Red slime? HELP!!!!!!

[osmaven]

Need your help, I do not know what is this red stuff that is growing in my refugium. Is a red cottom like thing, that I do not know if is bad for my tank or not. If it is, how can I control it? (if possible without any chemicals). I also have noticed in a couple of rocks the development of some same color slime that I've tryed to clean taking it out with a squirter. I'm very concern about this, please help.

 

[Gundo5000]

Hows your phoshate levels?

Is it also in your display or just your fuge?

 

[Gundo5000]

Maybe try the marine plants and macroalgea forum.

 

[MORAY]

I have some of it too. I''m pretty sure it comes from that eggcrate leaching phosphates. Something controls it in my main tank. Sea in the City and Fishbowl have some snails that supposedly will eat it. A certain type of Mexican Turbo. It's a pain in the.

 

[choyn006]

it's just red slime, or cyanobacteria. Too many dissolved wastes in your water. water changes and a properly working skimmer will fix it

 

[MORAY]

It's not cyno. It's fuzzy, and almost hairy, but not slimey at all. Notice how it is growing out of the eggcrate? That is what is realeasing the nutrients into the water. The eggcrate from Lowe's and Home Depot are made from a plastic (polystyrene, I think) that leach into the water and cause this. You can get acrylic eggcrate from commercial lighting companies made from acrylic that don't leach this, but it's more expensive.

 

[Tbduval]

I believe the stuff is called cotton candy algae. Maybe wrong though. I had the same problem a month ago. I ran phoshate removers and tried to keep my PH up. Well, after doing some reading on that stuff here on RC, I found Mexican Turbos eat it!!! I put 5 into my 65g and they destroyed the algae. It has now remained gone. HTH!!!

 

[osmaven]

I'm wonder if I can put some of those snails in my sump where all the probloem start, because in my main 125 Gls tank I have the problem under control ( I hope so)

 

[Tbduval]

I think it would be ok as long as the snails can't get into the input of your pump. They are some of the larger snails, so you may only need 1 or 2, IMO. Good Luck!