Red Slime creepin in...

We'll I've noticed red slime creepin in...
what do you guys prefer to remove this besides letting it out of control and having to use a few products called red slime remover...
Also I've noticed in my 25 gallon nano I had a prviously used red slime remover and then after 2 weeks of no slime...
it starting to penetrate agian on my sand bed...
what's going on how do I get rid of this bad slime...
I've also minimized my lighting periods...:-/
I still seem to get this nusence outbreak...

 

god, how I hate cyano, I know what it's like to watch it take over a tank and make that source of peace & joy to look @ become an eyesore. The cause of it is an excess of nutrient in your tank, you need to figure out what is in excess and that will be your solution to getting rid of it.

I usually copy/paste this below post I made a while back, maybe it'll help you beat your cyano as I'm not a fan of chemicals to beat it.

These suggestions/tips may help you figure it out. I also feel diatoms and cyano are somewhat of a rite of passage in new tanks that is unavoidable (not sure if your tank is new, just wanted to mention that).

I had also bought chemi-clean to dose, but the more I read, the more I believed that dosing chemicals to rid the cyano was like many have said, using a "band aid". You will get much better piece of mind when you find out what is the cause of the cyano and along the way you will gain better tank husbandry IMO.

Here are a few things I did to rid myself of the evil red slime:

- use RO/DI water only, that tests at 0 TDS
- cut back on your feeding, I went from once a day to every three days
- rinse any frozen foods prior to feeding (in RO water if you can)
- ramp up circulation in any dead areas of the tank
- pick out any clumps of red slime you can, use baster/siphon/tongs
- double your water changes to keep Nitrate down
- clean out all powerheads/skimmer/filters etc.
- make sure your bulbs are still good
- cut back your light cycle by maybe 40%
- make sure your tank isn't overstocked
- running a protein skimmer is a def + if not must
- run a phosphate remover media (I use a reactor with Chemi Pure Elite)

It seems like a lot of work, but it's much better getting rid of it naturally then wondering when it may come back if you dose with chemicals.

Best of luck & it will go away even though it seems like you're fighting uphill.

 

thanks bud for the great response!
I'm gonna get on top of this ...
btw do you think lighting length time could be a factor as we'll???

 

the smaller the tank it seems the harder it is to get rid. honestly everything he said is pretty much perfect. but red slime iremover deos work, you have to follow up with 1/2 to 1/4 the doses for the following weeks.

 

No prob & yes def see the "cut back light cycle by 40%". Doing that will help curb the spread but controlling the excess nutrient source is still what will get rid if it.

 

You can always shut off light completely for about 2-3 days after sucking out most of it by siphon. This will stop it's spread and then go down the checklist. I HATE that crap man it's a pain to get rid of. Good luck!

 

2-3 days?
wouldn't this affect my livestock though...
as in stress to the fish corals not getting there routine lighting meaning no coral growth maybe coral death?????

 

It won't affect your corals at all. I've done three days on the FOWLR and the reef. You still need to address the nutrient levels, but it works extremely well.

 

Yea I wouldn't do lights out much longer than 4 days but my corals were fine. Use a towel and completely shut off all light to the system, a little light can still keep the algae alive.

 

Would you still feed tangs seaweed when cutting back on the feeding to every 3 days?