Black stuff covering everything in tank

Question
I have blacky browny furry smelly crap covering everything in my tank the set up is stones on bottom aqua one power liquid filter and heater in a 3 ft tank. I have one dozen feeder fish( all other fish die) and one freshwater blue crayfish. I have scrubbed everything spotless and refilled the tank numerous times and in three weeks it is back with a vengeance, What can I do to get rid of it??? HELP

Answer
Hi Teressa,

You've encountered the dreaded cynobacteria.  This is primarily a problem on tanks that do not have the best water quality.  The first thing you need to do is get the water quality checked.  Take 2 cups of water in a tuperware dish to your local petstore and ask them to test it for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH, hardness and O2.

This will give a baseline on the water quality.  Next you'll want to start a regiment of water changes.  I recommend 20% weekly to start.  This will help remove any bad chemicals in the tank.

Typically cynobacteria are the result of too many nutrients in the water.  So you'll also want to look at how you feed your fish.  I recommend feeding no more than they can eat in 20 seconds, twice a day.

Here is a good thread on fighting cynobacteria:  http://www.aquaria.info/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=59057

Sean
Owner FishGeeks.com