How to rid your tank of Red-Slime!

mary

Member
Do you have Halides? What type of macro alge do you have? I don't have any and always thought in order to have that you had to have Halides. Just put up new compacts, four 65 watts in each. Very bright and now I have an even bigger problem with heat. Have a fan on all day but now need to lessen the time the lights are on. Will cause even ore algeal problems. Plus, with a sea cucumber. warmer water will truly cause a problem. That is all I need. Macro algea would solve the problem but I don't think I could grow it. Am thinking seriously about the chem treatment. Thanks!
 

mary

Member
What would be wrong with useing a natural bacteria that eats red slime and other bothersome algea? There is a product I have seen advertised as a bacteria, powder form.
 

mary

Member
At this point, I believe water flow, the current needed to keep area free of cyano is my belief also. If I can figure out how to get this teeny but powerful air flow pump in my tank, I want it to blow perpindicular with the back glass and see if it makes a difference. All my flow is from top of tank. Bad desighn. Should be valves side bottom and top. But then I would have the problem of too much flow for corals. No point made, just my opinion.
 

squidd

Active Member
Canister filter stuffed with filter floss or diatomiscus earth filter..set up like a "shop vac" ..
Siphon all day long, filters water and returns to tank..
 

mary

Member
I am back to square one! Less light, less feeding, OR water for months now, and thought the slime was on the way out, it is worse!
With new lights I thought that would also help, but trying to enjoy my beautiful tank and as I am looking it seems to develop red slime right in front of me. I am at my wits end. Nitrates are up there again also. Nitrites are 0. I really don't know where to go from here. Afraid of chem's. . No one has given me their opinion on bacteria that eats away at the slime, a powder that you put directly into tank. It is not supposed to kill good bacteria. Has any one ever used it? I have tried everything advised on these forums and today there is more slime than ever. It seemed to be disipating three to four days after lessening foodstuffs. I think I am going to trade off all my corals that must be hand fed. That is a lot of the excess nutrient, I am sure! I do a 35 gal. water change every month with a 90. gal. tank and 30 underneath.
 

dskidmore

Active Member
You might switch to smaller water changes more often. Try 10% every week instead of 30% every month.
You could try adding a refugium, or just some extra macroalgaes or Xenia to eat up the nitrates.
 

mary

Member
The nitrates are lowering in my tank and the latest addition is a Xenia. It is growing very fast as many new branches have developed in a short period of time. Could not figure out why finally the nitrates are lowering. In that you know about Xenias, is it ok to allow it to get very large? I was hesitant to add it to a mature tank because of hobbiests warning against that, but with the problems I am having , was willing to try anything. I did use a chem Clean product and said I would never ever use a chemical in the tank but at this point the hobby was beginning to be drudgery,
constant cleaning every day and using a baster every day, so I did it. Now, I knew it would destroy some good bacteria, but it destroyed all the coraline algea that had developed over the years even though there was not much due to the phosphate and nitrate problem.. I am somewhat devestated by that but all else seems to be thriving. So, anyone out there, don't use the chemicals. As time goes on I hope no more ill affects occur. The smaller water change may be a good idea. Will try it for several months . Of course at this point with all the cyano gone, there are other blooms happening. I followed the directions exactly as they stated on the Chem clean. Now want to add a kalk. drip to get back the coraline algea, and that will take time!
 

dskidmore

Active Member
I'm more of a parrot than an expert. Some believe that fragging your Xenia freqently is the best way to keep it from a potential "crash" or "melting". Removing excessive frags of Xenia is the last step in taking those nitrates out of your aquarium, for now they are just locked up inside, and ill health of the Xenia will release them again.
 

mary

Member
Hadn't heard about Xenias crashing. Have to do some research. Just what I need, something else releasing nitrates. It is still quite small so will have time to prepare before that should occur. Thanks.
 
Well, I can def understand peoples feelings on the use of chemicals.. I used to be one of those people. I used it back in Oct 2004 and here I am 6 months later and I have still ZERO Cyano or anything other bad algae. I have great coraline, the corals grow well, my chaeto grows insane...So I guess I just got lucky. If I had to do over again...I would use chem clean again. I have friends who wont use it...and they keep theirs in check by syphoning and such...my answer to that is...Well...I used it and I dont have to syphon anything. Its dead...gone...destroyed.. MIA.
 
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