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- Thread starter Aquarist007
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Aquarist007
New member
You have a very good point. When I first planned it out roughly I thought it would get more discussion here then in the new to the reef forum.
Why do you feel it would be more benifical in the new to the reef forum?
Aquarist007
New member
Wow--I am flattered
thanks
skeeter-doc
In Memoriam
great informative thread, subscribed!
Aquarist007
New member
skeeter--doc do you think this thread is in the right place or should be be in the new to the reef forum?
camlov2
Premium Member
I consider myself new but I check both places. I personally see a large amount of crossover between the two forums. Either place is great.
on another note...
I think we need to have a new contest (or recognition), tank of the month is great but they need to start a member of the month. It seems there are a handful of members that are always there to answer questions and start useful threads. I just wanted to say thanks to those that have been helpful to me, (some I haven't talked to 1 on 1 but have still learned a lot from their posts)
AZDesertRat-ro/di
capn_hylinur-general info
The Grim Reefer-T5
Sk8r-general info
Melev-sumps
and many more...
on another note...
I think we need to have a new contest (or recognition), tank of the month is great but they need to start a member of the month. It seems there are a handful of members that are always there to answer questions and start useful threads. I just wanted to say thanks to those that have been helpful to me, (some I haven't talked to 1 on 1 but have still learned a lot from their posts)
AZDesertRat-ro/di
capn_hylinur-general info
The Grim Reefer-T5
Sk8r-general info
Melev-sumps
and many more...
skeeter-doc
In Memoriam
I think it should be here, and made a sticky. I think that because this info is best for reefing noobs and pro's alike. No one can remember everything and this is a great place to start a search for some great info. Thanks to you cap'n it has now been made much easier to find what you may be looking for!
martinphillip03
New member
I concur!
Marty
Marty
Aquarist007
New member
thanks for all the positives guys and the advice---I base my decisions heavily on the opinions of ours here 
check out this thread for an ich update---especially the comments by greenbean
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1426833
check out this thread for an ich update---especially the comments by greenbean
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1426833
Aquarist007
New member
What are the benefits of sumps
Melve states it very well on his website:
"Increased total water volume - This dilutes your water of accumulating pollutants, and helps avoid issues that occur quickly in sumpless tanks.
Skims the surface - No more surface scum, just crystal clear water.
Lowers temperature - I've observed a 2° F drop after the sump is installed.
Hides equipment - Heaters, protein skimmers, monitoring probes, grounding probes and more can be moved to the sump & out of the display tank.
Consistent water level - The display tank will maintain the same water level all the times; evaporation occurs in the sump over time (see auto top-off).
Safe place to pour in additives - Adding chemicals or new (Reverse Osmosis De-Ionized) water in the sump allows it to mix before entering the display tank.
Increased circulation - The return water from the sump is yet another way to move water in your tank. You can point the return outlet(s) in different directions to create flow, instead of putting more powerheads in your display tank!
Increased oxygenation - As water drains into your sump, air mixes in the water, allowing beneficial gas exchange, releasing CO2 and adding fresh O2."
and also has an excellent diagram of how a sump works:
You have to visit www.Melevsreef.com for a ton of ideas, pictures and advice
Here is his index of the many topics dealing with setting up sumps
Sump\Refugiums & Acrylic Work
Sump Info & DIY instructions
How a sump works!
Determine your exact needs
DIY simple sump & refugium
DIY overflow box/weir
How to start your overflow box
Working with acrylics - Routing
How to cut teeth in baffles
Tools I use to build sumps
Custom Sump with construction tips
DIY - how to make a sump's top flange
DIY - install a sump in an existing setup
DIY - make a sump with a glass tank
Setting up my first sump - by trial and error
Sumps to fit a variety of setups
Sump - Model A
Sump - Model B
Sump - Model C
Sump - Model D
Sump - Model E
Sump - Model F
Sump - Model G
Sump - Model G Modified
Sump - Model H
Sump - Model I
Sump - Model J
Sump - Model K
Sump - Model L
Sump - Model M
23 gal sump
52 gal sump
58 gal sump
80 gal sump
115g sump
Cube sump
Triple Sump
Side Sump
DAS sump
Other Acrylic Projects
Top-Down Photo Box
Darren's DIY Calcium Reactor
Cool your tank with fan trays
Cooling your reef with fan holders
A Nano tank with a false back
My 2 gallon Pico tank
http://www.melevsreef.com/links.html
Intesting RC sites about sumps and refugiums
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1317806&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1207565
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1349443
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=462212&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
Melve states it very well on his website:
"Increased total water volume - This dilutes your water of accumulating pollutants, and helps avoid issues that occur quickly in sumpless tanks.
