new kid on the block

[phishy_smell]

Hi, long time reader first time poster.
I live in Brownsburg, and have kind of been thrown into the saltwater aquariums. I have spent the last year reading everything i could get my eyes on about the reef aquariums. Getting my equipment together over time for my own 90 gal reef. A couple weeks ago my buddys house was damaged by the tornado near Martinsville, everything had to be moved out for repairs to be made. I have now been babysitting his 55 gal salt water tank. Everything has gone well so far, but i have red slime on about 1/3 of the rock on one end of the tank. Any suggestions?

[shaw]

well, good to have you newbie

here is what you do.
keep the lights out for 3 days straight (ambient room light is fine), then on the third day do a good sized water change (25-30%). this should kick that red slime in the butt.
also remember, to limit nutrients (foods) and use only RO water.

if this doesn't work, then move on to a "red slime remover" product

good luck,

oh yeah, do not disturb the red slime on the sand bed.


shawn

[phishy_smell]

thanks for the advice. I'll will give it a try. I dont want to put any slime remover if i dont have to.
:)

[DensityMan]

Could also just be a mini-cycle prompted by the move. ;)

So in the role of Devil's advocate, a water change and time should take care of basic cyano (which is in all of our tanks, but when water is nutrient heavy, such as after a move when the sand's been stirred and everything is a little stressed, it tends to 'blossom' soaking up all the excess nutrients and then eventually dying back again when the boon of food has been absorbed).

Good luck regardless.

And welcome to the club... :D

[phishy_smell]

thanks for the added info.
Im really looking forward to getting my own tank up and running soon. My RO filter is being shipped Monday, so not long now.
Also looking forward to meeting with other reef lovers in the area.

[BigReef]

(All in unison) Hi phishy_smell!

Another solution to your red slime problem is making sure that your alkalinity isn't low. Sometimes when you use r.o water for evaporation, the alkalinity can fall off a little. Keep it up by buffering your r.o water. I currently am using Aragamight in all of my make-up water. It has the added benefit of adding strontium, magnesium and other trace elements back to the water. So far my acros seem to love it. My growth these last few weeks has been astounding!

I have also noticed that increased flow can help limit it's growth.
Try adding some more flow and see if that helps.

Later
BigReef