Has anyone heard of doing this?

[slick]

As you might of read I'm having some trouble with red hair algae. I just read someone elses thought of lowering the amount of DT phyotoplankton they use so I will try this as well. But I was at my LFS about a hour ago and told them about my problem. Here is what they told me to do. The guy gave me this stuff for freshwater tanks it's a med called Maracyn it's a antibiotic for freshwater fish. I was like what the he!! are you thinking. He told me he used this stuff in his sw tank to kill the red hair algae. I just wanted your guys thoughts on this before I tried this. I'm pretty skeptical.

 

[slick]

I'm not sure what they were thinking? He asked the other guys that worked there and they said the same thing. This is not like a pet co or anything. They have nice reef tanks and are a 90% sw store. They do sell some fw stuff. I don't know anyone else have an opinion on this. And if I try it do you guys think it could harm any of my stuff?

 

[wamp]

A word of advice... Don't..
Antibiotics are not a great thing for tanks. They have their place but not in a tank. They will kill your aerobic and anaerobic bacteria which is what makes your nitrogen cycle possible.
You should limit all nutrients in your tank. Feeding, supplements etc...
Increase flow, decrease nutrients, change old bulbs, remove as much as posible by hand and regular water changes!
Good Luck

 

[slick]

How long can I go with out feeding my fish? What is the least amount of time I can run my lights?

 

[lordofthereef]

two words. CHEMI CLEAN. look into it. it's a great product!

 

[wamp]

Limit feedings. You don't have to starve them. Most fish fed every other day will be fine. Espically in an established tank. When my 180 was up and running, I fed twice a week. They got their other food in the reef.

 

[wamp]

Small amounts of food.
The problem is, how small is small?
Most overfeed the tank. If your Bio-Load is not kept up with by the filtration, you end up with excess nutrients. That equates to algea, nitrates and a whole slew of other messes...
I had Anthias, they are probably the most food depemdant fish in the hobby. (at least that I have kept) I fed them 2 times a day, but, only in a very small amount.
If you have an abundant amount of filtration, live rock, sand, wet/dry, and you do not have a high bio-load, you can feed more often and not worry as much about it.
Keep it small and keep up with your maintance and you should be fine.

 

[irishstout]

I had a problem with cyano in my tank. After reducing feedings and cutting back photo periods the problem remained. What I used to get rid of it (for a while atleast) was to crush a tab of freshwater maracyn and add it to the tank, with all circulation off, at the suggestion of my LFS. Within 48 hrs the cyano was gone. Within two weeks the problem was back. However, it wasn't untill I got to the root of the problem that the problem vanished for good. Overfeeding an overstocked tank and old bulbs was my problem. Although the maracyn kicked its a$$ ( for a while), I wouldn't do it again. To eliminate that kind of problem, the source of it has to be eliminated first, and that happens through deduction and trial and error. That was my experience and I hope it helps you out in getting rid the problem your experiencing.

 

[slick]

Irish did the Maracyn do any damage to your system? Did you notice any increases of amn nitrites or trates? I really don't want to add this stuff but if it will help for a short time it mightbe worth a shot.

 

[wamp]

Marycn will help some times. Others it will have no affect, however, it will affect your biological filter. Its a gamble.
Try the natrual way before adding chemicals to your tank.

 

[irishstout]

Like wamp said, it is a gamble on whether or not the maracyn will do more damage than good. In my case it did not seem to do any damage to my system and it worked for only a short time. There are other products out there that claim to be reef safe, one of them is called RedSlime Remover and I have heard of people having success with it. I don't know if it is an antibiotic or not, but when adding one it is a crap shoot. Getting to the root of the problem will ultimately bet the best way to get rid of the problem and leaves no room for worry about harming your system. But, as someone else puts it "your tank, your choice" I hope all goes well. Keep us posted.

 

[irishstout]

Couple more things What are your levels reading at the moment? What I am particularly interested in is phosphates. Have you tested for them? High levels of phosphates can be a major factor in the problem you are having so check your tank as well as your water source if you havent already.

 

[slick]

well I am doing a little maintnance today and will try to figure some things out I will post my levels later so check back then. Oh by the way I ordered some chemi clean and will try that instead. I'm going to cut back on the amount of time my lights run. Hopefully I can find the cause of the problem.

 

[drew_tt]

Im not sure if its maracyn 1 or m2, but the one that contains erythromycin (sp?) is the one that will destroy cyano... it works very well (I think you only need about one tablet per 50 gallons), and it is pretty reef safe... it is fine with most inverts but I am not sure about corals...
again, use it as a last resort, and IM not sure if it would work on hair algaes...
Drew

 

[irishstout]

I used one tablet of Freshwater Maracyn Prod#01110 which contained 200mg erythromycin