Skims the surface - No more surface scum, just crystal clear water.
Lowers temperature - I've observed a 2° F drop after the sump is installed.
Hides equipment - Heaters, protein skimmers, monitoring probes, grounding probes and more can be moved to the sump & out of the display tank.
Consistent water level - The display tank will maintain the same water level all the times; evaporation occurs in the sump over time (see auto top-off).
Safe place to pour in additives - Adding chemicals or new (Reverse Osmosis De-Ionized) water in the sump allows it to mix before entering the display tank.
Increased circulation - The return water from the sump is yet another way to move water in your tank. You can point the return outlet(s) in different directions to create flow, instead of putting more powerheads in your display tank!
Increased oxygenation - As water drains into your sump, air mixes in the water, allowing beneficial gas exchange, releasing CO2 and adding fresh O2."
and also has an excellent diagram of how a sump works:
You have to visit www.Melevsreef.com for a ton of ideas, pictures and advice
Here is his index of the many topics dealing with setting up sumps
Sump\Refugiums & Acrylic Work
Sump Info & DIY instructions
How a sump works!
Determine your exact needs
DIY simple sump & refugium
DIY overflow box/weir
How to start your overflow box
Working with acrylics - Routing
How to cut teeth in baffles
Tools I use to build sumps
Custom Sump with construction tips
DIY - how to make a sump's top flange
DIY - install a sump in an existing setup
DIY - make a sump with a glass tank
Setting up my first sump - by trial and error
Sumps to fit a variety of setups
Sump - Model A
Sump - Model B
Sump - Model C
Sump - Model D
Sump - Model E
Sump - Model F
Sump - Model G
Sump - Model G Modified
Sump - Model H
Sump - Model I
Sump - Model J
Sump - Model K
Sump - Model L
Sump - Model M
23 gal sump
52 gal sump
58 gal sump
80 gal sump
115g sump
Cube sump
Triple Sump
Side Sump
DAS sump
Other Acrylic Projects
Top-Down Photo Box
Darren's DIY Calcium Reactor
Cool your tank with fan trays
Cooling your reef with fan holders
A Nano tank with a false back
My 2 gallon Pico tank
http://www.melevsreef.com/links.html
Intesting RC sites about sumps and refugiums
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1317806&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1207565
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1349443
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=462212&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
Aquarist007
New member
Capn's collection of shock and awe against algae
Most of the time algae is the symptom of the problem, not the problem itself.
Algae needs three things for the process of photosythesis to occur--carbon dioxide, light and food. If we could completely remove one of these elements it would not be able to survive.
Unfortunately in our reef tanks it is difficult to remove light and carbon dioxide completely but we can sereverly limit its food, mainly nitrates and phosphates.
If you have an algae problem then it should be approached in a way that limits the nitrates and phosphates in your water column
This is a combination of steps and practises rather then one magic bullet that will kill off all the algae in your tank.
Here is a list of practises that have been mentioned through a great number of posts that I have been proactive in and hopefully if they are together they might help
1. Feeding techniques----always feed less at one time but feed more often if the species of fish requires it. My fish always look hungry and so does my dog--they learn how to scam us humans very quickly.
Rinse off frozen prepared foods like brine shrimp and mysis shrimp. Quite often they contain phosphates and nitrates from die off in their holding tanks.
2. Flow rates and directions of flow can make a big difference
A rate that is quoted here quite often is that you should have between 20-40 times your tank volume in gph if your tank is mostly lps and even greater if mainly sps corals. There are still some expections with lps corals--you need to be on top of the husbandry requirements for each coral you have and place them accordingly.
Organic laden water slowly rises from the bottom of the tank to the top where it is skimmed off by various methods such as an overflow. Skimmed water is usually sent back to lower levels of the tank from the skimmer or sump via various ways such as loc lines.
In practical words this means that in the tank your flow should be directed to always enhance the above natural flow in the tank.
It should for a circle or semi circle and be pushed down, across the substrate up to the surface--across the surface--churning it up and towards the overflow
3.flow rates in the sump
The perfered answer for this question is between 5-10 times the total volume of your water column.
More importantly it should match the flow rate of your skimmer.
Otherwise unskimmed organic laden water is returned to the lower levels of the tank where it has to slowly make its way to the top like I desribed in the above flow senerio. This gives algae a second chance to have another lunch
This is also where flow rates and directions in the tank also help in this particular situation by getting the water back up to the top and out the overflow faster again.
