[ladydragon55]

OK, my tank was doing pretty good until last week. All of a sudden the bottom of the tank and one piece, yes just one, of live rock are covered in this red slimy algae. I read all I could on here and I purchased a VERY LARGE Sea Hare! This think is about 3 inches long and just as rotund! As fast as he can eat and poop where he ate yesterday is covered again. It makes my tank look awful. My blue light comes on for a hour in the morning, then my white lights come on for 8 hours, then my blue lights stay on for another hour, then the moonlights for the night. I have a large picture window that gives one end a lot of natural light. I read on here somewhere to cut off all natural light and it should help. Kept it closed for 4 days and no change. I have vacuumed off the bottom and still no help. Any ideas would be GREAT!!! Help would be wonderful! The tests are perfect according to the LFS, and all corals, fish, etc. are fine.
thank you

[kh6sat]

I had the same problem. Every week I would be trying to clean the stuff out. I finally used a product called Ultralife Red Slime Remover. It was gone in 3 days. After about 10
days, I dosed it one more time and haven't had a problem since. The thing to be aware of is that the skimmer will start bubbling over heavily. I actually left the skimmer off for
a couple days to let the slime remover do its job. Aloha, Rick

[Six-line Wrasse]

Cyanobacteria can colonize if your water quality is poor (high DOS, silicates, or phosphates), poor flow reaching that specific area and excessive natural sunlight.

I would just increase flow over that area if at all possible. It's a "quick" fix but one that is beneficial anyways since most tanks are only 10x to 15x turnover anyways and could use extra flow.

[jimw369]

I have one spot in my tank that seems to get the red slime(not bad). It comes and goes every few days. I have increased the circulation to that spot so it shows up and then disappears but only this one spot in my tank. Im wondering. My tank is almost 2 mos old and while it was cycling this particular area always had more die off accumulate there. I kept cleaning it up but by no means did I get it all. Now that the tank is cycled could it be that this area has more umm...organics in it then the rest of the tank. Excuse me Im not a smart guy yet, but kinda more fertile there in that spot so the red stuff grows good in that particular area? When it goes away it collects on the power head sponge filters and I then rinse them out. Is this OK?

[glampka]

Red Slime Remover is a band aid to the problem - you still need to address the real cause. As Six-Line says - high phosphates, etc as the sause. Don't overfeed, get water movement in the area & check water parameters. You can siphon the stuff out. The active ingredient that kills the cyano is erythromycin which is found in Maracyn & a lot cheaper than Red Slime Remover.

[Six-line Wrasse]

Originally Posted by jimw369

I have one spot in my tank that seems to get the red slime(not bad). It comes and goes every few days. I have increased the circulation to that spot so it shows up and then disappears but only this one spot in my tank. Im wondering. My tank is almost 2 mos old and while it was cycling this particular area always had more die off accumulate there. I kept cleaning it up but by no means did I get it all. Now that the tank is cycled could it be that this area has more umm...organics in it then the rest of the tank. Excuse me Im not a smart guy yet, but kinda more fertile there in that spot so the red stuff grows good in that particular area? When it goes away it collects on the power head sponge filters and I then rinse them out. Is this OK?

Your analogy using fertile vs. non-fertile is almost spot-on for all intended purposed. Also, always clean your filter media. Weekly maintenance can prevent little problems from being big ones.

[ladydragon55]

Originally Posted by Six-line Wrasse

Your analogy using fertile vs. non-fertile is almost spot-on for all intended purposed. Also, always clean your filter media. Weekly maintenance can prevent little problems from being big ones.

OK, I have a wet dry system built into the tank on the back. So I need to clean the plastic strings that are back there weekly? LFS said not to worry about it for a year? See now why I am so confused about things. Also we just worked out that between the two power heads that we purchased, sold to us by LFS, that we have about 500 gph cycling through. So we are at 1/2 what you guys are saying we need. After reading all your very helpful posts I went and looked at things closely. The one single rock it is on is surrounded by other rocks so it gets no flow by it. Both heads are at the top of the tank and there is very little movement on the bottom.

So today I will do the following...
1. Go to LFS and buy another bigger power head
2. Purchase some chemical for getting rid of this layer of red goo
3. Buy something to feed this HUGE sea hare (but keep him just in case, plus I kind of like the ugly thing).

Thank you all for your help. The adivce on the emerald crabs for the green bubble algae was perfect. It took 10 crabs but it is all gone. The turbo snails are kicking most of the algae on the rocks down. So thanks again!

