[vw4life]

Hey everyone, just started my first reef tank about three months ago and now I'm running into an issue with red slime algae. I have a snail CUC from reefcleaners.org and they eat everything else but the red slime algea. anyone have advise as to what will take care of it?

Heres the specs:
standard 10g
3 months old
Fiji pink live sand (approx. 3in bed)
Current USA Nova extreme 18in 12k and 460nm Actinic
LR, LS, and Tetra 10 with carbon filter
snails, zoas, blue mushrooms, leather, kenya trees
tap water with Tetra Aquasafe
Salinity: 1.025
Temp: 78.4
Ammonia: 0
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Alk: around 300
ph: between 7.8-8.8

I'll post pics later tonight

 

[linuxrulesusa]

My best guess is it is one of these or a combination of all these factors:

- high light
- small water volume
- tap water (= probably high phosphates, nitrates, or other 'foods' for algae)
- new tank (I've had friends say it can take up to 2 years to get a stable reef tank, and they were working with much larger tanks)
- possibly sunlight hitting the tank at some point in the day?

I suggest the above because I had the same problems in my 12g nano that occasionally got some sunlight, where I was using tap water, etc.

One solution that I'm looking at for my larger (24g) nano cube is putting some macro algae to grow and use up nitrates in between WCs. I don't have algae issues in that tank right now so I think it's more of the water volume and/or sunlight issue vs. just 'tap water' as the culprit in your case (and in my 12g that I took down). Does your tank have a compartment or option for you to add some macro algae?

Mechanical removal is another option - scrub with a toothbrush while siphoning off the junk. But that only removes it temporarily - doesn't solve the underlying problem.

There are chemical options for killing the red algae but IIRC those can wreak havoc with everything else especially in small water volume as the algae all dies off and then you have all the nitrates etc they were storing released into the water at once.

 

[Rhonda]

All good advice from Dan. Do you have a LFS that you could buy RODI fresh and SW from? A few gallons of each would last you several weeks, plus a good excuse to make nose prints on their display tanks!!!

Not sure what to recommend as far as additional CUC with your tank size. Maybe a couple little hermits (give them some bigger shells to grow into). I swear my emerald green crab ate cyano, but only the stuff dusting the sand. You could see the little clean sweep of it around whatever rock he was backed into. He wouldn't touch anything that was actually hairy tho--I had to pick that off myself.

It is just an ugly phase your tank is going thru in the beginning. Just work patiently at it and you will get rid of it.

 

[Invertebrate]

You will likely continue to battle algae if you keep using tap water. Buy rodi warer from a lfs or by a rodi filter and make your own water. If its not the red slime, it will be something else. You will need to test for phosphates as well, and if they are high get them down with some gfo, you can run it in a mesh bag in your filter, but it won't do any good until you start using better water.

With a tank this size it will be beneficial to do a 10% or more water change every week.

Once you have your phosphates under control, if you still have red slime, you can use ultralife Red slime remover. I've used it on mixed reef tanks as small as 12 gallons with no ill effects.

 

[linuxrulesusa]

You will likely continue to battle algae if you keep using tap water. Buy rodi warer from a lfs or by a rodi filter and make your own water. If its not the red slime, it will be something else. You will need to test for phosphates as well, and if they are high get them down with some gfo, you can run it in a mesh bag in your filter, but it won't do any good until you start using better water.

With a tank this size it will be beneficial to do a 10% or more water change every week.

Once you have your phosphates under control, if you still have red slime, you can use ultralife Red slime remover. I've used it on mixed reef tanks as small as 12 gallons with no ill effects.

Did you have a skimmer running when you used the red slime remover?

I could be wrong on this but I'm not convinced it's tap water that causes red slime (at least in my situation) but rather more likely high nitrates. The reason being I've used tap water on both my tanks and the two main differences were water volume and frequency of water changes/stocking density.

