coming home SLIMED!

yodatwo · 07/20/2008, 05:58 PM

Hey everyone,

I just got back from a month long european trip only to find my aquarium in shambles when i returned. Unfortunately leaving a friend to watch your tank can leave you with a massive mess on your hands... but so it goes with reef tanks.

Beyond the corals that died and a Coral Beauty that is RIP, my tank is now COVERED in red Cyanobacteria. I'm talking all of the sand, a good amount of the live rock, and most of the walls of the tank.

I just did a 15% water change and all of my levels look solid (magnesium is 200 low, but everything else was perfect). Any ideas what could have caused it, and how i can get rid of it? I have two voretchs, so i feel like my water movement should be good. Also, judging by the amount of food my friend used, i really doubt she was over feeding.

Any advice would be massively appreciated. Thanks!

BadRoma1 · 07/20/2008, 06:15 PM

Chemiclean workes great

jab502 · 07/20/2008, 08:50 PM

I had something similar happen to me a couple of years ago. At the time I could not figure out the cause. I could not get rid of the Cyano so I actually dosed my tank with antibiotics that I bought at my local fish store. This will kill the cyano within a day or two but will also kill a lot of the good bacteria. My skimmer went crazy for about 4 days (filled the cup every 30 minutes for a day) but every living thing in my tank survived. I had probably 60 corals (softies, LPS, and SPS) 100 snails, 10 fish, and lots of crabs and starfish. I think this was a bit of an extreme measure and a little dangerous but it worked for me. I don't recall which antibiotic it was or what the dose was but the shop I bought it from was "Seahorse Aquarium Supply" in Portland, OR. I am sure they could tell you.

Toddrtrex · 07/20/2008, 09:39 PM

Odds are that your friend was overfeeding the tank. Do you use RO/DI water? And if so, was there enough for top offs, or did your friend have to use tap?

I personally wouldn't use any slime remover, just increase your water changes, while siphoning out the red slime. Make sure the skimmer is working right.

Basically, if you do what you were doing before you left, it should go away on its own -- though you might have to increase your maintenance a bit.

rlabriola · 07/21/2008, 10:00 AM

stop smoking crack.....water changes are the best way to go..the red slime remover has had more negative effects than positive ones.

GottisEgo · 07/21/2008, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rlabriola
stop smoking crack.....water changes are the best way to go..

Hahahaha!

yodatwo · 07/31/2008, 07:40 PM

ok, so this cyano is KILLING ME! well, not really, but it's driving me insane.

so i've done two 15% water changes in the past two weeks. i also used chemiclean this past Sunday which worked wonders with no bad side effects to the tank.

but even after all of that, it's starting to come back. i have no idea what the problem could be.

my t5's are only 5 months old. i only use ro/di water. skimmer is working great. i'm pretty positive i don't overfeed, and my levels are all spot on. i've syphoned off all the cyano i possibly can on a regular basis, but it's still coming back.

anyone have anymore ideas? has anyone had this happen to them?

thanks!

Toddrtrex · 07/31/2008, 07:45 PM

Two 15% water changes over two weeks, really isn't a lot considering what is going on.

Should step up the frequency of them. With you being gone for a month there is a lot of accumulated organics that will need to be removed.

celano · 07/31/2008, 07:48 PM

You could try the lights out method for 3-4 days in conjuntion with the chemiclean. Since you just dosed it though I'm not sure if its a good idea to do it again so quickly. Maybe just try turning out the lights and see if that helps.

smiamigirl · 07/31/2008, 08:10 PM

I just had a bout of this pain in the A** Red Slime. I used the Chemiclean. As per the aquarium stores advise I did two treatments back to back. That did the trick. I have NOTHING. No side effects to the fish and the slime is gone. There is no signs of it coming back!!! Good luck!!

weaver5 · 07/31/2008, 08:23 PM

More flow. I would add another powerhead or 2 it seems slime does not like alot of flow.Good luck with it and sorry to hear about your bad luck.........Scott

yodatwo · 07/31/2008, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by weaver5
More flow. I would add another powerhead or 2 it seems slime does not like alot of flow.Good luck with it and sorry to hear about your bad luck.........Scott

i have two vortechs running at 50% power each, plus a couple returns from my sump running about 800gph. think that's enough?

