Red Slime

Mr.First · 11/14/2007, 10:33 PM

Hope this is the right forum. Anyone have a cure to get rid of Red Slime , besides syphoning ?

demonsp · 11/14/2007, 11:25 PM

Need more info.
Water source?
How old is the tank?
How much LR?
Whats the substrate?
What is used for flow?
What size tank?
Do you know the water readings?

renisel · 11/15/2007, 12:28 AM

To get rid of the algae you have now, Ultralife Red Slime Remover worked really well the one time I had a big outbreak. But then you still need to figure out why it cropped up in the first place and address the cause(s).

demonsp · 11/15/2007, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by renisel
To get rid of the algae you have now, Ultralife Red Slime Remover worked really well the one time I had a big outbreak. But then you still need to figure out why it cropped up in the first place and address the cause(s).

Slow down, if its controlable without additives your better off and solving the problem can also elimanate the algea. Additives last is the rule.

Billybeau1 · 11/15/2007, 05:10 AM

If you have red slime algae, you probably have high phosphates.

Do you test for PO4 ?

DrBegalke · 11/15/2007, 08:53 AM

first step is to test the water.

Mr.First · 11/15/2007, 09:02 AM

Thank you for all the replies. Seriously apprieciate them. Truth is I am not much of a water tester. The tank is a 70 gallon. Up and running for year and 1/2. Plenty of nice Zoo's and Micromussa/Acan doing very nice. Even a few SPS. About 6 med .size fish. Fuge/sump, ASM3, Vortech/ MH-Actintics. Had the red slime in summer. Tank was running a 80 degrees. Put a fan over the sump. Slime went away. Slime is now back ??
I am starting to up the water changes. I was hoping for someone to tell me the slime comes from temp as now that the heat is on in the house tank is back up around 79. Was going to upgrade the fan.

Aquarist007 · 11/15/2007, 09:51 AM

Using red slime remover should be a last resort---and it is not recommended in tanks that have not been established for 6-12 months. It is a bacteriacide so some of the could bacteria is also hit besides the cyano. It should be also avoided in over stocked tanks for that reason.

that said.......
use only r/0 water

feed more times but with less

rinse all frozen food with r/o water or tank water prior to using--they contain phosphates

run phosban in a phosphate reactor

direct a power head at the cyano

increase the flow through the protein skimmer

turkey baste the area and the rocks to put phosphates etc back into the water column where they can be filtered out

increase the frequency of water changes.

having adressed the phosphate problem-
turn the lights off for 3-5 days--but only after the above methods or as soon as the lights come back on you will have the cyano back

renisel · 11/15/2007, 04:03 PM

I apologize for recommending the red slime remover right off the bat. I was probably too hasty the one time I used it. I'm generally more cautious about what I put in my tank, but that stuff just looked so horrible and I wanted to get rid of it asap. But I also didn't have a very heavily stocked tank and didn't have any delicate inverts to worry about.

Anyway, I'm obviously no expert, but I have read that, under certain conditions, a low pH can lead to conditions more favorable for growth of red slime (I believe it involved the acidic environment freeing up phosphates from otherwise stable compounds). You said it cropped up in the summer when the tank temp rose (high temp-->less dissolved O2-->lower pH) and then came back recently when you had the heat on (heat on-->closed doors and windows-->higher CO2 in the house-->lower pH in the tank), so I'd recommend checking your pH and seeing if there's something you need to correct there.

bertoni · 11/15/2007, 05:04 PM

Moved to New to the Hobby for more views.

Red slime can be eliminated by nutrient control. Most often, the problem is more food going into the tank than the tank can process out. Growing and harvesting a macroalga is one common approach, as is a phosphate reactor. Reducing feeding might be useful, too.