Flow rates both in the sump and the tank are very important in the filtering process
4.Method of cleaning or tank maintenance
water changes---Randy has written in one of his articles that the ideal water change to remove nitrates is 30 per cent once of month
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php
other reefers have stated that immediate or every two week 20 percent water changes will reduce phosphates and ammonia quickly.
cleaning the rockwork and substrate--once a week take a turkey baster and lightly baste the rock and substrate with it. this will get dissolved organics, phosphates and nitrates back into the water column where they can be filtered off instead of collecting and adding to the algae smorgasboard. Once again flow is very important in this also.
change your protein skimmer cup every other day
if running a filter sock change it everyother day---soak it in bleach and run it through a wash cycle with no soap. Let them dry in the air and the clorine will evaporate
5. tweaking equipment. Try not to run bioballs in filters. Replace them and all filter media with nothing!
The best use of a canister filter is to run straight carbon in it.
take skimmer pumps apart once a month and clean out the air venturis--make sure you have lots of air being combined to give a good foam column. This helps reduce organics but it also helps displace carbon dioxide with oxygen and keep your pH stable.
Once you have your levels of phosphates and nitrates in check then you may want to consider
1. running carbon and phospban in phosban reactors. the advantage to these is the water is forced through the entire media and can't take the easy way around the outside as when the media is put in a bag. Carbon can adsorb some phosphates and nitrates and the carbon is used by active bacteria in the tank
2. setting up a refugium with chaeto algae. You will need a good size refugium 20-30 gals and about 2-3 months of intensive cheato grow for it to make a noticeble difference on phosphates and nitrates. and the other advantage of a refugium is you get a larger and more variety of copopods, other inverts and good bacteria for the water column
There are many examples on this thread:
Refugiums the good bad and the ugly
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1349443
3. finding critters that eat algae. I leave this till the last because it is a problematic solution to algae. the critters don't always do what they are suppose to do. Putting some inverts in to eat a particular algae is great at the start but what do they feed on after they have eaten their specific food source.
4. another method that is cropping up alot more now is the use of magnesium. Magnesium should be at 1300ppm in a reef tank to support a level over 400ppm of calcium. some reefers have reported great success with cranking the level of magnesium to 1600 pppm for two weeks. the aglae dies off and none have reported any death to corals, inverts or fish.
This is discussed in detail on this thread:
A solution to Bryopsis
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1113109
Excellent threads on fighting alage
Phosphate starvation
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1383158
should I add a phosphate reactor
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1427524&highlight=phosban
how to remove phosphates
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1426499&highlight=phosban
Most of the time algae is the symptom of the problem, not the problem itself.
Algae needs three things for the process of photosythesis to occur--carbon dioxide, light and food. If we could completely remove one of these elements it would not be able to survive.
Unfortunately in our reef tanks it is difficult to remove light and carbon dioxide completely but we can sereverly limit its food, mainly nitrates and phosphates.
If you have an algae problem then it should be approached in a way that limits the nitrates and phosphates in your water column
This is a combination of steps and practises rather then one magic bullet that will kill off all the algae in your tank.
Here is a list of practises that have been mentioned through a great number of posts that I have been proactive in and hopefully if they are together they might help
1. Feeding techniques----always feed less at one time but feed more often if the species of fish requires it. My fish always look hungry and so does my dog--they learn how to scam us humans very quickly.
Rinse off frozen prepared foods like brine shrimp and mysis shrimp. Quite often they contain phosphates and nitrates from die off in their holding tanks.
2. Flow rates and directions of flow can make a big difference
A rate that is quoted here quite often is that you should have between 20-40 times your tank volume in gph if your tank is mostly lps and even greater if mainly sps corals. There are still some expections with lps corals--you need to be on top of the husbandry requirements for each coral you have and place them accordingly.
Organic laden water slowly rises from the bottom of the tank to the top where it is skimmed off by various methods such as an overflow. Skimmed water is usually sent back to lower levels of the tank from the skimmer or sump via various ways such as loc lines.
In practical words this means that in the tank your flow should be directed to always enhance the above natural flow in the tank.
It should for a circle or semi circle and be pushed down, across the substrate up to the surface--across the surface--churning it up and towards the overflow
3.flow rates in the sump
The perfered answer for this question is between 5-10 times the total volume of your water column.
More importantly it should match the flow rate of your skimmer.
