getting red slime algae please help

[cubanheat1]

Hi guys In my 55G reef ive been gettin some deposits of red-slime here and there around the tank. I use RO water and all my corals and fish are doin fine. I was just thinking is there anything that you guys know that work to get rid of this nasty stuff.I heard about Phosban, and chemi-clean any ideas.

 

[Elite]

Have you try to increase the flow?

 

[integra]

does your tank get enough light in that area?

 

[Mndrsn2000]

Red slime is most likely Cyanobacteria. I would recommend reading the thread on Cyanobacteria in the new to the hobby forum.

 

[EmergencyDpt]

erythromycin. works like a charm

 

[hasjef]

try chemi-pure. but also increase flow decrease nitrates ect.

 

[roons]

how deep is your sandbed? red slime is not algae , its bacteria, it usually feeds off phosphates leaching from your sandbed, ..........

a phosphate remover wont work because it consumes the phos b4 it can get into the water column for removal..................boyds chemi clean is the only thing that worked for me, i had it so bad when it all died it turned my water brown , corals discolored from nutrient overload and zoo explosion, but everyone is fine now..................


with each month i am geting less and less, i use boyds the night b4 i do a water change everymonth, and i started vacuuming out the top layer of my sandbed every month with water change, i have tons of flow in a 120 ( 2 6060 tunze and 2 1200 maxijets) i also cut back on feeding once a day to once every 3 days, fish are all still fat

this stuff is nasty and seemed unphased by flow..............


ill never go more than 1 or 2 " on my sand again..........

 

[BryanJ]

Definitely increase the flow. What kind of skimmer do you have?

 

[REV]

Three things - 1 Nutrients in the water - do water change - when you do water changes, try to siphon it off; 2 Light - IF your bulbs are fairly new, don't frustrate your other tank life with any changes here; 3 Water movement - If you have good flow, cyano will simply not hold on. Try taking a power head and moving the flow over the areas where it's growing and you'll see how easily it disperses. You will nee to have good filtration running or this may promote it's spread. However, if you do this regularly it will act like having the increased flow that you may need. Everything you do will be a temporary fix, including chemical treatments, until you get good water movement and get control of your nutrient level (feeding amount... and water changes). Good luck!

 

[roons]

if you have phosphates allready built up in sandbed, getting control of nutrient level is going to do jack..............its not feeding off the water................i bet you dont see any on your glass do you?