manycolors
Member
I have a purpleish blueish algea? growing on my sand bed, its almost looks like mold... i will try to get pictures but if anyone has any ideas it would be great, thanks
ID this PLEASE
- Thread starter manycolors
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manycolors
Member
it's softer, how do i make it go away?
michaeltx
Moderator
there is an imblalance in your tank to much nutrients not enough flow and possibly to much light.
the first step would be to test for phosphates and see if they are present.
then increasing the flow in the tank and cutting back on the lighting time alittle bit.
If you are feeding frozen foods rinse the frozen foods as much as possible before putting them in the tank.
all of these will help also try to remove as much as posiible.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/73002/how-to-rid-your-tank-of-red-slime
also reading this may give you some more ideas and things to check and see whats going on and a few more remidies aswell
Mike
the first step would be to test for phosphates and see if they are present.
then increasing the flow in the tank and cutting back on the lighting time alittle bit.
If you are feeding frozen foods rinse the frozen foods as much as possible before putting them in the tank.
all of these will help also try to remove as much as posiible.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/73002/how-to-rid-your-tank-of-red-slime
also reading this may give you some more ideas and things to check and see whats going on and a few more remidies aswell
Mike
mr.clownfish
Active Member
+1 red slime
salt210
Active Member
its going to be a battle. im going through this right now in my 210. phosphates 10ppm and nitrates 40. justs stick with it. don't add chemicals first. try to eliminate the problem by flow, lighting and feeding less. I believe that I found my problem, but I have to wait till the weekend to take care of it
spanko
Active Member
Red Slime (Cyano Bacteria)
Cyano grows on top of nutrient rich areas of low flow. There are a number of things that need to be correct or possibly corrected to combat this without the use of chemical additives. The biggest thing is to get rid of the extra nutrients.
1.Evaluate your feeding. If you are feeding more than can be eaten in about 1-2 minutes it is too much and the remainder of it is falling to the rock and sand and becoming nutrient.
2.Evaluate your flow. If you have areas in the tank where there is little to no flow this can be corrected by adding power heads or repositioning the ones you already have. You don’t need to create sand storms just have water moving over the area to keep detritus suspended in the water column for removal by your filter – skimmer.
3.Evaluate your water changes. The solution to pollution is dilution! You want to continually remove unneeded nutrients as well as replace those things that are used by the system. 10% weekly is a good change schedule. Some do 20% every other week and some vary the schedule from there, but a good start is 10% per week.
4.Evaluate your lighting schedule. About 10 hours of daylight is all that is needed.
5.If you have a cyano outbreak do the above 4 items andh:
a.At water change time siphon off the cyano first. It will come up easily almost like a blanker.
b.After siphoning stir the affected areas a little to suspend any detritus for the water change and filtering - skimming removal.
c.Use a turkey baster now and at every water change in the future to again suspend the detritus for removal by the water change and your filtering – skimming.
Keeping nutrient levels low to non-existent will help to avoid cyano outbreaks and any algae outbreaks as well as keep your tank and you happy happy.
Hope that helps.
Cyano grows on top of nutrient rich areas of low flow. There are a number of things that need to be correct or possibly corrected to combat this without the use of chemical additives. The biggest thing is to get rid of the extra nutrients.
1.Evaluate your feeding. If you are feeding more than can be eaten in about 1-2 minutes it is too much and the remainder of it is falling to the rock and sand and becoming nutrient.
2.Evaluate your flow. If you have areas in the tank where there is little to no flow this can be corrected by adding power heads or repositioning the ones you already have. You don’t need to create sand storms just have water moving over the area to keep detritus suspended in the water column for removal by your filter – skimmer.
3.Evaluate your water changes. The solution to pollution is dilution! You want to continually remove unneeded nutrients as well as replace those things that are used by the system. 10% weekly is a good change schedule. Some do 20% every other week and some vary the schedule from there, but a good start is 10% per week.
4.Evaluate your lighting schedule. About 10 hours of daylight is all that is needed.
5.If you have a cyano outbreak do the above 4 items andh:
a.At water change time siphon off the cyano first. It will come up easily almost like a blanker.
b.After siphoning stir the affected areas a little to suspend any detritus for the water change and filtering - skimming removal.
c.Use a turkey baster now and at every water change in the future to again suspend the detritus for removal by the water change and your filtering – skimming.
Keeping nutrient levels low to non-existent will help to avoid cyano outbreaks and any algae outbreaks as well as keep your tank and you happy happy.
Hope that helps.
manycolors
Member
thank you guys for the help, i have concluded theat it's red slime, i think i have been feeding to much and have impropor flow, i have ordered 2 new powerheads, cut the feading back and i'm cutting down on the time the lights are on.... i am going to see what a 3 day black out period will do for me to help kickstart things, i do have a frogspawn, from what i have read people are saying that thier corals make it through fine.... any opinions?
manycolors
Member
50 gallon tank, 5 gal. water changes once a week, using RO/DI water, however i just started using ro water, my guess is about half the water in the tank is RO/DI