Post by JimHouse on Nov 17, 2012 0:44:09 GMT
Hi all!
This is my first post ever, but I've been a member for a while.
What I was curious about was whether anyone else has ever had problems with cyanobacteria in their substrate, and if anyone has effectively taken care of it. I personally have two different kinds of it, although I haven't pulled out the ol' microscope to ID it, as I assume treatment is treatment is treatment.
I'm a seed grower, and under normal circumstances I wouldn't mind a bit of it, however when my seeds get covered during the long process that can be their germination period, I tend to freak out a bit.
Just to be thorough, and because I know some of you will wonder, my typical growing medium is long grained sphagnum (dried), sphagnum peat, perlite, and when I have it, sand, all 1 part each. I DO NOT wash it, and I'm sure that may prove to be a bit of a contentious point, but if we could, I'd rather not discuss that aspect of my culture.
I grow on the tray system, and water with rain water from below, with a significant overflow every time, in order to transport excess chemistry that tends to build up in the water. I start my seeds in peat pots, and move them to more substantial and permanent ones when they get big enough. I have been thinking that there may just be too much peat in my system, and that alone is yielding too many nutes to the system.
It may be worth mentioning that this is mostly a problem with Nephs, and also to Cephs, although with the latter I've had no luck on germination, but I'm still resolved to find something that works for me. Even once the Nephs germinate, I'm not out of the woods as far as the blue-green algae is concerned, as it can choke my little guys out. Also, for some reason, and I'm at a loss as to why, the sphagnum doesn't seem to start growing as well in the Neph pots, which would help as far as the excess nutes are concerned, but then present a new problem in that it would outgrow my cute little babies. I've never had it happen with Sarrs, or Dionaea, for example, probably due to the fast germination rates and the fact that I pack germination posts FULL of seeds, so they spend their first year covering the top of the pots, allowing little light penetration, and sucking up what little energy there is in the substrate.
In the past, I've used vinegar from a spray bottle, but only on the pots that have yet to germinate, and then thoroughly flushed them to get the pH back to an acceptable level. This works GREAT for the blue green algae, but reeks havoc on your germination rates. plus, the idea that I may be adding nutes to the system, and exacerbating the situation (I only had apple cider vinegar, whoops!). also, I lost a whole batch of yearling Neph fuscas due to careless overspray.
Now, the good people who do the aquarium culture thing, like reef tanks, ect. have their own ways for taking care of this little single celled monster (much respect, they may have been the first life forms on our planet!). They treat it with antibiotics sometimes, apparently with varying results, or they treat their tanks with VODKA, and have some very happy fish probably.
I would not use vodka, because I'm afraid of the part of the potato that DID NOT ferment... there's still got to be a lot of energy in there, right? I'm thinking, and I'd love some feedback from anybody with chemistry backgrounds, as mine is more based in ecology, whether isopropyl alcohol may be an effective long term treatment, applied by way of a spray bottle.
At this point I'm cocked and loaded with rubbing alcohol, but I'd be willing to defer to anybody with a pretty good idea that this treatment would be detrimental. The antibiotic route may work, but it sounds expensive, and despite the fact that it's probably just "fish tank grade," I'd rather not be in any way responsible for creating antibiotic-resistant cyanobacteria!
OK, so I've gone on a bit, which I'm given to do. But should anybody have experience with this, or is even willing to speculate, please do! I love the fact that I'm starting this conversation! YAY! PLANT NERDINESS!
Jim House
This is my first post ever, but I've been a member for a while.
What I was curious about was whether anyone else has ever had problems with cyanobacteria in their substrate, and if anyone has effectively taken care of it. I personally have two different kinds of it, although I haven't pulled out the ol' microscope to ID it, as I assume treatment is treatment is treatment.
I'm a seed grower, and under normal circumstances I wouldn't mind a bit of it, however when my seeds get covered during the long process that can be their germination period, I tend to freak out a bit.
Just to be thorough, and because I know some of you will wonder, my typical growing medium is long grained sphagnum (dried), sphagnum peat, perlite, and when I have it, sand, all 1 part each. I DO NOT wash it, and I'm sure that may prove to be a bit of a contentious point, but if we could, I'd rather not discuss that aspect of my culture.
I grow on the tray system, and water with rain water from below, with a significant overflow every time, in order to transport excess chemistry that tends to build up in the water. I start my seeds in peat pots, and move them to more substantial and permanent ones when they get big enough. I have been thinking that there may just be too much peat in my system, and that alone is yielding too many nutes to the system.
It may be worth mentioning that this is mostly a problem with Nephs, and also to Cephs, although with the latter I've had no luck on germination, but I'm still resolved to find something that works for me. Even once the Nephs germinate, I'm not out of the woods as far as the blue-green algae is concerned, as it can choke my little guys out. Also, for some reason, and I'm at a loss as to why, the sphagnum doesn't seem to start growing as well in the Neph pots, which would help as far as the excess nutes are concerned, but then present a new problem in that it would outgrow my cute little babies. I've never had it happen with Sarrs, or Dionaea, for example, probably due to the fast germination rates and the fact that I pack germination posts FULL of seeds, so they spend their first year covering the top of the pots, allowing little light penetration, and sucking up what little energy there is in the substrate.
In the past, I've used vinegar from a spray bottle, but only on the pots that have yet to germinate, and then thoroughly flushed them to get the pH back to an acceptable level. This works GREAT for the blue green algae, but reeks havoc on your germination rates. plus, the idea that I may be adding nutes to the system, and exacerbating the situation (I only had apple cider vinegar, whoops!). also, I lost a whole batch of yearling Neph fuscas due to careless overspray.
Now, the good people who do the aquarium culture thing, like reef tanks, ect. have their own ways for taking care of this little single celled monster (much respect, they may have been the first life forms on our planet!). They treat it with antibiotics sometimes, apparently with varying results, or they treat their tanks with VODKA, and have some very happy fish probably.
I would not use vodka, because I'm afraid of the part of the potato that DID NOT ferment... there's still got to be a lot of energy in there, right? I'm thinking, and I'd love some feedback from anybody with chemistry backgrounds, as mine is more based in ecology, whether isopropyl alcohol may be an effective long term treatment, applied by way of a spray bottle.
At this point I'm cocked and loaded with rubbing alcohol, but I'd be willing to defer to anybody with a pretty good idea that this treatment would be detrimental. The antibiotic route may work, but it sounds expensive, and despite the fact that it's probably just "fish tank grade," I'd rather not be in any way responsible for creating antibiotic-resistant cyanobacteria!
OK, so I've gone on a bit, which I'm given to do. But should anybody have experience with this, or is even willing to speculate, please do! I love the fact that I'm starting this conversation! YAY! PLANT NERDINESS!
Jim House