Red Slime!!!!

[zippyjr123]

Alright so far my tank has been wonderful and now .... RED SLIME .... well right now the red slime is only on the rocks and i bought the med"RED SLIME REMOVER" and it is going to turn my tank yellow ... well is there anything else i should do ... do i turn off lights... what should i expected ... the package doesnt give me much information ... Im not sure and im scared to kill the animals i have ... *(Fish//live rock//inverts//coral)*
Please get back to me if possible!

Thank you
Rose

 

[henryd]

Rose,
Water changes, and what are your water parameters? How often are you feeding and feeding what?
I would try not to use chemicals to fight it because the causes are not addressed.

 

[zippyjr123]

Rose,
Water changes, and what are your water parameters? How often are you feeding and feeding what?
I would try not to use chemicals to fight it because the causes are not addressed.

I feed the fish 2 times a day once in the morning and then in the evening. I feed the corals 2 times a week. The fish I feed formula two,brine shrimp,saltwater multi-pack,seaweed,and marine-s,(not all at 1 time switch through out the week).The corals I feed plankton and phyto-feast, The bubble tip I feed 1 time a week and its feed silversides. This is what they told me at the pet store. To much food?
We have a 55 gallon tank, how much of a water change? Also will it help get rid of this red slim? Is red slime the same as red algae? I usually take the water to be checked at the pet store and they said everything was fine. I do this at least once a week.
Thanks for any advice you can give us.

 

[Bifferwine]

Red slime is a type of algae, usually caused by high nutrient levels in your tank (i.e. feeding too much, not enough water changes). You also might want to try stronger circulation in the tank, the slime will have a hard time establishing itself if the water current is stronger.

 

[jhnrb]

I agree you may need to increase circulation in the area where the red slime is developing. also at least once a month use a small pump/baster/or other and stir things up a bit like a storm to get the detritus back into solution so the skimmer can pick it up. you really need to determine the cause of the problem, nutrients, phosphates, silicates, etc. when you tank your water to be sampled write the numbers down and post them here so we may be able to help. water parameters being ok is a matter of opinion of the person doing the test. means nothing unless the numbers are provided and can be verified as being in the sweet zone so to speak. test results for the following needed, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, alkalinity, calcium, iodine, ph, salinity, phosphates, silica, temperature fluctuation, a list of additives, animals in the system, oxygen levels. provide as much as you can and we can go from there. less I forget, be careful with any miracle cures or fast acting additives for algae removal, as you do not want to hurt your established bacteria bed. good luck, keep us posted.

 

[hplexx]

i had the same problem few month's ago i took the rock out and use a srub brush to scrub it out and it when away i haven see it since ...

that's yust me idont know if this 0k but yust my 2 cent's!!

 

[gasman]

I am fighting it now. I cut my lights back to 8 hrs a day and been doing 10% water change 2 times a week. I cut food back to 1 time every other day. When I do a water change I suck as much as possable with vac. I test my water and everything good. I brought my KH to 13 and PH 8.5/8.6 I think I am winning. Also droped the temp down to 76 F. I hope something here helps.

 

[yote]

Not sure if it was the problem or I just got lucky,but my red slime went away when I stopped using the marine-s food. But if luck works then i'll take it

 

[henryd]

I would try to cut back on the feedings and use less of the flake food as they tend to put phosphates into the tank, which then build up in the tank, substrate and sump - only water changes take that out of the tank unless you use one of the phosphate removal products.

 

[chargedtuna]

i used that stuff...worked great, however, it killed all my emerald crabs (3) and I found all my snails upside down:( didn't kill my goby or mushrooms, just invertebrates

 

[AndyB4784]

also if you are feeding frozen food be sure to thaw it and drain the water from the food before you feed it. the solution that the frozen food is packaged in tends to contain high amounts of phosphate. also if you are using carbon in the tank this tends to leach phosphate into the tank. you can use a product such as rowaphos or phosban to help remove the excess phosphate in the water just be sure to change it regularly or it will leach the phosphate back into the water. hope this helps.