Red Slime Problem

When you're done trying all of the above and really want to get rid of your cyano, stop overfeeding your fish. No, I don't want to hear that you're not, because you are. How do I know? Because you have cyano.

Eliminate ALL frozen and flake foods and stick to pellets for the time-being, feeding one "pinch" of pellets twice daily. When, not if, you get rid of the cyano, you can feed small quantities of frozen/flake food 1-2x per week.

Doing some of the other stuff will help speed up the process, but the overfeeding is the source of your problem.
 
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Well I know I'm not overfeeding since I've only been feeding about 1/8 a cube of mysis a day since my leopard wrasse isn't eating pellets or flakes. My ro filters are about 6 months or so old so I don't think thats the problem and I'm still getting 0 tds from them. I'm still thinking the red slime was fueled by a large diamond goby that died in my tank since I haven't seen it for a month. However, I couldn't find any remains anywhere in my tank. I'm starting to lean towards using a red slime remover and seeing what that will do for me. Has anyone had any experience with using any brand of red slime remover? Your input would be greatly appreciated.
 
I hate the people that come into a thread and lecture you without helping. I really do. I'm going to be a hypocrite and say chemicals aren't the way to go. Find your root cause. Every problem I've had with this crap to date has been flow related somehow, someway. For me chemicals just add a potential new problem to the tank. I honestly feel like an *** saying that but please consider not using chemicals to treat the issue.
 
Ok red slime is a bacteria as many of us know, cyano. This stuff can live and grow even in a low nutrient system. Vacuuming it out will not help. I seem to get a bloom of the stuff and 1-2 times a year. The way I deal with it is to treat the tank with red slime remover, I need to do it 2-3 times normally. I have never had a problem doing this it it has never effected my corals. Keeping nitrates as close to 0 as possible and phos low below .03 helps to prevent blooms. I also run a lot of carbon and gfo when its needed, seems to help also. My fuge does a good job of keeping nutrients very low and my blooms will either start in the fuge or stay there.
 
I completely agree with you on not using chemicals. I'm just getting so frustrated from this red slime I just want it to go away. It's even growing in areas of direct flow from my powerheads I just don't get it.
 
Over in my blog entries, if you wade through I think to the second page, you'll find an entry entitled Algae, or something of the sort. Click on the number under my avatar, where it says "blog" and you'll get there. It's a pita you tend to see more of in a newer tank, but it's not a terribly threatening event. I do NOT recommend the chemical removers: it's an antibiotic, and I have dealt with cases where, due to an inefficient skimmer and iffy chemistry etc, plus other variables---it took the tank out. You will benefit by having an efficient skimmer using the 'lights out' method. You also need to test for nitrate and ammonia during the process, to be absolutely safe. Killing off a really bad case of it too fast can dump a whole lot into the skimmer at once: too much waste can bring a tank down. That's one major reason why the chemical/antibiotic treatments are apt to have problems.
 
Let me start this response with... I hate Red Slime!! Why do the reef gods torture us like this? Here are a few things about red slime. Red slime is not an algea. It is a bacteria. The bacteria causes the red blanket by eating excess nutrients. The red blanket is what actually dies and keeps the Cyano fed. Its a never ending cycle once it starts. Things that will confuse you. The Red slime will grow in zero nutrient enviorment. The red slime will grow in high flow areas. You have always been taught high flow and low nutrients kill algea. This is mostly true. Red slime isnt an algea though so these rules dont apply. You probably notice that imediatley after siphoning the slime comes back. Thats because the bacteria is in the sand bed. Here are a few tips for getting rid of red slime. First, you need a good sandsiffting crew. Keep that sand bed sifted!! Never over feed as this contributes to higher DOC count wich can start the bloom. First thing to do is shut off your powerheads so there is no flow during this procedure. When removing red slime use a fish net. Take the fish net and skim the sand bed with it to pick up the red slime coat and the immediate layer of sand underneath. You want to remove about 1/4"-1/2" of infected sand. Bad red slime problems usually make sand clump. Make sure you remove all the clumps and throw away. Next siphon the area to help remove any remaining bad bacteria. Now complete your water change to replace any water taken out. The final step is using red slime remover per the manufacturers directions. The red slime remover will help kill any remaining bacteria and since you just removed a good portion of the bacteria the slime remover will be more effective. I searched far and wide for an answer to red slime removal and over time developed this technique that I think works very well.

