Red slime algae??????

[Lardy]

Hi I'm new to salt water, I bought a second hand tank all set up and looking good for last 3 years, iv had it up and running at mine for nearly 2 months now and have a lot of this red slime algae appearing. Does anyone know how to get rid of it without harming corals and fish?????

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

Looks like cyano bacteria... How is the flow in the tank?

 

[Lardy]

Have 2 power heads both ends of tank facing towards surface opposite sides.







There's pics. I syphoned some out but came back straight away

 

[Reeffanman]

It's going to be a long battle my friend. This is usually an excess of nutrients and or low flow. Maybe grab another powerhead pointed down to where the largest patch of cyano is, and vacuum as much as you can with water changes. You may be battling this for months but as long as you don't overfeed you will be on the right track

 

[ezy33]

For a temporary fix you could use a additive like Chem Clean. The cyano will disappear but will return if the real cause is not corrected. Check your water for phosphates too.

 

[melosu58]

We do have an article about it in our SW articles section.

 

[Lardy]

Thanks all !!!! Is this chem clean ok for fish and coral? Ill try siphoning everyday into a net and re use water. When clean tank looks great but this stuff looks horrid. Ill keep you all posted on how I get on

 

[MINItron]

Try to avoid using chemical agents. They are not good for saltwater tanks. The best bet is good tank hygiene, water flow and watching out for hidden nutrient sources.

I'm battling old tank syndrome in my tank right now. My sand bed has become saturated with nitrates that I just can't get rid of. I'm moving to a new house this weekend, so when the tank move the sand bed in the display tank is going away completely, and an over 50% water change. There will still be a sand bed in my sump, but I can easily change that our in the future if this happens again.

My water that I use for top up and PWC has no nitrates or phosphates, and there has been no accumulation of phosphates in my tank. It can be a long battle.

 

[ezy33]

I use Chemclean sparingly when I need to. I've never had a problem. I do calculate how much to use buy subtracting approximately the volume of live rock in in my system.

Also point your power heads down at it.

 

[Reyjgd]

Thanks all !!!! Is this chem clean ok for fish and coral? Ill try siphoning everyday into a net and re use water. When clean tank looks great but this stuff looks horrid. Ill keep you all posted on how I get on

Sorry to jump in but I highly advide u to syphon all or most of it grabbing it or netting it would break it down and worse things up.... in my case I had to reset the tank cleaning every inch but there are additives for it which would be cheaper add a pretty good amount of flow to the water and try turning the light off more .... I had a lil bit growin I started turning the light off half a day and it went away quicker

 

[Reyjgd]

Also another thing ....sorry do disagree but dont point ur powerhead diretly down at the sand it would just flip things upsidedown try putting both powerheads on one side of the tank and have them looking oposite one looking up and one down towards the middle glass... or play with it ... just make sure that u have a good flow that would hit those dead spots like behind rocks or tank corners ... thats how mine is setup

 

[Budda619]

Do not re use the water. Over feeding leads to un eaten food which leads to high phosphates in the water. Thats what cyano bacteria eats, as well of living off your light. If you dont have photosynthetic coral you can try the 3 day of darkness rule, after siphoning out the majority of the cyano. Replace 30% to 50% the water with ro/di water. Fyi If you top off with tap water that also contains phosphates. I am also battling the cyano and got the majority of it out.

 

[Reyjgd]

Do not re use the water. Over feeding leads to un eaten food which leads to high phosphates in the water. Thats what cyano bacteria eats, as well of living off your light. If you dont have photosynthetic coral you can try the 3 day of darkness rule, after siphoning out the majority of the cyano. Replace 30% to 50% the water with ro/di water. Fyi If you top off with tap water that also contains phosphates. I am also battling the cyano and got the majority of it out.

Couldnt explain it better jaja also nasarious snails and other move the sand around ... something worth looking into

 

[Alexrd09]

Some sand sifting stars may help to clean that up a little or some nassarius snails. You'll need to figure out the cause thow like digested above

 

[Madcrazyroyboy]

Run a reactor with GFO. Best thing I did for my tank, if you have a sump. Use chaeto as well with a light on all the time

 

[Rpbustillo]

If interested I have nassarius snails for sale. All over an inch in aize