Red Algae Slime Help

[Lulabell55]

Hi Red Slime Has Just Started to Apear In My Tank Any Iders What This Is And How Can I Get Rid Of It Thanks Guys And Dolls:)

[Kev]

Your tank is pretty young. I think this is probably part of the normal cycling process. I personally would not be unduly worried. I would just maintain regular water changes over the coming weeks, maybe syphoning some of it out at the same time. It will settle down.

What do your water parameters look like now? Any chance of some pictures of the stuff?

[Tetley]

As Kev has said,

Your tank is young, time and regular water changes will help, don't overfeed, & plenty of water movement is the key.

HTH

Ian

[MR Teee]

If it appears to be spreading quickly then syphon it out and monitor, otherwise its all part of the tank maturing.

[jamieb]

is it cyno? if it is then it seems to be linked to salinity fluctuations.
do you use and auto top-up or manually add it?
jamie

[Chris, Reef Ranch]

Cyanobacteria? Hmmm. It is an indication of low Oxidative Redox Potential (ORP). This usually something to do with how the system is run and designed. Not something I could help you with unless I have more information. Please feel free to pop into the store and we can discuss this at length. However, over Christmas, I will be a member of staff down so if we are busy we will have to break off. Either that or read all 3 articles in Marine World called "O2 too low?" and follow them to the letter!
They were written by me on this very subject.


Chris Aslett

[MR Teee]

Lulabell55, any chance of a picture of the slime. It is much better to identify with a picture.

[Lulabell55]

The Pic Is In My Photos Not Sure How To Get It On This Bit Lol Hope This Helps

[Lulabell55]

any help with this guys the pics are here thanks :)

[MR Teee]

Sorry Lulabell55 been wrestling with my computer this last few days.

That look like cyano to me, how big is your tank and what circulation do you have.

What lighting have you got?

Are you syphoning it out?

[Kev]

Yep. Cyano, but likely the conditions are there because of the newness of the tank.

I think Mr Tee is right posing questions in respect of circulation, which probably holds the answer.

Details regarding flow, lighting, parameters would be useful to help us answer this one.

[MR Teee]

Yep, just double checking there is nothing else glaringly obvious.:D

[Lulabell55]

hi there are 4 1200 maxiflow power heads 2 at the back and 2 at the front all at different hights there are 4 3,6 tubes 1 blue 3 white the tank is 48 x 18 and 24 deep with 24 x 15 x 18 sump hope this helps

[fishface]

hi my red alge appeared not long after setting up kepted syphoning and stirring it up and it went on its own it seemed to get gas bubbles under it? any help ?alan

[Macca]

We are often asked at www.reefcritters.co.uk what invert do we recommend to eat cyanobacteria. Well I could recommend a few critters but this does not solve the issue of the nutrients in the water column that is encouraging its growth. Cyanobacterial issues usually have multiple roots that have to be addressed to properly eliminate the out break. Factors encouraging its growth could / more than likely have a combination of physical, chemical or biological problems. When discussing the physical problem I always try to rule out an obvious cause – Low water flow. Low water flow in and around an area of a cyano outbreak can cause a build up of nutrients and debris. This in turn will provide a food source for the outbreak. This can be rectified by increasing the water volume turnover and making sure there are no dead spots for detritus to gather. Also over feeding may be a factor but please don’t starve your inhabitants with an irrational reaction.


Some pointers worth considering.



Make sure you skimmer is working and coping with the bio load put on it.

If using an algae refuge make sure the micro fauna within are abundant and have not been degraded through time.

Make sure your original clean up crew members i.e. snails crabs etc have not been diminished. Or has the bio-load that they were used to been increased?

If you are using a resin to bind phosphates does this need to be re-charged?

Are you testing what quality of water you are putting into the system? If you source is the problem then you will be fighting a continuous battle to eradicate the problem.

If test kits don’t help verifying there is a problem within the system, then consideration to nutrient uptake being consumed quickly by the cyano bacteria must be acknowledged, as this in turn will return a false reading!

Has the eco-system of your reef tank been upset lately? I.e. Sand bed disturbance?



Sometimes a cyanobacteria problem can be resolved by seeding the tank with some sand from a system that doesn't have a problem with cyanobacteria. You also might want to add a small quantity of fresh live sand to your system.



Hope this helps

[Reefer]

All great ideas and tips, but from someone who has suffered this bloody stuff for years i.e. me, (mine came in on mature live rock from a mature tank) the only things that in work in my experience are increased water flow. More clean-up crew to eat excess detritis etc and continual syphoning out when changing water. These measures keep it well under control but doesnt get rid completely. Dont think that when your tank matures it will go away it wont. You have to be pro-active on this one. But then again you could be lucky!
er Good Luck!