sagent3000
Reefing newb
i have this HUGE outbreak of red slime :frustrat: and i don't know what to do. how should i get rid of it what should i do
Red Slime
- Thread starter sagent3000
- Start date
Doc
I don't work for anybody
that is a sight to behold. you have too many nutrients in your water and your tank cannot handle it.
add more flow by changing powerhead positions or adding another one. Add more live rock to help with your bioload or get rid of a fish. Cyano needs light as well, so cut down your lighting cycle. do a water change to suck up as much of it as possible. reduce feedings to every other day and only feed frozen food.
Finally, once you have made those changes, you can get a boost with cleaning it up with a product called chemi-clean. it will work well, but there is a chance that the cyano will develop a resistance to it over time so it is not a "cure all". Make these changes and take care to keep up water changes and good husbandry habits, it will go away. Good luck
-Doc
add more flow by changing powerhead positions or adding another one. Add more live rock to help with your bioload or get rid of a fish. Cyano needs light as well, so cut down your lighting cycle. do a water change to suck up as much of it as possible. reduce feedings to every other day and only feed frozen food.
Finally, once you have made those changes, you can get a boost with cleaning it up with a product called chemi-clean. it will work well, but there is a chance that the cyano will develop a resistance to it over time so it is not a "cure all". Make these changes and take care to keep up water changes and good husbandry habits, it will go away. Good luck
-Doc
BlueSi4
Reefing newb
Like Dr. Marco said, excess nutrients and light cause cyano, as well as parts with no flow. I battled red slime for a long time, until i got some more flow in the tank, and i saw it decrease for a bit. Now i just have cyano growing in a rock, just because there's not too much flow going there due to my corals. A nice addition would be to pick up a Phosban reactor, since that helps lower phosphates, which is the main reason why cyano or red slime occurs!
Bifferwine
I am a girl
I agree with what has already been said. Run phosphate removal media, cut down on the lights, add a powerhead and aim it in the slimy area, do regular water changes with high quality water, cut back on feedings if you tend to overfeed.
sagent3000
Reefing newb
biff you always agreeing :hernoseen....lol
here is the thing if i send a power head over that way the sand will stir b/c i have a DSB what should i do
here is the thing if i send a power head over that way the sand will stir b/c i have a DSB what should i do
BlueSi4
Reefing newb
Get some nassarius snails to stirr the sand bed for you, that way cyano might be a little bit harder to accumulate there. Get a phosban reactor.
You don't necessarily have to point the powerhead straight to that spot, you can just have it so that indirect flow moves the top of the sand a little bit, which will make all the detrius raise and hopefully picked up by your skimmer.
You don't necessarily have to point the powerhead straight to that spot, you can just have it so that indirect flow moves the top of the sand a little bit, which will make all the detrius raise and hopefully picked up by your skimmer.
Damseluver
Reefing newb
H0w many fish d0 y0u have?
A few years back I had tw0 75g tanks set up and maintained identically. In 0ne I h0used 4small damsels that I rarely fed and the 0ther c0ntained the usual suspects. Tang, dwarf angel, meet eating shrimp etc. This tank I had t0 feed.
The damsel tank packed with c0rals never devel0ped any cyan0. The 0ther tank did. I then pulled a PH 0ut 0f the damsel tank and added fl0w t0 the cyan0 tank. N0 change. I then m0ved all c0rals t0 the damsel tank and drastically limited light t0 the cyan0 tank. N0 change.
The damsel tank, even with reduced fl0w went cyan0 free. There feedings which were ab0ut every three days if I did n0t f0rget was the evil but cheap dry f00d. S0 much f0r that the0ry.
I am n0t saying all y0u can have is damsels but keep fish l0ad vary l0w and many 0f y0ur pr0blems will g0 away. Its a reef tank n0t a fish tank.
A few years back I had tw0 75g tanks set up and maintained identically. In 0ne I h0used 4small damsels that I rarely fed and the 0ther c0ntained the usual suspects. Tang, dwarf angel, meet eating shrimp etc. This tank I had t0 feed.
The damsel tank packed with c0rals never devel0ped any cyan0. The 0ther tank did. I then pulled a PH 0ut 0f the damsel tank and added fl0w t0 the cyan0 tank. N0 change. I then m0ved all c0rals t0 the damsel tank and drastically limited light t0 the cyan0 tank. N0 change.
The damsel tank, even with reduced fl0w went cyan0 free. There feedings which were ab0ut every three days if I did n0t f0rget was the evil but cheap dry f00d. S0 much f0r that the0ry.
I am n0t saying all y0u can have is damsels but keep fish l0ad vary l0w and many 0f y0ur pr0blems will g0 away. Its a reef tank n0t a fish tank.
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yote
In Memoriam
It wouldnt hurt to pick up a bottle of Marine SAT and dose it.Its not a chemical so theres no danger of of an over dose.Its live bacteria and will comsome some of the nutrients that the cyano needs.
While your at it,get some Chemi-Pure Elite.That'll help with phosphates and nitrates.
While your at it,get some Chemi-Pure Elite.That'll help with phosphates and nitrates.
sagent3000
Reefing newb
fish list
1 - blue tang
1 - white stripped maroon
1 - purple psudeo
1 - kole tang
10- crabs :bounce:(everyone should have crabs)
30-narssia snails
1 - blue tang
1 - white stripped maroon
1 - purple psudeo
1 - kole tang
10- crabs :bounce:(everyone should have crabs)
30-narssia snails
Damseluver
Reefing newb
Tangs are a heavy bi0 l0ad, I am sure y0u have seen a tang turd. They eat and crap 24/7 and will 0utgr0w a 75 gal anyways. Trade em in f0r c0rals and maybe a few small fire fish 0r equivalent and y0u will likely trade in y0r cyan0 pr0blem with em.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
I don't think your tank is overstocked by any means. Four small to medium fish in a 75 is nothing, IMO.
Damseluver
Reefing newb
tangs are expensive crap factr0ys.
Doc
I don't work for anybody
yeah, but they are really cool. Tangs are so worth it, even if they are poop factories. It is worth the extra filtration to have them
-Doc
-Doc
What are your water parameters? What are the parameters of your make up and top off water? What is the circulation rate in your tank? What are you feeding and how much? How often do you do water changes and what size are they? What is the total of your filtration methods? With out this information our opinions and suggestions are just crap shoot replies. In crease the odds of success by supplying more information. The quality of our suggestions is totally relational to the quality and quantity of the information you supply. However, most of the replies you received are pretty standard responses to your type of problem. Work mainly toward prevention methods and avoid chemical fixes as a regular method of control. Better living through chemistry typically does not jive well with good husbandry practices. If it did we would not have the need for all the ecologists and environmentalists we now need in this day and age.
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