Red Slime Remover / I Cant Skim

[MaiNpHRaMe]

I followed all directions and dosed my tank with Ultralife's Red Slime Remover. I had the skimmer off for the duration of the dose however I performed a full 100 percent water change within a 3 week period and I still can’t skim. The red slime is completely gone; however, the result of me not being able to skim has left me with green and brown algae. Has anybody ever experienced this in the past? Any tricks that work? I'm running an Aqua Medic Turboflotor skimmer on a 65 gallon tank.

 

[jrp1588]

Yes, I had the same problem using Chemi-clean, a similar product. I couldn't skim for a good month and a half. I did several waterchanges, still didn't work. Skimmer would fill immediately....oddly enough, I also have a turboflotor.

Do you run carbon? I added a bunch of activated carbon to my sump, and about a week later my skimmer was again operational...though that may have just been a coincidence.

 

[MaiNpHRaMe]

I use activated carbon to reduce ammonia but i've been changing it every week.

 

[jrp1588]

your tank has ammonia? Are you fully cycled yet? Either way, sounds like my activated carbon solution was just a fluke then. sorry

 

[MaiNpHRaMe]

yea the levels are really small I guess fish also piss just like us My tank has been up for 2 years so it cycled. It might not be a fluke. What kind of carbon do you use?, I am using that marineland brand.

 

[jrp1588]

i think mine was Aquarium Pharmaceuticals brand

 

[bavass]

what are your Nitrate levels?

 

[MaiNpHRaMe]

what are your Nitrate levels?

20-50 ppm, i know they are up there but keep in mind that i cant skim

 

[bavass]

if you had a algae problem before which is why you used the Ultralife's Red Slime Remover then your nitrates might have been up before. I would do some big water changes, like 40%. I guess if you have a lot in the tank maybe do a lot of little water changes. Just stay on it. My nitrates were over 160+ and i did big water changes although I did not have anything in the tank. My nitrates are down to 5-10ppm. Chemicals are not the answer to nitrate or algae problems they just hide it for a few. I would say you would be ok doing like 30% just make sure your new water mix is as close to what you have in the tank as possible. I was doing them every 3 to 4 days for 3 weeks.

 

[thominil]

Do a 25%-50% pwc to get nitrates down.

 

[jrp1588]

That's not necessarily true. When I had cyano, my nitrates and phosphates were at an undetectable level. I did water changes twice a month, I was doing vodka dosing, proper feeding levels, I have a fuge with chaeto. Nothing I did even bothered the cyano. After using the chemi-clean, I haven't seen it since. I agree, chemicals should be a last resort, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

That being said, waterchanges are certainly in order. Are you using Ro/DI wter?

 

[MaiNpHRaMe]

if you had a algae problem before which is why you used the Ultralife's Red Slime Remover then your nitrates might have been up before.

I used the red slime remover because red slime is a type of bacteria not an algae. The reason why my nitratres are up is because i cant skim at all.

 

[MaiNpHRaMe]

RO/Di water is all i use, i live 3 blocks from vivid aquariums so im lucky for that and water changes is what i've been doing on a regular basis. FYI, I just cleaned my skimmer again last night and it still overflows. I need to skim before i leave on vacation next Tuesday. I can't imagine what i would come home to if i can't.

 

[bavass]

Yes that is true but nitrates and phosphates are still the primary nutrient source for red slime.

 

[MaiNpHRaMe]

PO4 is at 0 but nitrates are hitting at <20ppm ... err i just wanna skimm..........

 

[jrp1588]

I know, it's incredibly frustrating, wish I could be of more help