Red Film

[powderrfc]

Hey Im pretty new to the whole salt water thing. I have a 12 gallon nano reef tank. I have had it running for a little over a year. I do regular water changes etc.
But recently I have this red film growing over almost everything. Anyone know what it could be and how to combat it? Thanks for any help.

 

[inkman2004]

It is probably just red algae. How much clean up crew do you have? How long do you leave your lights on and is the tank near any direct sunlight? Are you overfeeding? And finally what are your parameters as well as how frequent are your water changes?

 

[powderrfc]

1 scarlet hermit crab and 1 Blue leg hermit crab and 3 snails for clean up.
Leave the lights on for 7 hours timer.
It is near a window. I know I know not good but had no where else to put it.
I am def not overfeeding.
Water changes every week sometimes every other. And obviously do more if its after two weeks.

 

[lmecher]

Photo will help. Dose it come off easily. If yes it is cyanobacteria aka red slime algea. (although it is not an algea) I blow it off with a turkey baster and suck out as much as possible. Reduce phopto period, feed less and increase flow, these should help. Also google it, may find some more tips to rid your tank of it.

 

[powderrfc]

These are the pictures of the stuff growing in my tank

 

[powderrfc]

How many crabs do you think i can have in this size tank?
Do you think i could have a cleaner clam or a nudibranch?

 

[nikesb]

http://reefcleaners.org/index.php?op...d=54&Itemid=81
theres an algae guide and looks like ur battling cyano. for a 10 gallon, thats not alot for a clean up crew. u need a couple of ceriths and a couple of nerites. 15 dwarf ceriths and maybe 3 nerites. stick to weekly water changes, not every other week. no need for a nudibranch or a cleaner clam. have you checked your phosphates nad nitrates lately? what kind of water are you using?

 

[geoj]

Originally Posted by nikeSB
http:///forum/post/3237368
http://reefcleaners.org/index.php?op...d=54&Itemid=81
theres an algae guide and looks like ur battling cyano. for a 10 gallon, thats not alot for a clean up crew. u need a couple of ceriths and a couple of nerites. 15 dwarf ceriths and maybe 3 nerites. stick to weekly water changes, not every other week. no need for a nudibranch or a cleaner clam. have you checked your phosphates nad nitrates lately? what kind of water are you using?
+1
Add what is the silicates?
Battling Cyano, Dinoflagellates, or Diatoms...

 

[lanie9101]

I had red slime in my tank as well on Sunday 2/28, I used Chemiclean and today 3/2 it is all gone.

 

[beaslbob]

After tanks have been running for some time it is possible they are nitrate starved. Cyano can get its nitrogen from the dissolved nitrogen gas vrs the nitrates. At that point the tank can rapidily changes from being algae (corraline or macros) dominated to cyano dominated. So all the sudden you get the red slime all over everything.
One thing to do is just kill the lights and let the cyano die off. That returns nitrates to the system so the algae and corals have the required nutrients.
Then adjust lighting so the algae and coral thrive but cyano does not come back.
And you may have to do the black out more than once until balance is restored.
my .02

 

[fibinotchi]

It doesn't look like you have a lot of water movement, you could try adding a koralia or something to increase water flow. Also you could suck a lot of that off during waterchanges which you should probably do weekly.

 

[fishlawyer]

Had the same problem on my office tank about a year ago. Put your lights on a timer, (6-8 hours a day max, less is more!), bump up your water flow and do weekly water changes. If you do all these things, you will be surprised how fast it will go away.
PS: You could try the chemical approach, but I always use that as a last resort as it could cause more problems to your delicate water balance.