need advice

ZOOT098

ZOOT098

Reefing newb
got rid of my sandsifting gobie

now i have a red slime on my substrate and on the glass in my overflow

what is it and how do i get rid of it

i have a feeling that my gobie was keeping it under control

but hes gone

thanks in advance
 
Red slime is cyano bacteria.Its caused by excess nutrients in the water.Namely nitrates and phosphates.
Add more flow,siphon out as much as possible when you do a water change,and leave the lights off for a 3 or 4 days.Then pray it dont show back up.
 
how do i add more flow???

im turning about 400g per hour with my overflow and have 2 600gph power heads running and 1 800gph powerhead
 
You add more flow with another powerhead or 2.Or try redirecting the ones you have to stir things up a bit.But the biggest thing is to find out where the nurients are coming from.The extra flow just helps keep waste suspended so the filtration system can catch it.
 
The problem with chemi-clean,is that if you dont kill the cyano the first time around,it'll be harder to get rid of the second time.And will eventually get to the point of not working at all.Cyano will build a resistence to the medication over time.
Leaving the lights off for a few days will kill off the bacteria without adding antibotics to your system.
 
I had cyano for a while in my tank. I did increased water changes and got out as much as I could each time. It takes a little while to get rid of it but its gone now.
 
Good advice all around, You may be getting false nitrate readings because Cyno feeds on nitate, also what's your water temp.---cyno loves heat! I bet everyone in this forum has had cyno problems, It's the #1 reason most people give up the hobby but it can be beat, just don't let it get out of control. Listen to Yote, praying may help. LOL
 
If I find cyano in my tank, I rub it off the glass or powerheads with my finger. Then suck it up with a turkey baster. Do water changes and run a little canister filter with carbon.

I bought this little canister with the intent of running carbon occasionally. It works great. I fill a media bag with about 1 cup of carbon. It hangs on the side. There's a little plug on top that is removed for priming. Fill it up with water by using a turkey baster and then put the plug back in. Plug it in. I usually run it for about 12--18hrs once a month. Best $20 I ever spent in this hobby. Some people will say the hoses are cheap. They are. But if you treat it gently and don't yank on the hoses or abuse it, it will work just fine. I've had mine for 6 months and I use it a lot. I have 2 tanks, so it sees about 24--36hrs use monthly.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16742

I'd listen to Yote. Find the source of the nutrients. Are you running a refugium with a DSB or macro algae for nutrient export?
 
ok let answer some questions

  1. yes i am running a skimmer
  2. had a fuge but took it out, have plans to add one later
  3. nitrates testing 0
  4. phosphates 0
  5. running a phosphate reactor
  6. running a uv light
  7. filter sock on my drain into the sump, changed every 3 days
got most of it out, and off glass
seems to be ok for now, luckily it was only on my glass in the overflow and on my sandbed, none that i could see on my rockwork, or corals

im going to let it go for now and see waht happens

i may be being an idiot but im still confused on adding more flow, tell me if im wrong but with the heads i have in now + my overflow i should be moving 2400 gallons an hour???

400gph overflow
600gph powerheads x2
800gph powerhead

am i wrong????
 
Your right about how many gallons your moving.But you can always use more flow.If the sand stays on the bottom,you dont have too much.
The more flow the better.
Cyano is going to pop from time to time.Its a natural part of reef.Except on the wild reef,there are things that actually feed on it and control it.Stuff we dont have in our tanks.
And just because your test kit dont read any nitrates,dont mean they aint there.The kits we buy will only read down to certian point.And phosphate kits are about as useless as tits on a boar hawg.They only read inorganic phosphates(orthophosphates).To read the ORGANIC phosphates,you need special equipment like a photometer.
It's be a good idea to go ahead and remove the cyano.As it grows it produces its own organic nutrients.Which is the part we see,the red slime.
 

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