I definitely agree on 10-20% WC/week to help keep nitrates etc down. If you can use RO that's great. Many LFS sell it for like $0.50/gallon so that's not too pricey for weekly WCs of a gallon or two. If you have the LFS option and a way to store the RO so you're not going every week, I'm not convinced buying a decent RO filter plus time to install is cost or labor effective, though it might save you money and hassle in the long run especially if/when you upgrade to a bigger tank.

 

[Invertebrate]

I would unplug the skimmer for a day after I dosed, it would go crazy.

 

[vw4life]

My best guess is it is one of these or a combination of all these factors:

- high light
- small water volume
- tap water (= probably high phosphates, nitrates, or other 'foods' for algae)
- new tank (I've had friends say it can take up to 2 years to get a stable reef tank, and they were working with much larger tanks)
- possibly sunlight hitting the tank at some point in the day?

I suggest the above because I had the same problems in my 12g nano that occasionally got some sunlight, where I was using tap water, etc.

One solution that I'm looking at for my larger (24g) nano cube is putting some macro algae to grow and use up nitrates in between WCs. I don't have algae issues in that tank right now so I think it's more of the water volume and/or sunlight issue vs. just 'tap water' as the culprit in your case (and in my 12g that I took down). Does your tank have a compartment or option for you to add some macro algae?

Mechanical removal is another option - scrub with a toothbrush while siphoning off the junk. But that only removes it temporarily - doesn't solve the underlying problem.

There are chemical options for killing the red algae but IIRC those can wreak havoc with everything else especially in small water volume as the algae all dies off and then you have all the nitrates etc they were storing released into the water at once.

So far the sunlight is about 3 feet to the right of the tank in the morning but that's it, its mostly ambient. I'm thinking its the tap water plus the pukani rock from BRS. Some people say that its possible for the pukani rock to leach phosphates/nitrates.

I did have 2 types of red macro algae but something ate one of them, luckily i think i found the culprit. As for a compartment, nope. Its just a standard 10g so right now its behind a rock.

I have been doing some mechanical but it just comes right back.

Right now I'm trying to stay away from chemicals as it is a new tank and i don't want to kill what I have.

 

[vw4life]

All good advice from Dan. Do you have a LFS that you could buy RODI fresh and SW from? A few gallons of each would last you several weeks, plus a good excuse to make nose prints on their display tanks!!!

Not sure what to recommend as far as additional CUC with your tank size. Maybe a couple little hermits (give them some bigger shells to grow into). I swear my emerald green crab ate cyano, but only the stuff dusting the sand. You could see the little clean sweep of it around whatever rock he was backed into. He wouldn't touch anything that was actually hairy tho--I had to pick that off myself.

It is just an ugly phase your tank is going thru in the beginning. Just work patiently at it and you will get rid of it.

Yeah but they aren't very close, about a 30 min drive. But, like you said, it does give me a good excuse to check out the display tanks! Also, to see if he has any new frags! I did see that someone posted in the FS forum, that lives really close, that they just setup a RODI system and was willing to sell just RODI water. So, it looks like ill be going that route.

I find it kind of funny that Cyano looks just like red slime algae. Are they the same? Ill grab some hermits and maybe an emerald crab from the LFS down the street from me. (different place)

 

[vw4life]

I'm not convinced buying a decent RO filter plus time to install is cost or labor effective, though it might save you money and hassle in the long run especially if/when you upgrade to a bigger tank.

My plan is to get one but not until I upgrade. Being an engineer, I find the labor and design part fun. But, if/when I find a job and move out (hopefully soon) is the biggest issue with that plan right now.

 

[emiliowatkins]

Thanks guys! Your discussions help newbies here. I also recently joined the community and new to this hobby!!

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[Rhonda]

Yeah but they aren't very close, about a 30 min drive. But, like you said, it does give me a good excuse to check out the display tanks! Also, to see if he has any new frags! I did see that someone posted in the FS forum, that lives really close, that they just setup a RODI system and was willing to sell just RODI water. So, it looks like ill be going that route.

