Red Algae Woes!

Ok Bruce, I ordered it today, so I'm trusting you on this one! I dont want my corals dead! This is what I got http://cgi.ebay.com/Red-Slime-Remov...ryZ20756QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I will update when it arrives and I try it........

 

Looks good to me . Dont worry about your corals. If anything the skimmer might shoot some bubble out. But that wont last long. My uncle and I both had a good improvement with this product.

 

Sweet! I'm looking forward to that! It seems as though I could stare at a spot and literally WATCH the red slime grow!

 

I'm all for chemical treatment for red slime but the remover that you bought will not remove whatever it is in your tank that is causing the algae bloom in the first place. Just food for thought.

 

Yup. Same as forest fires...sure water puts it out, but its up to you to keep it out.

 

So it will go away for a minute, and then come back? How long will it be gone? I don't know whats causing the bloom, other then my lights. I added some PCs to the tank and *BAM!* red slime is everywhere! The single strip PC comes on at 9am and off at 9pm, the dual strip comes on at 10am, and off at 8pm....is that not a good lighting schedule? Should I take it down? This stuff is RELENTLESS! I fashioned myself an aquarium glove out of a trash bag and rubber glove and spent a good 20 minutes sifting my sand, scraping the red slime off rocks and corals, and today it is all back!! With a vengeance!!!!!!!!!! My fish are too greedy to let any food drop and just rot, and even if a piece does manage to get by, I have a lot of bristleworms that I'm sure go after it. I do water changes about once a week or so, small ones. Hmmmm....well my next additions will be a cleanup crew. Who should I include? Who eats red slime? Who's awesome for keeping the glass clean? What about deitrus?

 

Have you increased the circulation where the cyano is growing? Tested your tank water and the water that you buy from your LFS for nitrates, silicates, phosphates, etc? Cutting down on feeding? (I ask this because if you have "a lot" of bristleworms it could be because you're overfeeding your tank). When you say that you added PCs to the tank, do you mean to say that you're using a new PC fixture with new bulbs or an old PC fixture with old bulbs?

 

Ok here's what has happened to my tank in the last couple months. I decided to file bankruptcy, and decided to screw my credit card companies and just max them all out before everything goes through. So suddenly I found myself with about $600 to play with. I bought a brand new 2x96w PC fixture with moonlights, replaced the bulb in my 1x96w PC fixture, so ALL brand new lights. When I got the lights, the only coral I had was my green striped mushrooms, so I had no need to acclimate the lights....I thought. Also, I bought 2 power heads, one being a power-sweep, and put one on each end of the tank, so that's about all the flow I have. Should I have more? I got a protein skimmer, and then the rest went towards buying corals, supplements, etc.. I credit the algae bloom to the new lights. This tank has been established for just over 4 years now, and I never had this red slime and I have had pretty much the same amount of fish the entire time...my clown, royal gramma, and my damsel which has since been replaced with my yellow tang. Since the fish load has been the same, the feeding routine has been the same for all these years, too. I have yet to test the RO/DI water from my LFS.....I want to look into a sump/fuge, but am thinking since I will be getting a 125 this summer, maybe I'll just wait till then to get a sump. Oye....

 

Are the two powerheads providing flow to the area that has the worst of the red slime? Also, what kind of supplements are you adding to the tank? How often and what do you feed the fish? How does your tank water test out? Do you plan on testing the water you get from your lfs?

 

Tank water: pH 8.0, nitrite 0, nitrate maybe 10 (the scale goes from 0 to 20, and the strip is in between those 2 colors....). I don't have a phosphate or silicate test.

LFS water (freshwater RO/DI for topoffs): pH 7.2, nitrite and nitrate dead 0.

The power heads I have setup for the corals' benefit, to keep them moving. Even so, the slime is still growing around those corals, even in the strongest areas of flow. I feed my fish once a day, and I feed them either bloodworms, flake food, or frozen brine, and that just depends on what I feel like feeding them that day. Also about once a week I will put in some organic romaine lettuce or sea veggies for the tang. I do have the sun coral, which has been getting fed every other night like 2 cubes of frozen brine. I think I might have to cut back on that, which sucks because we were making such good progress, and for the most part the coral got all the food. Some drifts away, but not much IMO. I add Kent Marine Coral Vite and Kent Marine Micro Vert, about a capful each, every 1-1 1/2 weeks.