Red slime Algae
- Thread starter ty
- Start date
kris
Member
It stinks doesnt it--well it doesnt sound like youre doing anything wrong. Check your phosphates, shorten the amount of time the lights are on, get some critters (if you dont already have some). Also, more frequent water changes might help, especially if you have alot of fish (like at or above capacity of your tank.)
May the algae destroying force be with you.
(sorry I just watched star wars)
May the algae destroying force be with you.
(sorry I just watched star wars)
rick
New Member
TY
A couple of thoughts. First: the only additives corals NEED are calcium and something to maintain alkalinity. Anything else is a waste of money IMO. It is a myth in the hobby that iodine is :necessary: for soft corals, xenia, shrooms, etc. Try stopping the iodine and Strontium for a month. I bet your corals will do just fine and you won't be feeding the algae.
Now you are probally asking yourself: What about trace elements? My corals need trace elements!!!!
Correct! They do. But they get all they need from water changes. Your corals aren't removing the iodine at nearly the rate you put it in (assuming you are dosing the iodine according to Kent's instructions). The excess is feeding your slime algae.
The key is to limit nutrients for anything but the corals.
A couple of thoughts. First: the only additives corals NEED are calcium and something to maintain alkalinity. Anything else is a waste of money IMO. It is a myth in the hobby that iodine is :necessary: for soft corals, xenia, shrooms, etc. Try stopping the iodine and Strontium for a month. I bet your corals will do just fine and you won't be feeding the algae.
Now you are probally asking yourself: What about trace elements? My corals need trace elements!!!!
Correct! They do. But they get all they need from water changes. Your corals aren't removing the iodine at nearly the rate you put it in (assuming you are dosing the iodine according to Kent's instructions). The excess is feeding your slime algae.
The key is to limit nutrients for anything but the corals.
S
sshorem
Guest
I agree with Rick. You can BUY a 'product' to virtually cure or change anything, but we are talking about trying to simulate nature. IMO a natural solution should be the first one looked at. Try getting critters. I had a bad algae problem. Got a cleaner crew package from this website and guess what. No more algae problem.
S
sshorem
Guest
My green emerald crabs seem to like it.
kmatysek
Member
Our emerald crab hasn't touched our red algae (that I know of). Does he do it more at night? Our's does not like to be out in the open and we only occasionally see a claw reaching out for food on the rocks - never on the substrate where our red algae is thriving.
I'd be curious about other critters, too, as we are trying to combat our red algae bloom by ensuring our alkalinity is sufficient, increasing the current flow on the substrate and occasionally picking it out by hand - and so far it's kept it from getting worse, but the substrate is still pretty well covered.
Also curious about emerald crab behavior. I'm surprised at how shy ours is. We have some bubble algae which, I'm sure thanks to him, is under control, but I would have thought he would have finished it off by now (there isn't much - just a couple of very small patches). He also likes to 'sleep' in a crack in our long-tentacled torch coral at night, and I've even discovered him there in the day time - reaching up and grabbing food out of the tentacles. Also, can you have more than one in a tank (ours is a 90 gallon)?
I'd be curious about other critters, too, as we are trying to combat our red algae bloom by ensuring our alkalinity is sufficient, increasing the current flow on the substrate and occasionally picking it out by hand - and so far it's kept it from getting worse, but the substrate is still pretty well covered.
Also curious about emerald crab behavior. I'm surprised at how shy ours is. We have some bubble algae which, I'm sure thanks to him, is under control, but I would have thought he would have finished it off by now (there isn't much - just a couple of very small patches). He also likes to 'sleep' in a crack in our long-tentacled torch coral at night, and I've even discovered him there in the day time - reaching up and grabbing food out of the tentacles. Also, can you have more than one in a tank (ours is a 90 gallon)?
