I'm ready to jack it in!

D

derek681

AC Members
Nov 27, 2005
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Hi all,
I have been keeping marines for 6 months now and not a day has gone by that i havn't had red slime algae i have tried everything except chemicals i currently have a 48gallon reef tank with 27kilos of live rock, a deltec mce600 skimmer rated for a 700ltr tank with 200ml of rowa phos which is changed every 2 months or so, arcadia t5 luminair which is on for 9hrs a day, a fluval 305 externel which contains kent marine activated carbon and some filter wool cleaned thoroughly monthly, 10% water changes are done fortnightly with ro/di water (filters are changed 6 monthly) using aqua-medic reef salt, feeding is 1/2 - 1 small block of frozen food daily, my parameters are ammonia 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, salinity 1023sg, temp 25-26c, nitrate less than 10ppm, phosphates 0ppm, ph 8.0ppm, i have 4 x maxijet mp1200's on a wave maker for water circulation, i have 18 turbo snails, 2 cleaner shrimps, 15 red leg hermits, 10 blue leg hermits an urchin, 2 clowns, an orchid dotty back, regal tang and a cleaner wrasse please help you are my last hope as i am in 2 minds whether to change back to tropicals its a lot less hassle.
 
Well...if you want to look in to chemicals there's a product Called Chemi-clean. took out teh red in 2 days in the Commercial tank I took care of.
 
Yes but you aren't getting to the cause of the problem you are just covering it up, could anyone give me an idea to why this is happening one comment i heard the other day is that some people don't like t5's as they can cause algae if this is true or not i don't know but has anyone been in a similar situation to me and changed to halides and their algae problem cleared up, please anyone. i know marines can be a chalange but this is taking the #&@~
 
It's not your lights.

I'd remove the Fluval from the system entirely for the time being. Filter floss that is not CHANGED weekly will quickly built up nitrates and phosphates.

27 kg of live rock in a 48 gallon is quite a bit. How do you have it arranged? Probably stacked in a "rock wall"? If so, I would remove some. Not a lot, but enough to facilitate better water flow throughout the tank.

Speaking of the rocks, have you ever cleaned them by blasting with a turkey baster of something similar during water changes? You should, an incredible amount of detritus gets caught in there. This cause phosphate. I realize that your phospate readings are nil, but that's phosphate in the WATER. Phosphate can exist trapped in the live rock causing the cyano (red slime) and it won't show up in any water test. The slime is on the rock work and not the water is it not?

Cut back on your feeding to every other day. Also, I hope your not simply dropping the block of frozen food directly into the tank. The juice that's released won't be feeding anything except the algae. Thaw and rinse prior to feeding.

Where are you keeping the Rowa? Ferric oxide-based phosphate absorbers often have reduced effectiveness if there's not enough flow passing through. Occassionally, they'll even solidify into a solid clump. Look into purchasing a phosphate reactor for the Rowa. They're not too expensive and only require a small powerhead to operate.

Look into repositioning the Maxijets, again for better flow. Cyano is often caused by poor flow in the tank resulting in phosphate buildup.

What kind and how much substrate are you using? I hope it's not crushed coral.

Your fish load is getting pretty maxed out. All those fish (esp. the tang) create a lot of poop. A lot of poop leads to more phosphates. More phosphates = cyano.
 
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Thankyou for your informative and interesting reply you give me hope yet now to answer some of your questions my substrate is very small cream coloured gravel i think its called coral sand (well thats what i purchased it as) if that helps, my rowa phos is placed in the deltec skimmer in the sock which comes with it actually in the deltec manual it states that the chamber is for bio media, rowa phos or activated carbon my skimmer is this one in case you are wondering http://www.deltecaquariumsolutions.com/skimmers_2.php. I don't drop the frozen block in i thaw it out first but never thought of washing it first i'll try that, My rock work isn't packed tightley it has plenty of paths and tunnels but it is possible that in places their is very little water flow, how much live rock should i have to effectively filter my tank? all my fish are juveniles my tang is only about 2inches max and hopefully by the time he reaches adulthood i will have a bigger tank one last question whats wrong with crushed coral as a substrate? My substrate is 1.5inches deep.
 
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Crushed coral (or any coarse substrate) is now frowned upon because it tends to trap detritus. Again, whenever you have trapped detritus it breaks down into nitrates and phosphates, which in turn feed nuisance algae.

The preferred substrate is sand as fine as you would find on a tropical beach. Having snails and various other invertebrates which comb through the sand mixes and aerates it, as well as consuming any detritus preventing nitrate/phosphate build-up. By the way, do you have a "janitorial crew" of snails and crabs, etc. in the tank?

Something else that could help is the addition of macroalgae (i.e. seaweed) such as chaetomorpha. Like any plant, macroalgae sucks in excess nutrients for growth outcompeting and starving nuisance algae.

Finally, I shouldn't have been as dismissive of the lighting as I was initially as lights too far in the yellow/red range of the spectrum contribute to some forms of nuisance algae (but not so much cyano). Change your bulbs annually (as there is a shift towards the red range as bulbs age) and ensure that the ones you purchase are at least 10,000 kelvin in colour temperature.

A last word on Chemi-clean - it is a useful product and effective when used properly. A technique is to use it once strategically while at the same time employing other methods to eliminate the source of the cyano. This two-pronged approach can suppress the cyano more quickly. However, always follow the instructions closely as misuse can be deadly because Chemiclean can drastically reduce the oxygen levels in the water. Having a pump and airstone running is a good idea and I think may even be recommended by the manufacturer.
 
I do have a clean up crew it consists of 18 turbo snails, 15 red leg hermits, 12 blue leg hermits, 2 cleaner shrimps and an urchin and as far as my bulbs go they are only 6 months old should they need changing?
 
As other posters have said it's probably the water flow. If you get a dead area cyano tends to really take over and fast to. There isn't much out there that will eat it either ime.
hth
Chris
 
It is unless you have dead spots in your tank caused by the l.r. or other obstructions. Other wise I'd check my phosphate levels that can cause a cyano bloom as well.
 
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