Red slime???

theappe

Member
I've recently had a red slime outbreak. How can I take care of it and what causes it? Ive tried manualy removing it, but it keeps coming back. Checked my levels and (amm, trates, trites) and they are at zero. Im stumped. :scared:
 

greenwolf52

Member
there is something you can buy from your lfs. i believe it is actually called "red slime". most places i have been to carry it. follow the directions and make sure you turn off your skimmer after treating otherwise it will go nuts. definitely works like a charm, though.
 

fbm

Active Member
Do a search for red slime. There are several ways to remove it. First is suction all of it out and increase your flow to that area. Second is determine what is causing it, overfeeding, too long of a light cycle, not the correct spectrum of light, or is it just a new tank? Third and IMO don't do this but you could use red slime remover.
The reason I say don't use red slime remover because is made a mess of my tank. Alot of people around here will tell you it works great, and yes it did work it just made a mess of everything.
How much flow do you have in your tank right now? I would say you want a bare mininum of 15 times your volume of your tank per hour. So if you have a 100 gallon tank then you want 1500gph turnover. Now this don't have to all be run through your filtration system, you can just add power heads to achieve this. And I don't think hang on skimmers really count because they don't move too much water at all no mater what the gph on the pumps are.
You also don't want to have any stagnet flow areas in your tank either.
 

theappe

Member
To answer some questions... I dont think I overfeed. I feed once a day and very little. Fish usually eat everything within a minute. Its not a new tank. And I believe that I have adequate flow with the filter, power head, and skimmer. I just recently got the red slime so I dont think its the light cycle or the incorrect spectrum.
BTW I saw the "red slime" remover at the LFS, but I just wanted to consult and check out what the reasons could be.
 

natureboy

Member
Use a phosphate sponge to remove any phosphates and silicates in your water. Also make sure that your temp. is stable.
 

theappe

Member
temp is very stable! thats something that i learned to look out for in the past. thanks for the tip. i think that im just gonna go with the red slime cure and some good ol water changes!
 

mavis1032

Member
Curious, Have you tried the "red Slime" remover. I am also havinng an outbreak and bought the powder, but I am afraid to add it. Let me know if it worked or if you had any problems with it.
Thanks,
Mark
 
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