11/14/2007, 10:33 PM	#1
Mr.First Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Nassau County, NY Posts: 128	Red Slime Hope this is the right forum. Anyone have a cure to get rid of Red Slime , besides syphoning ? __________________ BF Current Tank Info: 70 Reef, 30 Gallon Finnex

11/15/2007, 08:53 AM	#6
DrBegalke Go Buckeyes! Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Phoenix area, AZ Posts: 2,599	first step is to test the water. __________________ ~Jason Begalke Current Tank Info: Latest project: JBJ Cubey

11/15/2007, 09:02 AM	#7
Mr.First Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Nassau County, NY Posts: 128	Thank you for all the replies. Seriously apprieciate them. Truth is I am not much of a water tester. The tank is a 70 gallon. Up and running for year and 1/2. Plenty of nice Zoo's and Micromussa/Acan doing very nice. Even a few SPS. About 6 med .size fish. Fuge/sump, ASM3, Vortech/ MH-Actintics. Had the red slime in summer. Tank was running a 80 degrees. Put a fan over the sump. Slime went away. Slime is now back ?? I am starting to up the water changes. I was hoping for someone to tell me the slime comes from temp as now that the heat is on in the house tank is back up around 79. Was going to upgrade the fan. __________________ BF Current Tank Info: 70 Reef, 30 Gallon Finnex

11/15/2007, 09:51 AM	#8
Aquarist007 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hamilton, Canada Posts: 28,240 Blog Entries: 1	Using red slime remover should be a last resort---and it is not recommended in tanks that have not been established for 6-12 months. It is a bacteriacide so some of the could bacteria is also hit besides the cyano. It should be also avoided in over stocked tanks for that reason. that said....... use only r/0 water feed more times but with less rinse all frozen food with r/o water or tank water prior to using--they contain phosphates run phosban in a phosphate reactor direct a power head at the cyano increase the flow through the protein skimmer turkey baste the area and the rocks to put phosphates etc back into the water column where they can be filtered out increase the frequency of water changes. having adressed the phosphate problem- turn the lights off for 3-5 days--but only after the above methods or as soon as the lights come back on you will have the cyano back __________________ I prefer my substrates stirred but not shaken Current Tank Info: 150gal long mixed reef, 90gal sump, 60 gal refugium with 200 lbs live rock

11/15/2007, 05:04 PM	#10
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Moved to New to the Hobby for more views. Red slime can be eliminated by nutrient control. Most often, the problem is more food going into the tank than the tank can process out. Growing and harvesting a macroalga is one common approach, as is a phosphate reactor. Reducing feeding might be useful, too. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

11/14/2007, 11:25 PM	#2
demonsp Moved On Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: el paso tx Posts: 7,634	Need more info. Water source? How old is the tank? How much LR? Whats the substrate? What is used for flow? What size tank? Do you know the water readings?

11/15/2007, 12:28 AM	#3
renisel Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 866	To get rid of the algae you have now, Ultralife Red Slime Remover worked really well the one time I had a big outbreak. But then you still need to figure out why it cropped up in the first place and address the cause(s).

11/15/2007, 05:10 AM	#5
Billybeau1 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Dyer, Indiana Posts: 12,010	If you have red slime algae, you probably have high phosphates. Do you test for PO4 ?

11/15/2007, 04:03 PM	#9
renisel Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 866	I apologize for recommending the red slime remover right off the bat. I was probably too hasty the one time I used it. I'm generally more cautious about what I put in my tank, but that stuff just looked so horrible and I wanted to get rid of it asap. But I also didn't have a very heavily stocked tank and didn't have any delicate inverts to worry about. Anyway, I'm obviously no expert, but I have read that, under certain conditions, a low pH can lead to conditions more favorable for growth of red slime (I believe it involved the acidic environment freeing up phosphates from otherwise stable compounds). You said it cropped up in the summer when the tank temp rose (high temp-->less dissolved O2-->lower pH) and then came back recently when you had the heat on (heat on-->closed doors and windows-->higher CO2 in the house-->lower pH in the tank), so I'd recommend checking your pH and seeing if there's something you need to correct there.