whats the cure for the "red slime"

fast57 · #1 11/04/2006, 03:46 PM

whats the cure for the "red slime"? i've heard of something called cemi-clean (i think thats what it was called). I have a 45 gallon tank with a 10 gall on fuge.

Randall_James · #2 11/04/2006, 03:50 PM

How old is your tank? some outbreak can be expected in newer tanks and with careful feeding practices you should be able to just get through it without chemical treatment.

Vacuum what you can out and make sure your circulation is up to par. Sometimes redirecting powerheads and flow to areas can alleviate the problem too.

fast57 · #3 11/04/2006, 04:15 PM

the tanks about 8 months old. Ive tried moving the outlet and powerhead around in order to redirect the flowbut no luck. I have also been feeding alot less. And I only use ro water.

povsan · #4 11/04/2006, 10:18 PM

My tank has been up for the same amount of time as yours, I currently have that red slime algae "cyano bacteria" I'm doing my best to feed less and watch what and when I feed., also sucking them out as best as I can and redirecting the flow to the problem spot, also have a diamond goby to keep my sand bed clean as possible but still no luck. I've heard of the "chem-clean" but since I'm a newbie anything that has to do or says CHEMICAL just freaks me out. Anyhow short story is, if you eliminate that nasty stuff please keep me detailed with your process I'd like to tag a long with you because this thing is driving me crazy. I can't stand it. Help me if you have an idea, ok?

Thanks.

Pov

stewymaroon · #5 11/04/2006, 10:21 PM

Chemi-clean. And it works well, but remember to syphon all of the algae out of the tank after the treatment period. Another way to get rid of it without using the chemical would be an emerald crab. Usually about ten bucks. This guy just munches on cyano like crazy.

N8ster · #6 11/04/2006, 10:24 PM

Do you have a skimmer? Do you have macro in your fuge? Those would help get rid of the nutrients that feed the cyano. I would try to get at the source of the problem, rather than add chemicals to the tank.

hubris007 · #7 11/04/2006, 11:43 PM

Yah, what n8ster said. Nutrient export, less lighting for a while, less nutrients entering system all help. Go get a case of this and use it religiously:

Gary Majchrzak · #8 11/04/2006, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fast57
whats the cure for the "red slime"?

An outbreak of cyanobacteria is an indicator of high levels of dissolved organic compounds (DOC's). Limiting and exporting nutrients are the "cure". Also make sure water parameters are optimal.

fast57 · #9 11/05/2006, 12:21 AM

I do have a skimmer and alot of macro along with miracle mud and rubble in the fuge. I really dont feed that much about once a day.

Gary Majchrzak · #10 11/05/2006, 12:56 PM

What's your salinity/SG at? Is the skimmer sized and operating properly? Is your RO unit operating properly? What's your alkalinity, Ca and pH at? At this point I'd simply siphon out the slime algae and try to find the source that's fueling it's growth.

fast57 · #11 11/05/2006, 03:14 PM

my salinity is at .25. the skimmer seems to be working good. I get my ro water from Dominicks grocery store. Its in the water/pop isle and its out of a machine called "water island". The water goes through a 7 step filtration process with a UV light also. Theres a sticker on the machine that its tested every month.

fast57 · #12 11/05/2006, 03:18 PM

oh and my cal. is at 460 and ph is at around 8.2

addicted_2_reef · #13 11/05/2006, 03:25 PM

I have a 65 about the same age. I have the red slime in with the MM. I had a little bit in the main tank but, I was using vhos and after changing over to MH I've noticed it going away in the main tank but, nothing has changed in the sump. I use a 46w PC over the sump. I wonder if poor lighting would have anything to do with it.

hubris007 · #14 11/05/2006, 04:26 PM

You know anyone with a TDS meter that can test the water you are using? Some of those in store filters are shady at best, as they may not be maintained like they should.

fast57 · #15 11/05/2006, 07:24 PM

i dont know anyone with a tds meter. Can i just use Salifert tests? If so which ones should I use?

Gary Majchrzak · #16 11/05/2006, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fast57
my salinity is at .25.

just so we're not missing the obvious...
do you mean that you're specific gravity is at 1.025?
Does your LFS have a TDS meter?
Has anything died in your aquarium recently?

fast57 · #17 11/05/2006, 10:14 PM

i'll have to check the LFS for the TDS meter. What should it do or say on the meter? I've only lost a total of 4 things in 8 months so everythings looks great in the tank but the red on the sand and some on the rocks bothers me. Ill get a pic if I can.

Randall_James · #18 11/05/2006, 11:52 PM

TDS on an RO/DI outlet should read zero, I have a unit and my regular RO runs about 6ppm and the DI unit takes down to 0.

When you say testing the water you are using, you can not test saltwater, you can only test the fresh RO/DI.. Sure you already know that but just in case..

You can get a number of TDS testers including inline units (never tried one myself) on ebay I bought one for home and I think it was around $35

supernareg · #19 11/06/2006, 12:01 AM

getting rid of cyano (red slime algae) the natural way, eg. water changes, cleeaning etc takes months for the effect.

boyd's chemiclean... 3 days max.

i used it, and its the best. follow directions.

theatrus · #20 11/06/2006, 03:11 AM

One note about using ChemiClean - you MUST provide a LOT of aeration into your water. You also cannot run your skimmer. Heavily stocked tanks are already low on oxygen and using chemiclean will cause a rapid depletion.

Fermat · #21 11/06/2006, 05:38 AM

Chemi-clean worked wonderfully for me. I had a horrible cyano outbreak because I was not rinsing frozen mysis shrimp (contains tons of phosphate I hear). Fixing this did not make the problems go away. I ciphoned out all of the cyano I could get, then added chemi-clean. I haven't seen any cyano since over the last six months.

fast57 · #22 11/06/2006, 04:44 PM

could it be because of the frozen food i'm using? Does one brand carry more phosphates than another? Is there a way to eliminate this or a better brand to use?

fast57 · #23 11/06/2006, 04:49 PM

is this the right stuff?

http://cgi.ebay.com/BOYD-CHEMICLEAN-...QQcmdZViewItem

Pete1399 · #24 11/06/2006, 07:21 PM

Here is what I believe.
Feed less food, less is always better than too much.
Get an emerald crab if you have a lot of algae. Worked for me.
Provide enough flow so that stuff doesn't sit on the bottom of the tank.
10% WC a week.
Don't overstock your tank.
Hopefully you are using a skimmer(decent one...).

addicted_2_reef · #25 11/06/2006, 08:33 PM

I have the same problem in my 65 at the same age. I have MM but, I'm not running a skimmer. I donit have any fish and just a few small corals.

Any Ideas?
Sorry to jump the thread