Jestersix

Dealing with lyngbya

Darkxerox

Vice President
BOD
Did a search here and online but not everyone agrees on a clear treatment.

For those unfamiliar, Lyngbya sp. is a cyanobacterium that looks like hair algae. In fact I always thought it was hair algae that nothing liked to eat until I ran across it in an old post somewhere. It doesn't have a strong holdfast or "root" so it comes up easily, but can really tangle up certain corals, gorgonians, walls, and pumps:

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Note the gunk in the vortech is about two days of lyngbya getting sucked in.

Note that reef flux slowed it but didn't stop it, Chemiclean last year didn't do anything but knocked out the red slime.

I know @derek_SR prior to his current tank has issues. But curious to see if anyone here successfully knocked theirs out without something crazy? Only things I see online that might work are erythromycin or introducing different film algae that can outcompete.
 
Is your current nutrient N/P*1.53 out of 50-100 range?
I have not faced Lyngbya; whenever the nutrient ratio is out of range, patches of red cyano appear here and there in my tank.

Someone on R2R dip frags/rocks in 4ml peroxide/gl solution to dislodge it or treat a whole tank with peroxide using 1-2ml/gl ratio
 
I have used Hydrogen peroxide with success. I used the humble fish peroxide dipping guidelines (for corals). It was on a small system with maybe 10lbs of rock. Sooo lots of work ahead if you take that route, make sure to follow the guidelines if you do In relation to the corals on the Rock. Not sure maybe urchins munch on it. Mine found other food and avoided it. The rock also had some green/brown slimy bubbly dinoflagellants, sorry no scope, and wiped those out.
 
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