Otherwise unskimmed organic laden water is returned to the lower levels of the tank where it has to slowly make its way to the top like I desribed in the above flow senerio. This gives algae a second chance to have another lunch
This is also where flow rates and directions in the tank also help in this particular situation by getting the water back up to the top and out the overflow faster again.
Flow rates both in the sump and the tank are very important in the filtering process
4.Method of cleaning or tank maintenance
water changes---Randy has written in one of his articles that the ideal water change to remove nitrates is 30 per cent once of month
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php
other reefers have stated that immediate or every two week 20 percent water changes will reduce phosphates and ammonia quickly.
cleaning the rockwork and substrate--once a week take a turkey baster and lightly baste the rock and substrate with it. this will get dissolved organics, phosphates and nitrates back into the water column where they can be filtered off instead of collecting and adding to the algae smorgasboard. Once again flow is very important in this also.
change your protein skimmer cup every other day
if running a filter sock change it everyother day---soak it in bleach and run it through a wash cycle with no soap. Let them dry in the air and the clorine will evaporate
5. tweaking equipment. Try not to run bioballs in filters. Replace them and all filter media with nothing!
The best use of a canister filter is to run straight carbon in it.
take skimmer pumps apart once a month and clean out the air venturis--make sure you have lots of air being combined to give a good foam column. This helps reduce organics but it also helps displace carbon dioxide with oxygen and keep your pH stable.
Once you have your levels of phosphates and nitrates in check then you may want to consider
1. running carbon and phospban in phosban reactors. the advantage to these is the water is forced through the entire media and can't take the easy way around the outside as when the media is put in a bag. Carbon can adsorb some phosphates and nitrates and the carbon is used by active bacteria in the tank
2. setting up a refugium with chaeto algae. You will need a good size refugium 20-30 gals and about 2-3 months of intensive cheato grow for it to make a noticeble difference on phosphates and nitrates. and the other advantage of a refugium is you get a larger and more variety of copopods, other inverts and good bacteria for the water column
There are many examples on this thread:
Refugiums the good bad and the ugly
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1349443
3. finding critters that eat algae. I leave this till the last because it is a problematic solution to algae. the critters don't always do what they are suppose to do. Putting some inverts in to eat a particular algae is great at the start but what do they feed on after they have eaten their specific food source.
4. another method that is cropping up alot more now is the use of magnesium. Magnesium should be at 1300ppm in a reef tank to support a level over 400ppm of calcium. some reefers have reported great success with cranking the level of magnesium to 1600 pppm for two weeks. the aglae dies off and none have reported any death to corals, inverts or fish.
This is discussed in detail on this thread:
A solution to Bryopsis
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1113109
Excellent threads on fighting alage
Phosphate starvation
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1383158
should I add a phosphate reactor
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1427524&highlight=phosban
how to remove phosphates
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1426499&highlight=phosban
Schwe
New member
awesome topic!
May I suggest the next one to be household items that can be used in reefing? Often times an empty soda bottle is a much more valuable and entertaining toy than a $20 manufactured one for my dog-- I believe the same thing can be applied to our hobby (ie: turkey baster).
May I suggest the next one to be household items that can be used in reefing? Often times an empty soda bottle is a much more valuable and entertaining toy than a $20 manufactured one for my dog-- I believe the same thing can be applied to our hobby (ie: turkey baster).
Aquarist007
New member
that would be easy---one would just have to post a few pictures of Rae's house today:lol:
Coralfrenzy
New member
Great thread thank you very much
Aquarist007
New member
Most reefers will suggest that cultivating your own phyto is a waste of time
The phyto you end up with over time becomes one or two strains of it because the dominant strains overtake the less dominant strains
Secondly almost all corals eat zooplankton, not phytoplankton. Some clams will filter feed it but even then an adult clam relies on its algae for 94 per cent of its food.
If you have a refugium then its off
use to feed phyto to the copopods in it--they consume the phytoplankton
In that case you are better to buy a good mixture of it like DT phyto supreme--its pretty cost effective if you are only feeding it to the refugium
Aquarist007
New member
thanks right back at you for your positive comment
Aquarist007
New member
Dealing with Cyanobacteria and Red Slime Algae
Cyanobacteria, commonly referred to as slime algae, are a leading cause of destruction in a well-established reef tank. Slime algae often form long cell chains that result in a blanket-like slime that covers everything in the aquarium. Since it reproduces asexually by cell division, it takes over the tank very rapidly. It is usually a dark green to a dark red and starts out as a small dark spot on the bottom of the aquarium or on the rocks.
