Experiences with red slime remover and SPS?

[mcliffy2]

For those that have used it in their SPS tanks, what has been your experience? What brand have you had success with? Despite good colors and all else seeming healthy, I've been battling cyano for about 9 months...I've tried everything...siphoning, carbon dosing, basting it off, etc., and am about ready to just be rid of it, so am looking into the removers.

 

[29reef]

Do not do it. Every tank that I've known to use these products has killed or damaged their tank with it. I think it has something to do with what it does to the water. I would suggest you try adding more water movement to your tank that's what's solved my problems in the past. I also raise alk and mag and those seem to get rid of it.

 

[Dejavu]

I never used red slime remove but i have used Maracyn. It has the same active ingredient: erythromycin, that red remove cyano, but cheaper. While it not my first choice of treatment, I have used it many time without problem.

 

[Rick55555]

Have you experimented with Zeo's Coral Snow mixed with a bit of Zeobak?

It seemed to eliminate a patch of cyano in my 150g sps tank.


Rick

 

[mcliffy2]

Rick55555 -- I have been thinking about that as well...but this is a chronic problem and it blankets the entire sandbed and is on some rock.

29reef -- I'm not sure where you get that...I know several that have used it. SonnyX actually recommends it as well. I've been told that people using it improperly have had an issue, but used properly, I've heard its fairly safe. I don't believe its a nutrient problem as my coral coloration is great (pic of my tank below). I run a fuge, phosphate remover, NP biopellets, have an oversized skimmer. I also have plenty of flow, and short of blasting the sand to where it blows barespots, that hasn't helped.

I'm just looking for people that have used it with SPS and to hear what brand they've had success with.

 

[buy_baff]

I have used it with great sucess multiple times over the years. And never had a problem. The brand I have used was chemi clean.
-Bill

 

[Fibinotchi]

I have sps, and have used chemiclean red slime remover and it works, but if you cant fix what is causing it it will come back.

 

[mcliffy2]

I have sps, and have used chemiclean red slime remover and it works, but if you cant fix what is causing it it will come back.

New studies have shown that cyano can live even in low-nutrient environments (article on this in recent Coral mag). My tank was fine for a year (and my old tank for a year before that), and all the sudden I got cyano about a month after I started vodka dosing...this was the only change I made and I think it may have fueled the cyano. So I'm hoping if I get rid of it, and don't dose, then it will stay gone...like all things in this hobby, its an inexact science.

 

[SanJuan]

New studies have shown that cyano can live even in low-nutrient environments (article on this in recent Coral mag). My tank was fine for a year (and my old tank for a year before that), and all the sudden I got cyano about a month after I started vodka dosing...this was the only change I made and I think it may have fueled the cyano. So I'm hoping if I get rid of it, and don't dose, then it will stay gone...like all things in this hobby, its an inexact science.

I experienced the same thing dosing only vodka, I got cyano and lots of it.
Then I switched to a vodka vinegar mix and it cleaned up cyano 100%, and quickly.

As for the red slime remover, a couple of years back I tried it and it damaged some corals. It caused them to bleach partially, but they did recover. Anyways as already noted, it is only a temporary solution, as the cyano will come back within weeks.

 

[CleveYank]

For those that have used it in their SPS tanks, what has been your experience? What brand have you had success with? Despite good colors and all else seeming healthy, I've been battling cyano for about 9 months...I've tried everything...siphoning, carbon dosing, basting it off, etc., and am about ready to just be rid of it, so am looking into the removers.

More flow, making sure no flake food (phosphate), make sure you are putting good -0- tds or close to it RO/DI water, double check that there are no detritus traps in the system that could use some cleaning and you can use MB7 to counter strain the cyano bacteria.

I have used the red slime remover over the years with no problems. And with a small population of SPS. Now that I have two major setups full of them not so sure since I've seen a bad result from the remover from a local 1st hand who had a total loss after using it.

My guess is that it causes both unbinding of the nutrient stored in the cyano and the rapid death of the cyano would cause a rapid drop in pH with the demise and maybe these factors shock the system and stress the SPS.