Give it a shot and report back. Theres nothing to lose except red slime.
 
Do not be afraid of red slime remover. I have used red slime removers for a long time with no ill affects. Just be sure to follow the directions on the bottle and you will be fine.
 
Another note on red slime. I believe the root cause of red slime is the lack of beneficial bacteria in your system. There isnt enough beneficial bacteria to compete and break down the DOC before the red slime bacteria gets to it. Try turning your skimmer off for a few hrs a day and see if that helps. This sounds counter productive but it really isnt. Less beneficial bacteria will be skimmed from your water. Also, maybe add a bit more live rock to help establish your beneficial colonies of bacteria. Just my opinion on where to start. Sorry for the multiple post.
 
LifeAquatic said:
I believe the root cause of red slime is the lack of beneficial bacteria in your system. There isnt enough beneficial bacteria to compete and break down the DOC before the red slime bacteria gets to it.
Click to expand...
+1

That's why I recommended the TLC product. You can try Seachem Stability as well. Just add some to the tank during water-changes.
 
Um overfeeding the cause of cyano thats maybe part of an issue but not the only one. I feed my fish very few pellets each. I defrost my worms or mysis and only give them the bits no water and turn the flow low. Food is all consumed in 20-30 seconds once a day. I think the type of lighting is a major player in the cyano being a force. I switched my t5/mh combo to leds and since have had cyano problems. I feed way less than 2 months ago when cyano reared its ugly head 0 times. I run GFO and Carbon and nothing but more cyano I have an mp40 at 100%, 1200gph koralia and another, 750gph koralia plus the 2 bulk heads at 720 gph, plenty of flow. Phosphates 0 via elos and salifert. Nitrates well 2 they were higher 10 days ago, but I have always had Nitrates higher than 25.
Anyone think the spectrum and photoperiod is the cause of my Cyano outbreak??
 
I have already mentioned that I use red slime remover safely....then, follow up with rowaphos to remove the phosphates the red slime will release while dying. This has worked 100% safely for me..and I stand behind it.

Here is what I want to add...and what every reef keeper needs to come to terms with. There is NOTHING natural about our reef tanks!!! Nothing!! No where in nature will you ever see so many fish per gallon. Think about it...in nature, you may have one fish for every 1,000,000 gallons of water!! In your tank...one fish for every 10 gallons of water. Then add the concentration of the corals and livestock. Even when you add no nutrients....photosynthesis is occuring in your corals. The corals are using that light you supply to make energy...and waste products will be released. Even when you add very little food...the concentration of nutirents is still higher than in nature. So...what do we do?? We find ways to remove these waste products and nutrients. A good protein skimmer goes without saying. But...we have carbon and resins that help a great deal. When those nasty forms of algae pop up in nature...there are many types of animals that will eat this junk. But, just a few years ago, the number of Urchins declined...and the algae grew unchecked. It's overgrowth on wild reefs became an issue. In our tanks, it is difficult to find the proper clean up crew for all the things that may pop up. If nature has trouble with this balance on occasion...what chance do we have???
Once you understand that our tank environments are entirely unatural...you are more willing to use any means neccesary. The products to fix these issues are available...you just need to use them wisely. Understanding that you are not replicating nature...but, rather creating an unatural system that lives on a lifeline that you provide, will help you deal with these issues in the long run. I hope this perspective helps you deal with this issue...good luck!!
 
A very interesting thread with a wide variety of opinions! It's no wonder this is such a frustrating topic for so many reefers. Going to add my two cents worth so sorry in advance for the lengthy post...

