Red slime

Oceanslayer18 · Feb 4, 2011

Hey ive got a question for the fellow reefers. I ran into red slime in my tank roughly about a month ago, I understand it sometimes is cause as part of the new tank syndrom. I treated my tank along with appropriate water changes and two weeks later I'm seeing it again!! Is there anything else that could be causing this?

m and m · Feb 4, 2011

It sounds like cyno, i would just brush it off and vac it out. You can add more flow do some WC and it should be gone.

nixer · Feb 4, 2011

what are your your water parameters?
how much flow do you have in the tank?
how much light? new bulbs?
how new is the tank?

Wy Renegade · Feb 4, 2011

Oceanslayer18 said:
Hey ive got a question for the fellow reefers. I ran into red slime in my tank roughly about a month ago, I understand it sometimes is cause as part of the new tank syndrom. I treated my tank along with appropriate water changes and two weeks later I'm seeing it again!! Is there anything else that could be causing this?

Red slime is one of several types of nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria that can occure in our tanks. the bacteria uses nitrogen gas from the atmosphere and from the breakdown of organic waste within our tank in order to grow. It is a common occurance during the cycling process and even after cycling, especially in areas of low flow where debris accumulation occurs within the aquarium. As others stated, increasing the flow in those areas of occurance, vaccuming, and reducing the introduction of nutrients are all ways to combat the bacteria. Extreme caution is advised when treating with chemicals, as the use of some chemicals has been know to cause tank crashes.

Oceanslayer18 · Feb 4, 2011

im getting my levels checked today and i actually got the red slime after i added new powerheads to increase flow strangely enough lol. I have debated wether i have to much yellow in my lights. Im running three antics, one purple bulb and two wightbulbs im not sure what the range is on the white. but i think there to dull.

m and m · Feb 4, 2011

How old are the bulbs you are using? Also is there flow in the spots you are getting the cyno?

Henry C · Feb 4, 2011

Cyano is a bacteria and is usually associated with higher phosphatae levels than your system can handle. When you get your parameters checked have your phosphate levels checked to.

aalvarado87 · Feb 4, 2011

thats what i was thinking i that your phosphate have probably krept up on you. where are you getting your water from? You might want to look into running some gfo or some other kind of phosphate absorber. I was having a recent algae problem in my 100 it was really annoying as i had never had any algae problems i then added gfo and am quickly seeing the algae go away.

Sasquatch · Feb 4, 2011

forget the tests they are useless, cyano will use up available nutrient and as stated by renegade create its own supply, are these T5 ho bulbs or just normal output bulbs? Get a turkey baster and clean your rocks off every couple of days and especially when you do a water change, LR sheds and will accumulate in the tank you have to export the crap out of the tank, what rots...feeds So the other advise applies, check flow, siphon daily, water changes and reduce lighting period

Oceanslayer18 · Feb 4, 2011

there t5 bulbs i went and checked my levels today and they said everything was peferct but my ph was 8.0 instead of 8.3 no biggie. but other than that i know im not over feeding cause i practically hand feed. so im going to adress the flow issue and the lights and see what happens.

Sasquatch · Feb 4, 2011

Oceanslayer18 said:
there t5 bulbs i went and checked my levels today and they said everything was peferct but my ph was 8.0 instead of 8.3 no biggie. but other than that i know im not over feeding cause i practically hand feed. so im going to adress the flow issue and the lights and see what happens.

that would be an incorrect ph reading anyway, just storing the water to the LFS would change it and next test time ask them to write down the readings "perfect" is subject to question.
T5s are not the problem that normal bulbs are the par is pretty equal throughout the colors available, possibly flow more likely nutrient excess

raymond · Feb 5, 2011

that red slime stuff is crazy, i bought a 2 little fishes phos pan reacter and havent seen the stuf sence

skinz78 · Feb 5, 2011

What is your total flow in your tank? Do you make your own RO/DI? If so how old are your filters?

Michael7979 · Feb 5, 2011

All the information and questions asked above are things that you need to look into.
Cyanobacteria is a PITA but it is fixable. Remember that you need to find the reason why there is an accumilation of waste and fix that.

Oceanslayer18 · Feb 5, 2011

skinz78 said:
What is your total flow in your tank? Do you make your own RO/DI? If so how old are your filters?

no i currently purchase water from the my local aquarium store because i havent invested in my own unit yet. and i have two korilla number 2's and a mag 7 return pump in my tank. Im just going off what ive been told on the readings lol ill have them right it down next time.