07/20/2008, 05:58 PM	#1
yodatwo Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 82	coming home SLIMED! Hey everyone, I just got back from a month long european trip only to find my aquarium in shambles when i returned. Unfortunately leaving a friend to watch your tank can leave you with a massive mess on your hands... but so it goes with reef tanks. Beyond the corals that died and a Coral Beauty that is RIP, my tank is now COVERED in red Cyanobacteria. I'm talking all of the sand, a good amount of the live rock, and most of the walls of the tank. I just did a 15% water change and all of my levels look solid (magnesium is 200 low, but everything else was perfect). Any ideas what could have caused it, and how i can get rid of it? I have two voretchs, so i feel like my water movement should be good. Also, judging by the amount of food my friend used, i really doubt she was over feeding. Any advice would be massively appreciated. Thanks!

07/20/2008, 09:39 PM	#4
Toddrtrex Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 23,162	Odds are that your friend was overfeeding the tank. Do you use RO/DI water? And if so, was there enough for top offs, or did your friend have to use tap? I personally wouldn't use any slime remover, just increase your water changes, while siphoning out the red slime. Make sure the skimmer is working right. Basically, if you do what you were doing before you left, it should go away on its own -- though you might have to increase your maintenance a bit. __________________ Click my name and then "visit toddrtrex's homepage" for tank pictures Current Tank Info: 210g reef and 65g reef

07/21/2008, 10:00 AM	#5
rlabriola Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Dana Point, Ca Posts: 333	stop smoking crack.....water changes are the best way to go..the red slime remover has had more negative effects than positive ones. __________________ -- Doing nothing is always an option-- Current Tank Info: 30 Gallon Tall - 250W 14K Halide, 10G Sump, AC3, Tunze 6055, Tunze 9010, Custom CaRx, BB, SPS

07/31/2008, 07:45 PM	#8
Toddrtrex Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 23,162	Two 15% water changes over two weeks, really isn't a lot considering what is going on. Should step up the frequency of them. With you being gone for a month there is a lot of accumulated organics that will need to be removed. __________________ Click my name and then "visit toddrtrex's homepage" for tank pictures Current Tank Info: 210g reef and 65g reef

07/31/2008, 08:10 PM	#10
smiamigirl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 1	Red Slime I just had a bout of this pain in the A** Red Slime. I used the Chemiclean. As per the aquarium stores advise I did two treatments back to back. That did the trick. I have NOTHING. No side effects to the fish and the slime is gone. There is no signs of it coming back!!! Good luck!! __________________ Keep your fins flapping!! smiamigirl Current Tank Info: 75 Gal. reef tank

07/20/2008, 06:15 PM	#2
BadRoma1 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: N.J. Posts: 119	Chemiclean workes great

07/20/2008, 08:50 PM	#3
jab502 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 157	I had something similar happen to me a couple of years ago. At the time I could not figure out the cause. I could not get rid of the Cyano so I actually dosed my tank with antibiotics that I bought at my local fish store. This will kill the cyano within a day or two but will also kill a lot of the good bacteria. My skimmer went crazy for about 4 days (filled the cup every 30 minutes for a day) but every living thing in my tank survived. I had probably 60 corals (softies, LPS, and SPS) 100 snails, 10 fish, and lots of crabs and starfish. I think this was a bit of an extreme measure and a little dangerous but it worked for me. I don't recall which antibiotic it was or what the dose was but the shop I bought it from was "Seahorse Aquarium Supply" in Portland, OR. I am sure they could tell you.

07/31/2008, 07:40 PM	#7
yodatwo Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 82	ok, so this cyano is KILLING ME! well, not really, but it's driving me insane. so i've done two 15% water changes in the past two weeks. i also used chemiclean this past Sunday which worked wonders with no bad side effects to the tank. but even after all of that, it's starting to come back. i have no idea what the problem could be. my t5's are only 5 months old. i only use ro/di water. skimmer is working great. i'm pretty positive i don't overfeed, and my levels are all spot on. i've syphoned off all the cyano i possibly can on a regular basis, but it's still coming back. anyone have anymore ideas? has anyone had this happen to them? thanks!

07/31/2008, 07:48 PM	#9
celano Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 910	You could try the lights out method for 3-4 days in conjuntion with the chemiclean. Since you just dosed it though I'm not sure if its a good idea to do it again so quickly. Maybe just try turning out the lights and see if that helps.

07/31/2008, 08:23 PM	#11
weaver5 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Batavia Posts: 1,249	More flow. I would add another powerhead or 2 it seems slime does not like alot of flow.Good luck with it and sorry to hear about your bad luck.........Scott