arvin555: Fight against Blue Green Algae

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arvin555
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Fight against Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
« Thread Started on Jun 7, 2008, 12:23am » Anyone out there who has problem with Cyano bacteria or Blue green algae? I am sure that part of my problem with my very unhealthy VFTs is that Blue Green algae lives just below the potting mix surface. Also it has covered the medium of my VFT cuttings.

Being that we put our VFTs, and Sarracenias and Droseras on a water dish, and good full sun, the Blue green algae thives in these situation.

I know that using Antibacteria or antibiotic might work but I am not sure how it will affect the plant, and also how effective it will be in long term. I am tempted to use Acryflavin (fish medicine) but I again am afraid what it might do to the plant.

I have also repotted all my VFTs, but the algae just bounces back after a few weeks.

Any other techniques to try?

TTFN
Arvin
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Re: Fight against Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
« Reply #1 on Jun 7, 2008, 3:47pm » Arvin, i don't face the problem as i use peat moss and sphagnum moss and they're treated in factory. carry out a trial to find out. what media are you using?

when i water my plants i allow it to flow over the pots then lightly spray the bottom where water will be collected on shallow trays.
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Re: Fight against Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
« Reply #2 on Jun 7, 2008, 6:06pm » i am also facing this problem. when i sow seeds on sphagnum moss i must monitor it to make sure that algae doesn't cover the seeds and plantlet. even with treated sphagnum moss. i think all moss and peat moss in commercial is already treated in factory. unless u buy local dried shagnum moss because usually it will come bak to life.
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Re: Fight against Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
« Reply #3 on Jun 7, 2008, 8:15pm » Hmmm, For all my seed sprouting I use pure NZ sphagnum moss, generally ground quite fine in a blender, and for a long time a lot of it turned to brown slime fairly quickly. Then I started cutting windows in the boxes and screening them with silk. Things improved! Now, I find about half of my boxes (some of which are 6 months old and have been misted daily) have new sphagnum growing. I love it, looks like miniature pine forests in there, and no sign of browning. Now it's from the same 'original bag" that was 'mushing' out before?

Does sphagnum reproduce from spores? Maybe what I'm seeing growing now is spores that have been fertilized as it doesn't look like its the old sphagnum sprouting or anything like that.

Guess this probably won't have much bearing on your situation with VFTs, and Sarracenias and Droseras out in the full sun, but maybe there's something in there that will give us a clue. I don't think my humidity is high enough outside of the boxes to keep the sphagnum growing but I'd sure love to see my plants sitting in deep beds of it!

Growing nursery stock long ago, I used to put a thin layer of something non-absorbant (sand, pebbles, etc) on the very top layer so there wasn't anything for the algae and mosses to actively grow on, maybe trying that out would be a possibility? Especially if you can water via the tray and not wet the top to the point of overflowing. « Last Edit: Jun 7, 2008, 8:41pm by shawnintland »Link to Post - Back to Top 203.170.150.155 arvin555
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Re: Fight against Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
« Reply #4 on Jun 8, 2008, 8:03pm » Thanks for your comments and replies guys. The weird thing with my blue green algae problem is that it even affects Peat moss/Vermiculite mix, watered with purified drinking water. May I know what you guys mean by "treated in factory"? What kind of treatment? I haven't tried boiling all the medium, but as mentioned the only start coming out after a few weeks after a new repot, and diffcult to "kill" once they are there, unless I repot. I have a feeling that Chlorine will kill them, but it might kill the plants as well

Shawn, will try to use dried sphagnum moss over the powdered mix at the bottom, to see if I can prevent blue green algae from thriving. Also I will try your idea of covering them with non porous material too. I'm desperate.

Yes you are correct, dried sphagnum moss can have spores that will germinate after you hydrate them. Unfortunately the ones that I usually get don't, but the are known to just sprout out. I am also under the impression that if you can get a top cover of live sphagnum moss that they will smother any algae/ blue green algae from thriving. Unfortunatel we don't get much live mosses available here.

TTFN
Arvin
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Re: Fight against Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
« Reply #5 on Jun 9, 2008, 10:55am » Does this blue green algae affect cp's or any other plants?I have them too but i dont see they affecting my plants.
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Re: Fight against Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
« Reply #6 on Jun 10, 2008, 11:33pm » My research about them say that some plants actually benefit from them, rice for example benefit from Cyanobateria in their roots. My problem is that I know that Cyanobacteria produces toxic chemicals and I have a feeling that this is the cause of stunted growth in some of my CPs, mostly VFTs. (DO NOT quote me on this however). I see them coating the bulb and roots of my VFT whenever i repot, so I wash them off as best I can.

I have started putting a layer of dried Sphagnum over the peat moss of my VFTs to see if the reduced sunlight will help combat them.

By the way I know from experience that if I made VFT cuttings and tried to grow plantlets from them, once cyanobacteria blooms, the cutting will surely die, so at least for cuttings they are bad!

TTFN
Arvin « Last Edit: Jun 24, 2008, 2:03am by arvin555 »Link to Post - Back to Top 202.163.208.46 arvin555
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Re: Fight against Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
« Reply #7 on Jun 24, 2008, 2:02am » I think I may have found a "cure" at least for Cyanobacteria on my potting mix for my CPs (specially N. American CPs which likes to be soaked in water). From research I know the Cyanobacter needs sunlight and nutrients. What I did with most of my CPs, was first of all I found a source of True dried Sphagnum moss, "true"? Well yes coz for the longest time I have been using locally available dried moss which my brother said that he thinks is actually dried Java moss. Anyway I found out that Dried Sphagnum moss is a bit denser and therefore if I put a layer on top of my potting mix (cocopeat or peat moss etc.) sunlight is totally blocked and therefore the Cyanobacteria won't be able to thrive. Also gives the advantage of making the soil a bit acidic from the dried Sphagnum. I think that live sphagnum might work even better! But I don't have those.

TTFN
Arvin
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Re: Fight against Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
« Reply #8 on Jun 24, 2008, 5:29pm » arvin555, Dried sphagnum moss usually has viable spores that will eventually grow if the water you are using is pure enough.
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