My tank has aquired a red slime algea which i know is bacteria but how do you get rid of it . ive tried syphoning it off the rocks and gravel for it only to come back. Ive got a sump under my tank with cheato in it with the lights on 24/7 will this have an effect on it . do i need to turn off the light for so long or leave it on . if the light goes off it will be pitch black as it is in a closed cupboard. any advise would be most apreciated on how to get rid of it and keep it away thanks
RED SLIME ALGEA
- Thread starter wagger123uk
- Start date
i had the same problem just until a month ago and the solution that worked for me is the initial water quality. i used to buy water from LFS and i guess the LFS did not change the RO filters regularly so that was the prob (high phosphates). recently i switch over to water and ice store and the water quality is perfect. No red slime any more.
the refuge is going to help eat the nutrients so its competing with the cyano.
You mention it is growing on the substrate on rocks.... Siphon off the rocks like you have, siphon off a thin layer of your substrate ..it sounds like there is a detritus build up there feeding it.
Can you provide thorough test results please?
Cyano just needs nitrates and phosphates to feed it...combined with our lighting...and blamo ...hello cyano outbreaks.
I generally advise people to get a phosban reactor and use the media phosban to remove phosphates for you.
Phosphates come from foods ..not just water sources. So having something else to help remove that will go a long way.
Recently I had cyano appear on one rock.... tested phosphates (been ignoring it)....yep they register. My phosban is exhausted so I buy some new phosban....end of it.
Clean up:
Blow off rocks you cant remove...remove rocks you can and rinse them in a bucket of water you siphon out. Siphon your substrate top layer ....change out 25% or more water. This will help get you in the right direction.
Phosphate or nitrate...or both can be your root problems..without tests we don't know. I still believe it's phosphate. Still with a fuge that should be helping a lot. So try the big cleaning first. If it still comes back and makes progress. Come on back and fill us in.
Still test results would be good to share here.... Don't panic you get rid of the source of nutrients (root problem) it goes away.
You mention it is growing on the substrate on rocks.... Siphon off the rocks like you have, siphon off a thin layer of your substrate ..it sounds like there is a detritus build up there feeding it.
Can you provide thorough test results please?
Cyano just needs nitrates and phosphates to feed it...combined with our lighting...and blamo ...hello cyano outbreaks.
I generally advise people to get a phosban reactor and use the media phosban to remove phosphates for you.
Phosphates come from foods ..not just water sources. So having something else to help remove that will go a long way.
Recently I had cyano appear on one rock.... tested phosphates (been ignoring it)....yep they register. My phosban is exhausted so I buy some new phosban....end of it.
Clean up:
Blow off rocks you cant remove...remove rocks you can and rinse them in a bucket of water you siphon out. Siphon your substrate top layer ....change out 25% or more water. This will help get you in the right direction.
Phosphate or nitrate...or both can be your root problems..without tests we don't know. I still believe it's phosphate. Still with a fuge that should be helping a lot. So try the big cleaning first. If it still comes back and makes progress. Come on back and fill us in.
Still test results would be good to share here.... Don't panic you get rid of the source of nutrients (root problem) it goes away.
thanks for your help i am doing a full check on phosphates etc tomorrow morning and ill post them to let u know and also il list all my equipment etc. thanks again till the morning
Iv had the red tide in my tank also. I found that a few days with the lights of, aswell as plenty of water changes made all the differance.
I turned of the lights , and covered the tank with a blanket, to put the tank in compleat darkness. when we took the blankets away, there was a huge differance in the dinoflagalett (wrong spelling i know) then we did a huge water change, about 60%, and reduced the lighting to about half for a little over a week, and i was on top of it. I also found that an old soft tooth brush, well washed. was a great way to get it of my live rock, followed by a good gravel vac.......
all the best hope you get on top of it.
I turned of the lights , and covered the tank with a blanket, to put the tank in compleat darkness. when we took the blankets away, there was a huge differance in the dinoflagalett (wrong spelling i know) then we did a huge water change, about 60%, and reduced the lighting to about half for a little over a week, and i was on top of it. I also found that an old soft tooth brush, well washed. was a great way to get it of my live rock, followed by a good gravel vac.......
all the best hope you get on top of it.
ToeJam is spot on in his response. One thing of note is that it is possible to get false nitrate/phosphate readings becuase the cyano is feeding on the nitrates and phosphates. Siphoning as much as you can is the first line of defense. Then change the flow - cyano doesn't like flow (but will not cure it ). Lights out for a couple of days certainly helps and if if that all fails, as a very last resort. Use CHEMICLEAN Red Algae Cleaner.
When you use it to kill the cyano, make sure you add an airstone to your tank to keep the oxygen levels up - turn off the skimmer and any charcoal filtration you have running. After two days you do a 25% water change and then turn your skimmer back on. Carefully, it may go nuts so dial it down so it doesn't overflow and adjust over the next couple of days to get it back to normal. I turned on my charcoal same day I started my skimmer.
I have to say that it worked very well. Can't say enough about the siphoning off of as much as possible.
When you use it to kill the cyano, make sure you add an airstone to your tank to keep the oxygen levels up - turn off the skimmer and any charcoal filtration you have running. After two days you do a 25% water change and then turn your skimmer back on. Carefully, it may go nuts so dial it down so it doesn't overflow and adjust over the next couple of days to get it back to normal. I turned on my charcoal same day I started my skimmer.
I have to say that it worked very well. Can't say enough about the siphoning off of as much as possible.