Have a green slippery looking sheet over a lot of my live rock, recommendations

treminga · 07/19/2007, 01:54 PM

I have a very small bio load on my tank...
It is a 72 gallon bow front w/ maybe 75-100lbs of live rock. I will admit i am not all that great about water changes since the tank is now in my office- in the living room it got more attention. There are only 2 shrimp and 1 Royal Gramma fish. A hand full of snails and crabs- maybe 4 of each. I got some meds from the fish store saying the problem was bacterial not algae, they recommended Maracyn as treatment. I did a larger water change and tried to pull out as much of the "junk" as I could with the suction and I refilled with new water. I turned off my skimmer, and mixed the packets into a cup and then added to my take evenly.

Question is does my issue sound bacterial- ie a green sheet that comes off faily easy, looks shiny and smooth and peels off without much effort. Covers a good amount of my live rock, and also the sand at the bottom. Is there a good cleaner crew I could add to the tank during and after this treatment is done, I am sure the sheet will begin to decay and I would like something to be able to eat it. I also turned off my skimmer for the time being to allow the meds to work their magic hopefully, should I start it again later, or keep it off for the duration of the treatment- 5 days long. Also thinking about turning down my lights from 7 hours a day to something like 5.

Thoughts?

GreenSarco · 07/19/2007, 02:01 PM

It sounds like cyano or slime algae, which is a bacteria. I've never heard of using Maracyn to get rid of it. I would recommend a red slime remover which get rid of it but it will come back unless you improve your water quality. I would check the following:

- make sure you have enough water flow (8-9 times your tank volume is what I like)
- check your nitrate and phospahte levels
- add a phosphate remover like phosgard or polyfilter
- make sure your bulbs aren't too old
- keep your skimmer running
- check the levels on your make up water

Travis L. Stevens · 07/19/2007, 02:06 PM

Actually, it sounds more like Dinoflagellates. You can treat it about the same way as Cyanobacteria though. They Dinoflagellates are forming because of excess nutrients. Increase your nutrient export, and decrease your nutrient import. That means upgrade the skimmer, do water changes, prune macro algae, etc and decrease feedings amounts and times, and so on. Turning down the lights will help keep it from forming, but it won't be the end all of it. It can grow with ambient room lighting. Increasing the flow will help keep it from settling, and increasing the size and variety of the cleanup crew will also help keep it under control, but it won't eliminate the problem.

treminga · 07/19/2007, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by GreenSarco
It sounds like cyano or slime algae, which is a bacteria. I've never heard of using Maracyn to get rid of it. I would recommend a red slime remover which get rid of it but it will come back unless you improve your water quality. I would check the following:

- make sure you have enough water flow (8-9 times your tank volume is what I like)
- check your nitrate and phospahte levels
- add a phosphate remover like phosgard or polyfilter
- make sure your bulbs aren't too old
- keep your skimmer running
- check the levels on your make up water

Do you have a recommendation for a red slime remover? Also what does everyone recommend regarding water movement pumps, and I don't want to spend big $$$? Finally should I run my skimmer while dosing with the meds? I will get a poly filter asap and the bulbs were just replaced about 3 months ago.

treminga · 07/19/2007, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Travis L. Stevens
Actually, it sounds more like Dinoflagellates. You can treat it about the same way as Cyanobacteria though. They Dinoflagellates are forming because of excess nutrients. Increase your nutrient export, and decrease your nutrient import. That means upgrade the skimmer, do water changes, prune macro algae, etc and decrease feedings amounts and times, and so on. Turning down the lights will help keep it from forming, but it won't be the end all of it. It can grow with ambient room lighting. Increasing the flow will help keep it from settling, and increasing the size and variety of the cleanup crew will also help keep it under control, but it won't eliminate the problem.

Skimmer should not be an issue, it is a Remora Pro w/Mag 3 pump. I do need to do more water changes. Any recommendations regarding good cleanup crews? Especially if they can be kept if I go to a Fish Only tank?

