because they cannot take it through their gill.

Small tank coming along

Ever since the death of my mantis shrimp, this 24 gallon cube has been in "rebuild" mode while I decide what I put in it. I have decided to keep it a very slow, tamed and relaxed tank with 3 firefish, snowflake clown, randord's goby, a rare purple banded shrimp and a tiger pistol to remind me of the old mantis with its snaps.

I have also included some inverts, besides the standard snails and hermit crabs for maintenance and cleaning, I added a red tip brittle star, bunch of soft coral, and a pair of feather dusters