Red slime algae

[buddy08]

i have a small patch of this stuff in my tank (maybe 3 square inches). how do i get rid of it? i tryed sifting the sand around in hopes of burying it so it didnt feed off the light but it comes back every time. in the morning when the lights are off, its not as noticeable, just a red patch of sand but at night when the tank lights have been on for a few hours, the stuff almost "Swells" and becomes more noticeable and darker in color.phosphates are reading 0 and everything else is in check

 

[irensing]

Do a water change and vacuum it out of the tank, especially if its just sitting on top of your substrate. I'm pretty sure red slime is caused by un-desirable bacteria. Not sure if lighting has anything to do with it.

 

[Salty B]

I would syphon it out and do a waterchange as well. Can you turn a powerhead towards that area to increase flow. That will help a little also.

 

[Ulta]

yup, & bad bulbs can cause Cyano to grow. Or some kind of nutrients fueling its growth.

If your bulbs are stock or real old that could be the prob.

I would def suck it up like suggested. Stirring it up could spread it all over the tank.

 

[little_fish]

+1 to the above


You can also do a blackout after sucking up what you can to help starve them out.

 

[buddy08]

blackout?

 

[little_fish]

Ya, cyano is a photosynethetic bacteria. By turning out your lights for a week while doing water changes will help to starve them out.

Your corals will be fine during that time period.

 

[buddy08]

i will try increasing my water changes and syphoning it out before i do the blackout method. i just got some new corals the other day so i think i should let them adapt firsthand before stressing them. btw,

 

[little_fish]

probably a good idea :)

 

[irensing]

Are you saying just have the lights off during the water change or for a week? Common sense is telling me just during the water change. How much time would be effective? Does cyano multiply in a matter of minutes, hours, etc.?

 

[little_fish]

No, you want to leave them off for 3 days to a week, with water changes at the beginning, middle and end.

 

[irensing]

If you don't already hate me you probably will for bringing this up. Wouldn't it be better to run UV instead of killing the lights for that long? Does UV kill cyano? I'd be worried about having the lights off.

 

[little_fish]

not really, cyano isnt a free floating bacteria.It grows in mats. It could prevent a breakout from happening, but it wont solve one that is already happening.

 

[buddy08]

was gonna say btw my kenya tree coral is toast. came home yesterday and it was gone. went from a big beautiful coral that literally tripled in size to wilted white branches, next day those branches turned to muck and have now dissolved in the tank. all thats left is a brownish/black trunk attached to the rock.

 

[irensing]

That happened in my Dads tank. he gave me the disgusting mess and I put it in my tank. It actually came back. I'd clean out whatever muck and slime there is and leave the trunk. Who knows maybe it will come back.

 

[little_fish]

Well, the good thing about the kenya trees is that as long as a few cells remain it should grow back. Just give it time

 

[buddy08]

from what i could gather, it was a hardy coral because it came as a hitch hiker when i purchased my liverock, and that rock sat in styro foam boxes with wet newspaper a good week before submerged in water again. somehow it lived and grew to my surprise, so we shall see.

 

[Marines_Wife]

If you don't already hate me you probably will for bringing this up. Wouldn't it be better to run UV instead of killing the lights for that long? Does UV kill cyano? I'd be worried about having the lights off.

LOL that made me laugh

I had heard somewhere that cyno is also caused by a bad level of nitrate? Any truth to that?

 

[ErinCahir]

I'd be worried about having the lights off.

A blackout won't hurt anything. There are thunderstorms over the ocean, too. Cloud cover = no sunlight. ;)

 

[little_fish]

I had heard somewhere that cyno is also caused by a bad level of nitrate? Any truth to that?

Yep! that is another important food source the cyano, but they can be eating it up so fast that you can test and see how high your level is. If you have cyano or algae issues, you have a nitrate issue, they are just coving it up.