Need Help with red slime

[meathead]

How do I deal with red slime growing. 65 gal salt with a wet/dry, rock filled sump. Salt level @ 1.026
Calcium 450
PH 8.2
Alk. 7.8 DKH

The tank 6 months with 5 small fish, 25 small snails, 20 blue legs & 5 red leg hermits. The "diatoms" have been blooming for a couple of weeks but the red slime has started in a few spots and is growing fast. 5.9 watts per gallon for 7 hrs a day.

[tabwyo]

Cyano hates water flow. Cyano on the otherhand is part of the natural progression of a cycle but everybody hates it. See if you can put in a few power heads to increase flow in all but one area. Cyano will grow in the lowest flow area with adecuate lighting. Every night just befor lights out siphon out all visible cyano in the low flow area. Thus exporting the nutrients that the cyano needs to grow and gettin rid of the cyano itself. What cyano you don't get will only break back down overnight to release all the unused nutrients back into the water column. Oh and skim, skim and just to be safe, skim.

[tdwyatt]

A normal progression of the tank toward maturity, this actually is a GOOD thing.


Siphon out the cyanobacterial mats at the END of your photoperiod, this allows for the export of not only the nitrates in the system locked in the biomass of the algae, but the export of phosphate as well. In most aquaria, phosphates are the limiting factor in triggering algal blooms/overgrowths, as many spp of cyanobacteria are able to capture their own nitrate from atmospheric nitrogen (and convert it to nitrate) for protein synthesis. By removing the cyanobacteria in this manner, you reduce the availability of nitrate to the next step in tank maturity by exporting this newly formed nitrate and the phosphate the cyanobacteria have been able to capture.

Other things to consider involve how you are removing/exporting detritus in the system, as well as how these nutrients (nitrate/phosphate/trace minerals) are getting into the tank. It will help us to know the following:

• Are you using RO/DI for your top off and for making your water change ASW?
• Are you performing regular water changes of at least 10% every 2 weeks? Do you use a skimmer?
• Are you siphoning the rock and any aggregations of detritus from the tank each week? (detritus collects in areas of low flow, decomposes, and the resulting nutrients feed cyano growth)
• How many fish, how large, and how often/how much do you feed?
• Do you like Beck's Dark beer? (Just testing to make sure you're reading )
• How long is your photoperiod?
• What type of lighting are you using?
• What are your other water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, Mg, pH cycle for the day)
• Do you have a DSB? What types of filtration does the tank utilize? Do you use carbon, and if so, what brand?
• What volume (including your sump) is the tank circulating?
• Any recent deaths in the tank's populations?

Lots of questions, there are others to ask, but this will give us a good place to start, and BTW...

WELCOME TO TRT!!!

[autochek]

After reading Tom's post, I realized that the dark beer is the answer. If you drrink enough, the cyano will be fine.
Both posts are dead on the money, you have a nutrient explosion that is going to cycle out. Vaccumm it out just before the lights go out and do a couple of quick water changes. You might want to run some carbon.
My tank is over a year old and did the same thing when I adder a couple of bags of sand to bring up the front level again. This cycled out in about 3 weeks and is fine now. Skim Skim Skim with a quality skimmer and run it wet for a while.

[Loverotties]

Like Tom said,but change bigger amont twice then go to that,Drink Coronas and get yourself a nitrate and phoshate test kit(a good one) and have a good skimmer! and cut back the lights!

[tabwyo]

BEER?!?

sniff sniff......

Did somebody say Beer???