A slime algae bloom is difficult to get rid of until the core issue or source of the problem is dealt with. If the condition(s) that is causing the algae to form is not fully evaluated and solved, the problem will persist, and the unsightly algae will not fully disappear
Growth Factors
Growth factors include, light, nitrogen-nitrate, dissolved organic carbon, and CO2. All of these factors are basically interchangeable, meaning that one or two factors can be limited, but it won’t stop the algae-bacteria from utilizing the remaining factors, nor will it stun their growth.
Where do the Cyanos come from
Cyanobacteria are complex and not all "that" well understood to be honest. A lot has been written about them, but in terms of aquarium control of such algae there is little conclusive material.
What causes it?
It is caused by excess organics(DOC's) in a system. This can be brought on by excess feeding, overstocking, lack of filtration, infrequent water changing or from the excess nutrients from cycling a new system. Also, because it is photosynthetic, long light cycles encourage growth.
Skimmer not functionning properly or efficiently
Venturi valve needs cleaning
Wooden airstones need changing
Air pimp is not delivering enough air
skimmer is too small for the load in the tank
Bio load is too high
Additives used are adding too much organic material
and so on. These are only a few
How do I get rid of it?
The best way to get to battle cyano would be diligent tank maintenance. A combination of regular water changes, great filtration, not over feeding or over stocking, manual removal and good water flow.
Do not use tap water period. Testing your tap water would be advised. Some tap water contains phosphates and nitrates in which case RO/DI water would be necessary for top offs and salt mixing.
Add more waterflow to your tank. Cyano will thrive in low flow stagnant areas. Flow should be 20-40 times the tank vol in gph
Manual removal will help as well. Siphoning the cyano from your sand/gravel and rocks with airline tubing will help remove bulk amounts of cyano. Be sure to remove any cyano that you wipe from the sides of the tank as well.
Use a turkey baster and lightly baste the substrate and live rock once a week. This will but DOC's back into the water column where they will be filtered off.
Feed less. Just because the fish swim to the top like spoiled dogs begging doesn't mean they need fed every time you walk past the tank.
Commercially prepared foods contain a lot of phosphates as well. A homemade frozen blender mush* is a good alternative frozen food. This is a mix of fresh seafood and vitamins thats not full of preservatives.
If feeding daily, feed small amounts so there isn't a lot of excess food laying around.
If feeding frozen foods, thaw the food in some tank water and drain before feeding. I use a brine shrimp net and rinse frozen mysis ect with it. This removes alot of phosphates
Care should also be taken when feeding inverts/corals. It's easy to overfeed so be wary of adding too much.
Few animals will feed on cyano and only as a last resort for food. Some hermits may pick at it and nerite snails are said to eat it but the only true consumer is strombus sp.
Introducing macros that will compete for the nutrients will help as well. This is usually in the form of a refugium with chaeto macro
Make sure the lighting is adequate and proper. Bulbs with the correct spectrum promote growth of beneficial algae that will inhibit slime algae. (Remember that bulbs can lose their spectrum in as little as six months.)
Shutting down the lights for 3-5 days will irradicate the cyano that is present but if the source of phosphates ect isn't checked then it will come back again quickly
Lastly, there are several chemical products on the market that can be used to control cyano. These can be a mixed blessing. While it may control and/or eliminate your cyanobacteria, these fixes are usually temporary. Cyano being so adaptable, unless you change the conditions in your tank that is causing the problem in the first place, it will often adjust itself to the new chemicals and reappear over time.
Sources
http://www.marinescene.com/FAQ/faq_ridslimealgae.shtm
http://netclub.athiel.com/cyano/cyanos2.htm
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/20/1/Cyanobacteria-AKA-Red-Slime-Algae-/Page1.html
http://www.algone.com/red_slime_algae.php
RC Threads
How do I get rid of red slime alage
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?
s=&threadid=1427057&highlight=cyano
What is cyano
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1427770&highlight=cyano
Difference between cyano and coralline
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1425736&highlight=cyano
Cyano Remover Safe
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1420971&highlight=cyano
Red carpet algae on the sand
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1419640&highlight=cyano
red slime problem
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1417016&highlight=cyano
red slime remover
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1417652&highlight=cyano
Help with cyano
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1415682&highlight=cyano
red slime back to haunt me
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1413005&highlight=cyano
Cyanobacteria, commonly referred to as slime algae, are a leading cause of destruction in a well-established reef tank. Slime algae often form long cell chains that result in a blanket-like slime that covers everything in the aquarium. Since it reproduces asexually by cell division, it takes over the tank very rapidly. It is usually a dark green to a dark red and starts out as a small dark spot on the bottom of the aquarium or on the rocks.
