Red slime

inkman2004

Member
Well I had been away for a few days and when I returned I have quite a large growth of red slime. Anyone have any luck removing it? I figured I would show you why I was away. She is 9 days old now and already rotten!!!
 

inkman2004

Member
Thank you guys. I just sit and stare at her all day. I am already dredding going back to work. But I am sure I will get calls from my wife every 5 min.
 

inkman2004

Member
Anyone have any experience with red slime? I am really starting to get over run with it. And what causes it to begin with? Thank you in advance!!
 

urluckypen

Member
I had a outbreak of red slime about 2 weeks ago and now it is gone with no chemicals added. I first scooped all i could off the sand with a regular slotted spoon~~then I removed what i could with a turkey baster. Still had some though. So i reduced my daytime VHO lights from 9-10 hours a day to 7-8 hours. The 2 hours i reduced have eliminated the red slime algae without having to add any chemicals to my tank. Try this method to see if it works??
 

tthemadd1

Active Member
Another big source of red slime/cyanobacteria is tap water. Too much metal/minerals in the water. Test for Phosphates and also nitrates. If either is high than you need to do water changes. I have had two outbreaks in the last few years and they were due to tap water. I also recommend turning off the actinics for a few weeks. You can also try to increase water flow in the tank. I have a 55 with a 30 gallon fuge and have about 1200 gph going through the main tank. You can get away with just turning the lights off for a few more hours but it will not really identify the source of the problem. Do the tests and see if you have high numbers. I also picked up a test kit from Home Depot to test my water for any metals, nitrates, nitrites ten bucks. Good luck. Also do a search for red slime algae.
Themadd1
 
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