I'll share that I'm battling the red slime as well. I have a large tank that I've basically ignored for the past year and a half. I have a blue tang, pair of clowns, flame hawk, and green chromis damsel currently in the tank along with a dozen SPS and LPS corals. My real problems began when I lost a large naso tang. He wedged himself under some of the rockwork in a place that I physically couldn't get to without literally tearing out most of my rock. I decided to set my H&S skimmer to pull wetter skimmate and hoped for the best. The red slime began showing up soon after. I got frustrated and due to changes in work/life/etc, I got to a point where I couldn't focus as much on my tank.

Fast forward about 18 months... I've kept up with the most basic maintenance thanks to how I had the tank set up... I have a Spectrapure RO/DI system that I've kept up with as far as replacing filters and a Tunze Osmolator that I use to keep the water level in the tank constant. I have a 40gal top off reservoir that I fill up about once a week at which time I would toss in some flake or pellet food that I'd used before the outbreak. I quit using frozen foods during this time altogether. I'd clean the skimmer cup maybe once every other week.

In those 18 months, I've lost 2 green chromis damsels and a sailfin blenny also. I also had a couple of SPS corals overgrown by cyano. However, all of my acan colonies along with a galaxea colony have been thriving. I've also had a couple of encrusting monti's that have done a good job of not only fighting back the cyano but growing and expanding. Conversely, a birds nest colony and a ORA blue tort weren't as successful and they ended up being overrun by cyano.

So with that brief history out of the way... I've decided to try and fight the cyano and regain control of my tank. I don't think that overfeeding is necessarily the problem with cyano but nutrient sequestering is. The natural decay of organisms in the tank has contributed dissolved organics that the cyano are using before it can be skimmed out. However, I haven't lost a fish in at least 6 months so I'd argue that the net addition of nutrients from fish loss should be offset by skimming. Also, the three 250W XM10k bulbs I used were replaced with new bulbs of the same type shortly after the cyano outbreak began. They are currently about 15months old and I have another set of new bulbs in hand but I haven't yet switched them out as the color output is still good (at least good to look at).

So overfeeding isn't the culprit... and I don't feel it's the lights. I've settled on the nutrient export approach to solve this. I agree with one of the theories earlier about bacterial competition for nutrient uptake. At least, that's the theory I'm going to try and focus on. The tank is well established and low free nutrient (0 nitrate [API], 0 phosphate [Salifert]). I'm concerned about using red slime remover alone because killing off the cyano will only release the nutrients back into the water column. I need to have something that can take up those nutrients before the cyano can recover. I have a pair of TLF phosban reactors that I just added fresh GFO to but that will still leave nitrates behind. The skimmer has been cleaned out and is ready to roll (H&S A300 is a monster for the tank size I have) and after reading some vodka dosing threads, I like the idea of bacteria out-competing the cyano and other algae for N and P and getting pulled out of the water column by skimming. I'm 4 days in to a vodka dosing regimen combined with daily dosing of Brightwell's MB7 to help seed bacterial colonies. I'm going to siphon off as much of the cyano as I can later today and see how things proceed. If in a week the cyano is still coming back, I plan on dosing once with red slime remover with the thought that by then I should have a solid bacterial presence in the tank to help consume the nutrients from the cyano die off.

It's too soon to tell if the vodka dosing is making that much of a difference but now that summer boating season and my son's football season is complete (I coach), I will have plenty of time to sit back and observe. I plan on taking things slowly and I'll admit that my long winded post is an extra incentive to keep at this and to keep coming back to RC so I can share the positive/negative experiences with my fight against cyano.

Good luck all... and happy reefing!

-Chad
 
Remember that Red Slime Remover is not a chemical in the ordinary sense: it is an antibiotic, and its job is killing bacteria. It is a hit on your sandbed, a mild one, but a hit. So it's working against your sandbed stability, while it dumps more waste into your system. If your skimmer doesn't keep up, you're in trouble.
The lights-out method can take it out in short order, too. Has to be repeated monthly for about 3 months, but does work---again, if you have a good skimmer.
 
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