(product) Red Slime Control?

Okay, I finally broke down and decided to treat the cyano. I tried a few days of cutting the lights way back, have cut back to feeding every other day for a few weeks, aggressive water changes with manual removal of the cyano, and changed the media in my phosphate reactor. The cyano is better, but it's still persistently there and has covered one of my favorite zoa colonies, has messed with the bubble coral and acan and they don't look so hot, and it's on my birdsnest. Enough is enough.

My LFS had Chemiclean (I would imagine all the products that treat cyano are about the same thing). The instructions said to turn off the protein skimmer and the prosphate reactor, so I did that. I mixed the required amount with some RO water and dumped it in the tank. Meanwhile, I decided it was the perfect time to give the skimmer a good cleaning out since it had been about 6 months. I may as well make good use of the 48 hours it has to be turned off, so it's running in a bucket in the kitchen in some water/vinegar and looks much better already! After 12 hours, the cyano has all but disappeared. Now this may be a "band-aid" fix, but I feel if I can get a handle on it, the other things will keep it from coming back (phosphate reactor, cutting back feeding, etc.). I have to do a 20% water change after 48 hours, then start the skimmer and phosphate reactor back. Will see how it goes!

 

So reporting back.

The Red Slime Control from Blue Vet works GREAT.

Last week Monday I did a normal water change, and siphoned as much cyano as I could off rocks and even removed about a pound of sand that was hopelessly coated in cyano, and made note of the worst areas I couldn't reach. Tuesday morning I dosed as directed, turned off the skimmer and reactor, and let it do its thing. When I went home there was no change (dose+10 hours). Next day... 24 hours later... no change. I got a little down, thinking I'd wasted $15, but decided to let it keep going. Thursday when I came in... woooHOO!!!! The sand was finally clean and bright white/pink again. The cyano on the rocks was either gone or tuning brown and sloughing off. Hermit's were in over drive - they won't touch the live stuff but seem to love the dead/dying cyano. As per instructions I let it go 5 days. By day 5 every trace of Cyano was gone. well..for now (fingers crossed)

did a 30% WC on Wednesday...forgot to mix water, figured one extra day wouldn't hurt anything... for whatever reason my cactus calupera died...no biggie. During the WC one of my chromis went on a wild 10' tube slide ride... silly fish, he's fine btw, got stuck at the end of the hose...

So I turned the skimmer back on Wednesday and yikes.... it's working like it SHOULD! It's been producing way too little since i got it, less than an ounce of skimate a week. Now I am getting a healthy wet, but not soggy wet, foam out the top and it's a dark green, and everything looks good.

Got the phosgard running again.... I hope this solves things.

So for now the Cyano is history.Even if it comes back in 6 months I can deal with it this way no problem. a few hours a year to treat vs hours a week to fight... no brainer.

Anyways.... Red Slime Control works. Good stuff. Yay. My fish are all happy now, they can see their coral buddies and sand again!

-Doug

 

Poor fish! Glad he's okay.

Thanks for your update!! I'm glad all is well again. I agree with you exactly - I'd rather deal with the problem once it really becomes an issue than spending weeks getting frustrated over it (like I just did)!

 

Greysoul and triplemom, I am happy for you! It is so nice when something works "as advertised". Chemiclean and the like are one of the few things I will recommend with no fear of a disaster. One benefit is that the stuff actually cleans our mechanical filters and the moving parts! Helps to clean up even the power heads and makes everything function great, better. Now as a maintenance, I have just got Marine S.A.T. It is a strain of live bacteria that consumes what algae (micro) and cyano uses and thus does not allow algae or cyano to grow. I am using it in the Biocube first so I can see what difference it makes.

 

Let us know how that goes!

 

Sure thing.

 

Everything is still looking good. I did a 10 gallon water change (20%) after 48 hours and hooked the phosphate reactor back up after changing the media and the skimmer. The protein skimmer went nuts for about 24 hours - I turned lowered the water level way down until it calmed down. The corals look so much better and I'm sure are happier not to be covered in that gunk. No problems with the fish or inverts.

 

k guys ill say what others will say, find the root of the problem. Do a search for my name and you will see. The o2 should stay good if u can just put your return outlet above the water and it will make enough air for your fishes. Do 1 thing new each week and track it to see whats going on, i finally found out my reason which was crazy high phosphates that kept making the cyano grow like miracle grow. Got a carbon reactor and phosphate reactor and the cyano is almost 100% gone from my tank and the herms are feastign on the dead stuff still on the rocks. youll get it just dont give up