red algae

[goldy222]

I've tried everything and can't get rid of my red slime algae problem. 30 gal tank with protein skimmer, 110 watts power compact white light and 30 watts actinic blue. lights are on about 10 hours a day. have a protein skimmer, 1 power head, and using r/o water. doing water changes about twice a month. when I change the water, I try to vacuum as much of the algae as possible, but it comes back the next day. would adding a wet/dry filter help with this problem. I appreciate any comments!

 

[goldy222]

I also forgot to add that I'm using about 30 lbs of live rock

 

[nickbuol]

Water movement is key. Move more water. That is what I did, and we don't see slime algae at all.

 

[burnnspy]

What kind of gravel do you have and how deep is it?
BurnNSpy

 

[c marlowe]

Overfeeding can leave pockets of uneaten food or partially metabolized waste products which causes perfect breeding grounds for cyano to appear. Also overcrowding,poor water movement,, poorly balanced filtration, and lights high in the red spectrum are factors. What about that "white light"? What do you mean by white, and how old is it? Stick with actinic if you aren't already. The use of antibiotics to combat it are a very very last resort due to the effect on the biological filtration.

 

[goldy222]

I have crushed coral gravel about 1 1/2 in deep. I just added a second power head for additional water movement. It looks like the power head is meant to work with an under gravel filter. do you think I should add an under gravel filter to work with the power head?

 

[burnnspy]

Hell no on the UGF.
What are the water parameters(ie nitrates, phosphates)?
CC needs to be vacuumed every week because it sucks as a substrate(too large and it traps waste products).
Reduce your lights to 4hrs and reduce the feeding also. It should go away in a week or so if you also reduce the nutrient overload.
BurnNSpy

 

[@knight]

I agree with burnspy, but you might consider adding another powerhead too, and vaccuming the crushed coral more often to get all your levels in balance.
that stuff is not really algae, and can be hard to get rid of.
DONT USE ANTIBIOTICS IN THE REEF TANK! YOULL BE SORRY IF YOU DO.

 

[goldy222]

would it be a good idea to replace my crushed coral substrate? If so what should I replace it with? If I cut my lighting to 4 hrs a day for a week, will it cause problems with my bubble coral?

 

[burnnspy]

Your bubble coral will do fine, it is important that it get fed regularily also.
I recommend replacing the CC with Seaflor special grade aragonite sand and a bag of Natures Ocean LS to top it off.
BurnNSpy

 

[goldy222]

thanks for the great advice burnspy. currently I'm adding calcium, strontium, and iodine supplements. what kind of food should I feed the coral?

 

[goldy222]

also how much of the special grade aragonite sand should I use for a 30 gal tank?