Red Slime in sand...help please

carolinethedog

carolinethedog

Member
Well, I have a pretty well established 1 year-old tank (38gal) with tons of corals, 3 small fish and a cleaner shrimp. CUC is very adequate and has plenty of flow. WE ARE NOT OVERFEEDING. However, just in the last month I am getting this moldy-looking buildup on my sand (friend says its "red-slime"). It actually will make a little colony and spread and if I let it go for awhile will even turn black. It has gotten to the point that every two weeks when I water change I just suck it up with as little sand as possible. I made a big cave on right side, and I think it created a slight dead spot where the waste may gather, but flow is plenty and I have to have some caves. We tried a sand-sifter goby and WILL NOT TRY AGAIN. The first one covered everything (LR and corals) with sand, and we took back for another type who promptly went carpet surfing ($25.) I tryed adding 15 more hermits and 10 nassarius snails...nothing. So, a friend of mine said to buy some maracyn @ the LFS and it will knock it out. I just wonder is there a natural way to eliminate this stuff? I don't use anti-biotics on myself and I think killing of all the good and bad bacteria in my tank is a bad thing. We are first timers and for a year our tank has been really impressive, this is the first hurdle that I just haven't been able to fix. Please someone tell me there is something I can do.

THE SLIME!!! (small colony)

The tank
 
fishhunter

fishhunter

Member
Originally Posted by Stones
http:///forum/post/2937398
I believe not enough light causes it.
A few things will cause it. check your nitrates and nitrites most likely there have been a small spike. That is what happend in my tank just lower your feedings, do a water change and moniter. It is not that there is just not enough light it is your bulbs may be getting old and the light spectrum is changing.
 
carolinethedog

carolinethedog

Member
Nitrate/nitrite are ZERO. Also, I thought lights to since its just under a year old. So, I put new lights in 3weeks ago...still there. I do feel like it slowed it down some though. Anyone has experience with this stuff, should I use/not use maracyn? I water change 5 gallons in a 38gal every two weeks. Just dont get it, my torch looks like ---- and my water is testing just fine.
 
shyfish

shyfish

Member
Hi,
A sandsifter goby will keep sand nice and clean, stuff can't settle on it because it keeps it all stirred up.
 
carolinethedog

carolinethedog

Member
Ok so the sleeper/bullet goby trashes everything, and the diamond goby is all about the carpet surf...what's the best sand sifting goby??? Input please.
 
coral head

coral head

Member
Originally Posted by carolinethedog
http:///forum/post/2939047
BUMP...
1. Is maracyn bad?
2. Would you use it in this case? Why/why not?
3. What is the best sifter goby?
Wouldn't several nassarius snails keep the sand stirred up without running the risk of jumpers?
 
ilovemytank

ilovemytank

Member
Thats definately cyno better known as red slime. Its a bacteria. The gobies won't touch it. snails won't touch it either. Its usually caused by a spike in nitrites/nitrates. Some suggestions to improve it are makes sure everywhere has good water flow, reduce lighting time ( Not really necessary and I would skip this because of the corals ) water changes frequently, removing as much as you can, and reduce feedings ( thats only if you think or thought you were over feeding.) Once you get cyno, its the biggest pain in the butt thing that you will ever encounter in this hobby. I'm a perfectionist and can't stand to see it or algea in my tank. I've known people to fight cyno for months to get rid of it. Once its there it basically needs barely any phosphate or nitrites to feed on and multiplies quickly. There is a quick fix to solve your problem but you'll have alot of people with difference opinions argue about you using the "fix". Look up red slime remover or chemi-clean. I've known tons of people who have used these ( including myself ) with perfect results. On the flip side there are others on the board that start a thread saying that after they use it there whole tank crashed. I'm positive they are people who panic and post a thread before seeing the results play out and then never re-post that everything turned out great. That or they didn't follow the instructions. neither brand will harm your fish and they say that they are completely safe for corals. If you add the right amount, turn down your skimmer ( It will go nuts over skimming and take off the collection cup to allow the bubbles to over flow into your sump. These medicines cause the oxygen level to reduce and by keeping the skimmer like this you replace all the oxygen in the water. You could also turn off your skimmer and put air stones in your tank. after 48 hours do a large water change and then one more in 48 hours again. You will not have cyno any more. Some of your corals may close up during this time and act like they are dying but they aren't. I'm not saying you might not loose a coral. Its very uncommon though.I wish you luck in solving this problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top