I find it kind of funny that Cyano looks just like red slime algae. Are they the same? Ill grab some hermits and maybe an emerald crab from the LFS down the street from me. (different place)

I always assumed it was the same stuff. I had patches here and there, went from a dusting to a sort of mat then it got hairy. Even tho it is a PIA, I found it sorta interesting. I would get a bit of color on my sandbed during the day, and at night it disappeared. Lots of hermit tracks thru it...not sure if they ate it, maybe just disturbed it. I bought some dry rock rubble and added a couple pieces to my tank about 3 months in. Poof! Instantly gooped up with cyano. It is all gone now, except for deep in the sand bed (I can see it from the side). At least I think that's what is down there. Lurking...

 

[Monkey]

Yes cyano is red slime algae. It's actually a bacteria and a pain in the rear I recently battled an outbreak in my 75. Excess nutrients were the cause of mine. Detritus had built up under some of my rocks due to poor flow patterns

 

[vw4life]

That makes sense, ill adjust the flow to see if that will help after I do my wc today. Also, ill siphon what i can off of the surface and do a cleaning before the wc. I would assume that there is some extra nutrients do to it being such a small tank and feeding my corals. I might just feed them every other day for now.

 

[linuxrulesusa]

IMO you don't 'need' to feed the corals you have. So if it helps with the red slime algae to cut down on what you feed to like 2x a week or something - not sure how often you feed/supplement currently - maybe give that a shot too. Just feed enough for your CUC.

I have similar low-maintenance corals, which I enjoy, so I'm not criticizing keeping them, but they tend to be like weeds in a good way (except perhaps for some of the zoas) and don't need a ton of supplemental feeding if any. Just my experience, others may have had differing results.

I do have some fish in with mine so some of the leftover food from the fish reaches the corals I'm sure, but I don't target feed or dose my corals at this point and several of them have had very good growth.

 

[Rhonda]

The corals you have should get almost all of their nutritional needs from photosynthesis, but your tank is quite new. I don't have a nano, so take my input with a grain of salt. I wouldn't feed the corals either, but if you add a tiny CUC they may benefit from teeny weeny feedings once or twice a week. This coming from someone with obese land-dwelling pets and who has been lectured about overfeeding her tank! I was told to only feed my baby clowns 1-2 little pellets a day, so a couple hermits and a crab would need waaaay less. Maybe once you get some other creatures resume tiny feedings of the tank once a week. The smaller you go the more precise you need to be, but I bet once you get maintaining this tank down the next will be a breeze.

 

[vw4life]

Thanks for the advice linuxrulesusa and Rhonda. I'll be sure to keep all of you updated on what happens with the cyano. Hopefully next weeks water change will be with RO/DI water

Another question I have; I have a brain coral frag and was wondering should I only spot feed it 2x a week? what should its feeding schedule be? It seems happy and puts out its feeder tentacles at night for a period of time and in the morning before my lights turn on

 

[vw4life]

Well just did the water change and siphoned as much cyano out as possible. Also i set up a small qt tank as my fiji rock has an aptasia problem.

 

[slate744]

Peppermint shrimp works wonders on aptasia. I had an outbreak in my 55 gal. I added 3 shrimp and most of it was gone overnight.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

 

[linuxrulesusa]

Peppermint shrimp works wonders on aptasia. I had an outbreak in my 55 gal. I added 3 shrimp and most of it was gone overnight.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

I agree, same experience for me. I had three and they cleaned up all my aptasia. I had tried the syringe/lemon juice/etc methods and those failed. Maybe I was too slow, or the aptasia was too well hidden in the rock.

Main caveats - peppermints are a major pain to catch (especially in a lot of LR), they get big, and sometimes (I've read, not my experience) they will nibble on your corals once they run out of aptasia.

I still have a single smaller one with no issues but I sold my two larger ones to another hobbyist after the aptasia problem was solved (under a week's time).

 

[vw4life]

Sweet! I'll have to look and see if i can find a small one to put into my qt then move it to my DT. I did find a tiny one in my DT so im sure it'll eat it no problem