clayton
Member
Red slime algae is caused by bad water conditions, insufficient water circulation and lighting. If your water quality is good (ie no ammonia/ nitrites and <2ppm nitrate)and there is at least moderate water movement in the tank, then the problem will probably lie with the lighting. If you have a reef tank that has at least 4 watts of lighting per gallon split equaly between actinic and white light (stay away from the red spectrum) then you should not get an overwhelming problem with red slime algae. However if you have a fish only tank you would not be carrying that level of lighting. Minimising the level of nutrients in the water and making sure there are no nitrates will help.
clayton
Member
Slime algae is often a problem. I have this myself even though all the tested water conditions are excellent including nitrates and phophate. Try the Reef Janitors web site for organisms that you can purchase to combat this (ie Clibanarius digueti (hermit crab that feeds extensively on RSA)
clayton
Member
Originally posted by Rick:
TY
A couple of thoughts. First: the only additives corals NEED are calcium and something to maintain alkalinity. Anything else is a waste of money IMO. It is a myth in the hobby that iodine is :necessary: for soft corals, xenia, shrooms, etc. Try stopping the iodine and Strontium for a month. I bet your corals will do just fine and you won't be feeding the algae.
Now you are probally asking yourself: What about trace elements? My corals need trace elements!!!!
Correct! They do. But they get all they need from water changes. Your corals aren't removing the iodine at nearly the rate you put it in (assuming you are dosing the iodine according to Kent's instructions). The excess is feeding your slime algae.
The key is to limit nutrients for anything but the corals.
I agree with everything you say about adding various trce elements/nutrients etc. But why do you dissagree with so many people about soft corals and iodine/iodide?
eric
Member
Gentelemen I would be very intrested to know about your calcium levels and how much kalkwassar you are useing. also if you are using any addatives to promote coraline algea. I had a huge problem with red algea slime, discusting it was everywhere rock,substrate,glass powerheads,I mean everywhere. and at the same time I had a huge out break of green hair algae to boot. I installed a half dozen turbo snails 3 red leg hermits and 2 blue leg hermits and they just would not thouch the stuff. Then I was told to try driping as much kalkwasser as I could and began using a product called coralvital, ripped out as much hair algae as I could using a toothpick with the end flared out. within a mounth all the red and hair algae was gone and now coraline is growing everywhere on the glass,powerhesds,rock,substrate, snails and hermit shells, Now my wife does all the feeding and can sometimes be a very generous woman so now and then I have to clean up by vacumeing the substrate and controlling phosphates but I have not even seen a small amount of red slime or algae. Clayton I stongly disagree with your veiws on additives I learned that you are a marine biologist on another post and would like to discuss this further. if you can find the time. email me at jeric40@hotmail.com
clayton
Member
Originally posted by eric:
Gentelemen I would be very intrested to know about your calcium levels and how much kalkwassar you are useing. also if you are using any addatives to promote coraline algea. I had a huge problem with red algea slime, discusting it was everywhere rock,substrate,glass powerheads,I mean everywhere. and at the same time I had a huge out break of green hair algae to boot. I installed a half dozen turbo snails 3 red leg hermits and 2 blue leg hermits and they just would not thouch the stuff. Then I was told to try driping as much kalkwasser as I could and began using a product called coralvital, ripped out as much hair algae as I could using a toothpick with the end flared out. within a mounth all the red and hair algae was gone and now coraline is growing everywhere on the glass,powerhesds,rock,substrate, snails and hermit shells, Now my wife does all the feeding and can sometimes be a very generous woman so now and then I have to clean up by vacumeing the substrate and controlling phosphates but I have not even seen a small amount of red slime or algae. Clayton I stongly disagree with your veiws on additives I learned that you are a marine biologist on another post and would like to discuss this further. if you can find the time. email me at jeric40@hotmail.com
What was it you disagree with?
dennish
Member
Originally posted by Ty:
I have VHO lighting about 3.5 watts per gal. My water conditions are fine and as for the fish load, I have a 100 gal tank and only have a bangaii cardinal, a percula clown, a naso tang, and a bi-color angel. I do keep my lights on though for 10-12 hrs should I cut this down
The only thing you don't mention that was recommended is water circulation. What do you have for extra currant in your tank?
