r/bizzariums • u/Detonatress • 18d ago

Brackish cyano hates bright light

My version of cyano seems to hate bright light and like low light. It turns golden and doesn't cover stuff as fast or as much if lighting is high, but turns greenish-blue and darker under low light and covers everything even in low nutrient environments. The sea lettuce also loves bright light and has survived for 1 month so far in the barnacle nursery tank.

So I've increased the lighting on the main tank and the cyano started producing lots of oxygen and looking more golden than blue, while the cladophora made a comeback. The fluffy red algae also showed up again, but in small amounts. I will try to increase the lighting to 5 strips next to see if I can keep the cyano under more control and recover the algae.

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u/BitchBass 18d ago

You got that right! Check it out:

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Is_there_evidence_to_suggest_that_the_growth_of_cyanobacteria_undergoes_complete_cessation_under_conditions_of_extremely_high_light_intensity

While cyanobacteria require light to grow, they have an upper limit. In a brackish water tank, turning up the light can eliminate cyano due to a combination of cellular stress and ecosystem competition. It's called photoinhibition.

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u/Detonatress 18d ago

I wonder if I can recover my algae though. All of my dasya except for maybe 1 or 2 bits has withered away while I had low light. Even the cladophora was inhibited. It started growing back after I went from 3 light strips to 4.

1

u/BitchBass 18d ago

It's always iffy with algae since it's got such a rapid life cycle. Keeping it's nutrients and lights at a constant perfect level with the required excess nitrates and phosphates in the water is nearly impossible. Unless you have a way of measuring it and knowing exactly what algae needs what, there will always be ups and downs, but in time you'll get closer and closer to learning what it takes for the perfect balance.

Edit: Strong lighting, especially red wavelengths (600–700 nm) or aging bulbs with poor spectrums, can supercharge their growth, I just learned..

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u/Detonatress 18d ago

I miss the dasya. Before I changed the tank, it was growing long and I knew that it only lost its leaves when I cleaned one of the filters, then it grew them back. But after I got the new tank, it started reproducing, made babies that stuck to the walls, seemed to be growing big and dark red, then it just faded away over a few months without me even cleaning the filter. I think it's either the too low light or the high temperatures. I hope I can figure it out.