A slime algae bloom is difficult to get rid of until the core issue or source of the problem is dealt with. If the condition(s) that is causing the algae to form is not fully evaluated and solved, the problem will persist, and the unsightly algae will not fully disappear
Growth Factors
Growth factors include, light, nitrogen-nitrate, dissolved organic carbon, and CO2. All of these factors are basically interchangeable, meaning that one or two factors can be limited, but it won’t stop the algae-bacteria from utilizing the remaining factors, nor will it stun their growth.
Where do the Cyanos come from
Cyanobacteria are complex and not all "that" well understood to be honest. A lot has been written about them, but in terms of aquarium control of such algae there is little conclusive material.
What causes it?
It is caused by excess organics(DOC's) in a system. This can be brought on by excess feeding, overstocking, lack of filtration, infrequent water changing or from the excess nutrients from cycling a new system. Also, because it is photosynthetic, long light cycles encourage growth.
Skimmer not functionning properly or efficiently
Venturi valve needs cleaning
Wooden airstones need changing
Air pimp is not delivering enough air
skimmer is too small for the load in the tank
Bio load is too high
Additives used are adding too much organic material
and so on. These are only a few
How do I get rid of it?
The best way to get to battle cyano would be diligent tank maintenance. A combination of regular water changes, great filtration, not over feeding or over stocking, manual removal and good water flow.
Do not use tap water period. Testing your tap water would be advised. Some tap water contains phosphates and nitrates in which case RO/DI water would be necessary for top offs and salt mixing.
Add more waterflow to your tank. Cyano will thrive in low flow stagnant areas. Flow should be 20-40 times the tank vol in gph
Manual removal will help as well. Siphoning the cyano from your sand/gravel and rocks with airline tubing will help remove bulk amounts of cyano. Be sure to remove any cyano that you wipe from the sides of the tank as well.
Use a turkey baster and lightly baste the substrate and live rock once a week. This will but DOC's back into the water column where they will be filtered off.
Feed less. Just because the fish swim to the top like spoiled dogs begging doesn't mean they need fed every time you walk past the tank.
Commercially prepared foods contain a lot of phosphates as well. A homemade frozen blender mush* is a good alternative frozen food. This is a mix of fresh seafood and vitamins thats not full of preservatives.
If feeding daily, feed small amounts so there isn't a lot of excess food laying around.
If feeding frozen foods, thaw the food in some tank water and drain before feeding. I use a brine shrimp net and rinse frozen mysis ect with it. This removes alot of phosphates
Care should also be taken when feeding inverts/corals. It's easy to overfeed so be wary of adding too much.
Few animals will feed on cyano and only as a last resort for food. Some hermits may pick at it and nerite snails are said to eat it but the only true consumer is strombus sp.
Introducing macros that will compete for the nutrients will help as well. This is usually in the form of a refugium with chaeto macro
Make sure the lighting is adequate and proper. Bulbs with the correct spectrum promote growth of beneficial algae that will inhibit slime algae. (Remember that bulbs can lose their spectrum in as little as six months.)
Shutting down the lights for 3-5 days will irradicate the cyano that is present but if the source of phosphates ect isn't checked then it will come back again quickly
Lastly, there are several chemical products on the market that can be used to control cyano. These can be a mixed blessing. While it may control and/or eliminate your cyanobacteria, these fixes are usually temporary. Cyano being so adaptable, unless you change the conditions in your tank that is causing the problem in the first place, it will often adjust itself to the new chemicals and reappear over time.
Sources
http://www.marinescene.com/FAQ/faq_ridslimealgae.shtm
http://netclub.athiel.com/cyano/cyanos2.htm
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/20/1/Cyanobacteria-AKA-Red-Slime-Algae-/Page1.html
http://www.algone.com/red_slime_algae.php
RC Threads
How do I get rid of red slime alage
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?
s=&threadid=1427057&highlight=cyano
What is cyano
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1427770&highlight=cyano
Difference between cyano and coralline
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1425736&highlight=cyano
Cyano Remover Safe
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1420971&highlight=cyano
Red carpet algae on the sand
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1419640&highlight=cyano
red slime problem
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1417016&highlight=cyano
red slime remover
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1417652&highlight=cyano
Help with cyano
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1415682&highlight=cyano
red slime back to haunt me
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1413005&highlight=cyano
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