[rlcline76]

I have a RIO pump/powerhead, in addition to another powerhead. I have it placed about mid tank. I have had the same problem you have. I have a pictyre window, too and it doesn't help, but I cannot move it! I think the circulation is helping out a lot. I am not seeing as much excitement. Also, watch your phosphates. I just started using phosguard, and it has brought down my phosphates significantly!
I have used chemiclean for the cyano. It worked OK the first time, not so well the 2nd time around. You might want to try the maracyn and see how that works. But definitely make sure you increase the circ and get your water where you need it!

Becky

[ladydragon55]

Originally Posted by rlcline76

I have a RIO pump/powerhead, in addition to another powerhead. I have it placed about mid tank. I have had the same problem you have. I have a pictyre window, too and it doesn't help, but I cannot move it! I think the circulation is helping out a lot. I am not seeing as much excitement. Also, watch your phosphates. I just started using phosguard, and it has brought down my phosphates significantly!
I have used chemiclean for the cyano. It worked OK the first time, not so well the 2nd time around. You might want to try the maracyn and see how that works. But definitely make sure you increase the circ and get your water where you need it!

Becky

Thank you for understanding the picture window problem. We are keeping the curtains closed as much as possible, but we need some light. Now how do you check for phosphates? I have the strip kit and check for the standards. So I should look for a kit today to check for that. Also hubby and I were just talking and we are going to look into having a UV sheeting put on the window. It will help the tank, and keep the house cooler! I will get some of the phosquard today also. I will take in a water test to see how it looks. You are very helpful. I can't thank all of you enough!@!!

[rlcline76]

Strip kits stink, I am using salifert. You may also want to get tests for nitrates and silicates...definitely nitrates, though. (I find that the good test kits are easier found online) I think one of our senior members (Krazy K) likes Sera. I looked it up online, for $90 you get a combo of all the major tests. Considering that many of the tests cost somewhere between $14-$20 a piece, $90 doesn't look too bad. I know it seems expensive, but dead fish from poor water quality can be expensive, too. I am guessing that you are using RO/DI water. What are you using for substrate? Sand? Crushed Coral?

[ladydragon55]

Originally Posted by rlcline76

Strip kits stink, I am using salifert. You may also want to get tests for nitrates and silicates...definitely nitrates, though. (I find that the good test kits are easier found online) I think one of our senior members (Krazy K) likes Sera. I looked it up online, for $90 you get a combo of all the major tests. Considering that many of the tests cost somewhere between $14-$20 a piece, $90 doesn't look too bad. I know it seems expensive, but dead fish from poor water quality can be expensive, too. I am guessing that you are using RO/DI water. What are you using for substrate? Sand? Crushed Coral?

OK, came home with a 620 GPH RIO to add to the other two that I have for a total of 1020 GPH! Also came home with a REAL test kit for Nitrates and Phosphates. Just ran the test and both came out 0, nada, nilch, nothing! They tested it there and said it was fine also! I bought the red slime remover, but they said once I use it I have to do a 20% water change and then use it again to make sure I got it all. I hope this does the trick! While there I puchased a real good book on corals, sponges, etc. so I can read up and see where they need to go in the reef with lighting and all that. So off I go to clean it all up! And I will ask Krazy K about the test sets. Years ago I had them and I liked them so much more than the strips, but the LFS said I was to new to the hobby to try them. Oh well!
thanks again!!!!

[rlcline76]

Originally Posted by ladydragon55

OK, came home with a 620 GPH RIO to add to the other two that I have for a total of 1020 GPH! Also came home with a REAL test kit for Nitrates and Phosphates. Just ran the test and both came out 0, nada, nilch, nothing! They tested it there and said it was fine also! I bought the red slime remover, but they said once I use it I have to do a 20% water change and then use it again to make sure I got it all. I hope this does the trick! While there I puchased a real good book on corals, sponges, etc. so I can read up and see where they need to go in the reef with lighting and all that. So off I go to clean it all up! And I will ask Krazy K about the test sets. Years ago I had them and I liked them so much more than the strips, but the LFS said I was to new to the hobby to try them. Oh well!
thanks again!!!!

So we need PhDs in chemistry to use something other than strip tests? Then I am lacking. I took chemistry in college, but my degrees are in history. My personal understanding was that I was not advised to consume the chemicals or put them on my skin. Great, I'll put 'chemist' on my long list of things I need. Sorry, it is nothing against you, plenty against your LFS guy!

So what test kit brand did you get?

Make sure that you are prepared within the 72 hours following the chemical application to change your filter.

Becky

[Six-line Wrasse]

To answer a previous question: Yes, weekly cleanings of your wet-dry filter will improve the quality of your water. The longer you let detritus sit, the more likely your water quality will become poor.

So, what size tank do you have? 100 gal.?