GreenSarco · 07/22/2007, 03:10 PM

I'm not a big fan of HOB skimmers. I think an in-sump skimmer is much better. It couldn't hurt to do water changes every couple of weeks, but make sure your make-up water is low in nutrients. Also, you just use some powerheads to increase the flow.

I like to use ultralife's red slime remover, but most of them are the same. They all contain eurythromyacin.

treminga · 07/22/2007, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by GreenSarco
I'm not a big fan of HOB skimmers. I think an in-sump skimmer is much better. It couldn't hurt to do water changes every couple of weeks, but make sure your make-up water is low in nutrients. Also, you just use some powerheads to increase the flow.

I like to use ultralife's red slime remover, but most of them are the same. They all contain eurythromyacin.

Problem is that I don't have a sump. Will go forward with water changes, etc.

07/19/2007, 01:54 PM	#1
treminga Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Port Washington, WI Posts: 122	Have a green slippery looking sheet over a lot of my live rock, recommendations I have a very small bio load on my tank... It is a 72 gallon bow front w/ maybe 75-100lbs of live rock. I will admit i am not all that great about water changes since the tank is now in my office- in the living room it got more attention. There are only 2 shrimp and 1 Royal Gramma fish. A hand full of snails and crabs- maybe 4 of each. I got some meds from the fish store saying the problem was bacterial not algae, they recommended Maracyn as treatment. I did a larger water change and tried to pull out as much of the "junk" as I could with the suction and I refilled with new water. I turned off my skimmer, and mixed the packets into a cup and then added to my take evenly. Question is does my issue sound bacterial- ie a green sheet that comes off faily easy, looks shiny and smooth and peels off without much effort. Covers a good amount of my live rock, and also the sand at the bottom. Is there a good cleaner crew I could add to the tank during and after this treatment is done, I am sure the sheet will begin to decay and I would like something to be able to eat it. I also turned off my skimmer for the time being to allow the meds to work their magic hopefully, should I start it again later, or keep it off for the duration of the treatment- 5 days long. Also thinking about turning down my lights from 7 hours a day to something like 5. Thoughts?

07/19/2007, 02:06 PM	#3
Travis L. Stevens Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Perry, OK Posts: 13,946	Actually, it sounds more like Dinoflagellates. You can treat it about the same way as Cyanobacteria though. They Dinoflagellates are forming because of excess nutrients. Increase your nutrient export, and decrease your nutrient import. That means upgrade the skimmer, do water changes, prune macro algae, etc and decrease feedings amounts and times, and so on. Turning down the lights will help keep it from forming, but it won't be the end all of it. It can grow with ambient room lighting. Increasing the flow will help keep it from settling, and increasing the size and variety of the cleanup crew will also help keep it under control, but it won't eliminate the problem. __________________ Travis Stevens Current Tank Info: Restarting 28g Bowfront

07/19/2007, 02:01 PM	#2
GreenSarco Moved On Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: SoCal Posts: 242	It sounds like cyano or slime algae, which is a bacteria. I've never heard of using Maracyn to get rid of it. I would recommend a red slime remover which get rid of it but it will come back unless you improve your water quality. I would check the following: - make sure you have enough water flow (8-9 times your tank volume is what I like) - check your nitrate and phospahte levels - add a phosphate remover like phosgard or polyfilter - make sure your bulbs aren't too old - keep your skimmer running - check the levels on your make up water

07/22/2007, 03:10 PM	#6
GreenSarco Moved On Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: SoCal Posts: 242	I'm not a big fan of HOB skimmers. I think an in-sump skimmer is much better. It couldn't hurt to do water changes every couple of weeks, but make sure your make-up water is low in nutrients. Also, you just use some powerheads to increase the flow. I like to use ultralife's red slime remover, but most of them are the same. They all contain eurythromyacin.