 

[AD87]

I wouldnt use it I lost my whole system to it all SPS were wiped out. Dont know the exact cause but I belive it lowered my O2 level.

 

[Dejavu]

New studies have shown that cyano can live even in low-nutrient environments (article on this in recent Coral mag). My tank was fine for a year (and my old tank for a year before that), and all the sudden I got cyano about a month after I started vodka dosing...this was the only change I made and I think it may have fueled the cyano. So I'm hoping if I get rid of it, and don't dose, then it will stay gone...like all things in this hobby, its an inexact science.

Cutting back or stopping dose worked for me. A while back I had a bad case of diatoms and cyano while dose prodibio. My PO4 were below .02 ppm and my color was great.

After thinking about it it totally made since. Even though my nutrients where low, the carbon source that i was dosing was enough to fuel them. It not like these organism are selective feeders. They will feed on the most available source food souce, in this case the carbon I was dosing.

Needless to say I have since stopped carbon dosing altogether.The diatoms and cyano are now gone.

 

[mcliffy2]

Cutting back or stopping dose worked for me. A while back I had a bad case of diatoms and cyano while dose prodibio. My PO4 were below .02 ppm and my color was great.

After thinking about it it totally made since. Even though my nutrients where low, the carbon source that i was dosing was enough to fuel them. It not like these organism are selective feeders. They will feed on the most available source food souce, in this case the carbon I was dosing.

Needless to say I have since stopped carbon dosing altogether.The diatoms and cyano are now gone.

Same thing here...except that its now been 8 months since I stopped dosing and still the cyano. I have siphoned the sump frag tank, sand, blown rocks, checked RO/DI, make my own food (so no added phosphates), etc. Kinda at a point where I need to just get rid of it.

 

[cstires]

I have used the chemi clean red slime remover with no ill effects at all. Just make sure you add some air stones to your tank.

 

[mcliffy2]

sanjuan, cleveyank, and AD87 -- which brand did you use that you had the bad experience with?

 

[CleveYank]

I wouldnt use it I lost my whole system to it all SPS were wiped out. Dont know the exact cause but I belive it lowered my O2 level.

Yep, this is the poor local I was elluding to.

I decided to not name names to protect the guilty...or something like that...

 

[mcliffy2]

Yep, this is the poor local I was elluding to.

I decided to not name names to protect the guilty...or something like that...

Any idea which brand?

 

[kaserpick]

Any idea which brand?

Going to back to the idea of ZEOvit Coral Snow and ZEObak, everytime I read about someone using this, I hear they have great success. Bob swears by it. It just seems safer to me.

On the other hand, I've used Chemi-Clean RSR with great success. As I'm sure you know, you HAVE to follow the instructions. I just don't like that it effects your pH, but I've always thought that insuring your KH is in the proper range would help counteract a pH swing.

IDK, I'd try the Coral Snow and Bak; if it doesn't work, you're stuck with a more bio-diverse bacteria system and good food for corals. Not much to lose.

 

[plyle02]

I have used Blueline, I think Red Slime Remover, skimmer went nutz... I did several water changes and it still took a week before I could resume to normal skimming. mcliffy2, I am wondering about the bacteria destruction using this with zeovit, I am thinking it would not be a good idea, but I also had the same redslime issues with zeovit and other carbon dosing methods. Did you have a live sand bed when beginning zeovit? Just what I personally attributed to cyano, and what the zeo mods also diagnosed. I tried zeozym, cs, and upped my bak with no luck, I wish you the best with this, I have broken my tank down, due to a move, hoping to resume zeovit without any ill effects, we shall see!
Thanks

 

[Dejavu]

Same thing here...except that its now been 8 months since I stopped dosing and still the cyano. I have siphoned the sump frag tank, sand, blown rocks, checked RO/DI, make my own food (so no added phosphates), etc. Kinda at a point where I need to just get rid of it.

One thing I forgot to mention was I added UV. I had a ich brake out in my tank so I decided to stop dosing and a UV sterilizer. I'm such it killed off a lot of bacteria a long with the ich .