Help!!! Red slime alge

[dboone]

I am seeing the beginning stages of red slime alge in my tank (its currently only on my rocks). Can someone tell me the preferred method to get rid of it? I am new to the hobby as this is my first tank. I have had it up and running for about 5 months.... i have an 120 gallon tank with 60lbs of pukani rock and 80lbs of live sand, quantum protein skimmer, 2 blow heads, and lights to support coral growth. In the tank i have a long tentacle nem, rose bubble tip nem, 2 birds nests, a hammer, a scroll, alien brain coral, giant cup mushroom, zoa colony, neon clove polyps, pulsing Xenia, cheato, 2 tangs, 3 clowns, 2 cardinals, flame angel, goby, lawn mower blenny, 2 damsels, wrasse, green brittle star fish, 2 flame scallops, an arrow crab, 2 cleaner shrimp, pistol shrimp, and 12 snails.

My tank parameters are currently ammonia- 0.05, PH-8.2, Nitrite-0ppm, Nitrate-20ppm, Calcium Magnesium, and Alkalinity are within normal range for coral growth. I am doing a 50%water change tomorrow but i am hoping i might be able to do something else to ensure better results.

Thanks for any recommendations!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Slow down on your feeding.
Get some bacteria in there asap. You shouldn't have any ammonia.

Are you on rodi water?

 

[dboone]

I have been dosing the water with bacteria after every water change, and yes i have an RO setup on the tank and make my own salt water with it for water changes.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I'd get some in if you see ammonia.
Have you lost fish? Any dead turbo snails?

Are you dosing a carbon source like no pox or vinegar or vitamin c? Amino acids?

You should be closer to the end of the ugly phase so it pretty odd to have ammonia.

 

[dboone]

This is the first time i have had any ammonia in the tank since getting it setup...i havent lost any fish, but i have lost 2 turbo snails but i thought that was due to a bristle worm that hitch hiked its way into the tank, i have 2 bags of carbon in the sump currently.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I assume you pulled the turbos.

Are you testing for phosphates?

Kinda odd how it's all lined up along the rock. Is it under the return? Like it may be dropping dissolved organics on it.

Cyano will form on leaching phosphate rocks , and piles of organics. But you should have seen it already if it was leaching.

 

[Best Fish-Jake]

Definetly increase your flow in that area. Cyano is actually a bacteria, not an algae. If the problem persists, Red slime remover and chemi clean are 2 safe and effective treatment methods

 

[dboone]

yes i removed the turbos and cleaned the shells and then placed them back in the tank for my hermit crabs

I have not tested for phosphates, i was under the impression that since i was using RO that there weren't any phosphates.

Yes the return is overhead.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Phosphates will build up from foods. So it's a good thing to keep an eye on.

Maybe look at your flow and get so the water stays pretty stirred up.
A nice big scrub and a water change should help.

Keep in mind water changes will lower dissolved organics and reduce nitrates but phosphates won't be effected much.

Don't sweat it too much. Just a phase. Maybe a bit of a diet is needed or just a scrub.

 

[dboone]

Definetly increase your flow in that area. Cyano is actually a bacteria, not an algae. If the problem persists, Red slime remover and chemi clean are 2 safe and effective treatment methods

I will try moving my blow head. I plan on doing a water change tomorrow. I am hoping that will take care of it...

 

[dboone]

Okay, i will give the rock a good scrub tomorrow during the water change. Im hoping i can get rid of it before it spreads any further.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Don't sweat it too hard. It might not disappear right away but a big WC and maybe a smaller regular one for a couple of weeks.

 

[dboone]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind if it reappears in a few days after the water change.

 

[Bdog4u2]

What power heads you got? you need a good bit of flow in a 120 or detritus will settle and give you pockets of nasty plus tangs need the oxygen

 

[dboone]

I have 2 eflux wave pump 1,050 GPH

 

[Bdog4u2]

I have a 150 gallon with around 14,000 gph of flow.

 

[dboone]

I have a third blow head that moves 3,000 GPH... should i add it to the mix?

 

[Bdog4u2]

I would. the fish and corals will thank you

 

[mcarroll]

Good advice and observations so far....will add one or two.

I agree that it seems like maybe too much livestock went in all at once....something.

Strange to have cyano growing with so much N already fixed in the water. NO3 is supposed to be food for denitrifiers – and they tend to be awesome at their job. NO3 building up makes me wonder about PO4 or if something else is significantly off. I'd get this tested at the LFS or get a kit for it at home.

Losing snails is also weird if some nutrients aren't out of whack. Though I would recommend smaller snails in the future.....Turbo's are very difficult to keep well-fed because they are so big.

 

[Stolireef]

I've found that strong flow and balanced nutrients are the best weapons against cyano. A fuge with Chaeto also helps quite a bit. By way of example, on my 125, I'm running two MP40's at 80% Reef Crest/Nutrient Export and two Tunze 6095's. Total flow is about 8000 GPH. A good rule of thumb for flow rates is the number of times you turn over the water in the tank. I'm basically turning 70X per hour.

For an SPS tank, you want as much flow as the tank can handle. For LPS I'd want it at about 30-50x per hour. For softies, you can run about 10-15x per hour.