Red Slime Cleaners??

[irishstout]

I have an outbreak of cyno in my tank that I am trying to get under control. Any suggestions on cleaners I can add to help out???

 

[teog]

i havent found anyone that would it red algea but I just started using red slime remover it works great. You also need to check your phosphate. Once you get rid of those your red slime can be controlled

 

[adrian]

Manual removal usually works best, aka water changes There are not many creatures that will feed on it, baby queen conchs are said to work well. Of course you will have to get to the root of the problem, they cyano needs nutrients to grow, eliminate the nutrient source, and the cyano will die off. HTH

 

[irishstout]

That's what I figured. I'm doing a water change tommorrow. The weird thing is that it grows, dies back, then grows back. That must mean that it is using up the nutrients, however, they are getting back in. The only thing that is being added is ro water from the LFS to top off. I think it's time to invest in my own. Or, is this a trait of cyno??

 

[adrian]

Cyano is the simplest most persistant form of life, and once its inroduced, and the conditions are right, it can be very difficult to get rid of. Its normal for it to die back at night, its like diatoms which will grow rapidly when the lights are on, and die back when they are off. I would do several water changes in a row, removing only enough water to allow you to syphon out all the cyano each time. It grows best in areas of low current, those power heads may help out. Fresh activated carbon may also help. You might also try some more red legged hermits that will dig through it looking for goodies in the sand. HTH

 

[irishstout]

That certainly does help, thanks for the suggestions. The powerheads will be here tommorrow so the current in the tank will certainly be increased, and I guess the water change tommorrow will be the first of several over the next week or so. Again, thanks for the suggestions.

 

[volitan]

I've heard that when your bulbs get old, that can cause cyano growth. Any truth to that?

 

[adrian]

If bulbs are old and their spectrum has shifted more towards the red, it makes the conditions more favorable for algae growth, so yes it is true to a point.