red slime

brent6969

AC Members
Nov 27, 2006
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Is there anything in like a household that could cure red slime cause i really don't wanna pay a lot of money for something that i will only use once and it will just sit on the shelf for ever. Any natural ways?
 
Ive got the same problem in my tank. Red slime covering one corner of the tank. I got some of the red slime remover (chemiclean) from the LFS but is hasnt helped at all. Its been in almost 48hrs my slime looks the same.

Any suggestions on what I should do? I was going to do a water change tomm and try on syphon most of it out ,just dont know if this will solve the problem or not. What is the cause of this red slime??
 
Check this out: http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/microalgae/a/aa092800.htm
Red slime is a cyanobacteria. The key word is bacteria. Most of the "cures" for red slime are antibacterial medications, so unless you have access to a nice pharmacy, don't try anything from home remedies. The address above is mainly to give the reasons why it happens in the first place. Just remember to turn off your protein skimmer with any of the treatments, as it foams a lot.
But also remember.....as with most everything else in the ocean/aquarium, there may always be just a trace of it somewhere. The goal is to keep it in check so it does not grow!
 
I got some of the red slime remover (chemiclean) from the LFS but is hasnt helped at all. Its been in almost 48hrs my slime looks the same.

You may not have "cyanobacteria". There are many different types of coralline algae and some looks a lot like fuzzy red stuff. If you used the "red slime remover" according to directions, i.e.: removed carbon, turned off protein skimmer and UV then it should have turned brown and started dying off within 24 hours. My complaint on the stuff is so small an amount to dose 300 gallons makes for very difficult measuring.
 
I did follow all the directions and used proper dose but it hasnt done a thing to it. Should I go ahead and try the water change to get it out?
I just dont want to get it out then it come right back, I want to find the problem. I just dont know what to look for??
 
I did follow all the directions and used proper dose but it hasnt done a thing to it. Should I go ahead and try the water change to get it out?
I just dont want to get it out then it come right back, I want to find the problem. I just dont know what to look for??

You should always be doing water changes. Dont wait to do water changes just when you see problems with the tank. The problems that are causing this red slime algae are most likely minor things. There are 3 main things that cause the growth of red slime. Lighting, high Nutrients "Phosphates" and poor water circulation. what is your lighting schedule? The recemmended time for lights to be on is between 8-9 hours. Have you checked your phosphates? In the ocean Phophates are generally around 0.005 ppm. Phosphates are acually one of the top 14 out of 70 trace elements found in natural sea water that are considered to be essential for saltwater aquarium and reef tank systems. However, it is also a primary nutrient source for many forms of algae. As long as you keep your phophate levels to an acceptable level you should be fine. Do you have any form of water circulation? One powerhead doesnt count. Depending on the size of the tank you have you will need more powerheads/pumps to move the water around. Water movement is key to a healthy aquarium, without that you will fail most certainly.
 
What are you running for water movement? Cyano normally grows in low flow areas, so usually having at least a 20x turnover rate will limit this algae to very small (if any) patches.

I personally would strongly recommend against a chemical treatment for cyano... as said above the key ingredient in most "cures" for cyano is an antibiotic... you should know that antibiotics kill bacteria... you should also know there are many types of beneficial bacterias which are essential for success in any aquarium.
 
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