Red Slime Algae

[Coral Commander]

I have a huge problem with Red Slime Algae. From the last time I checked, I had a Phosphorus level of approximately 1 ppm. I have recently added Phosban to the water and it did very well at controlling the Green Algae but it did nothing for the Red Slime Algae. I was told that Red Slime Algae is an aerobic bacteria that requires a poison of some sort to kill it. Anyone know of nonpoisonous ways of killing it? It is really getting out of hand here. :-?

 

[AdeptMrSniffles]

Cut your lights for 3-4 days, dont worry about your corals... they'll survive. While doing large water changes siphon out as much as you can. How old is your light/lights.

 

[yote]

+1 Evan
Thats the best and safest method to get rid of cyano.
Save the antibiotics for a last ditch effort.

 

[Bifferwine]

You're right, red slime algae is a bacteria -- cyanobacteria. But it acts as an algae, so pretty much the same methods you'd use to control green algae work for cyano as well.

Cyano usually establishes itself in areas of low flow, so if you see it happening in certain places, move your powerheads around (or add some) so that they are blasting those areas. Like Sniffles said, kill your lights for a few days.

Be careful with feeding. Overfeeding will cause slime algae, as will using most pellets and flake foods. Feeding frozen food only will help.

It will also help for you to manually remove as much of it as possible. You can take a turkey baster and start trying to suck it out.

 

[Coral Commander]

Cutting the lights out for a few days sounds like a temporary solution. I would like to do something to permanently kill it. I fear that as soon as I turn the lights back on after a few days then it will just come back. Are antibiotics the only way of permanently killing it?

 

[Bifferwine]

No. Improved water quality and improved flow is the way to permanently kill it. Usually it comes back if you use antibiotics, and when it does it becomes resistant, so the antibiotics are only effective the first one or two times. Antibiotics is not the solution.

 

[yote]

+1 Biff
You have to figure out whats feeding the cyano and starve it out.Hence the water changes and testing.
But you've also got to get as much of the cyano out as possible so that when it starts dieing,it dont release all those nutrients back into the water.
Thats why I would siphon out as much as possible,do a decent sized water change,then kill the lights for 3 or 4 days.Then when you turn the lights back on,you do another decent sized water change siphoning out any cyano that you can see.It'll also help to run some type of GFO or other phosphate media.