Help me get rid of this!

[Vincent100]

I just used a powder slime remover, it works well in about a day for me

Yep they work fine but if you don't find the reason why you are getting red slime in the first place it will just come back

 

[ebushrow]

Something is missing here.....water testing is a must....using quality kits...not API. Do you have a LFS that will test the water for you?

RODI - do you have a TDS meter on it? What is it reading?

With 3 fish (tang will get you chastised by the tang police in a 29 gallon) there should atleast be nitrates and phosphates of some kind without a sand bed.

What type of filtration are you using?

Also and aside....do you realize the GSP is going to grow across your entire tank....not stop until it takes over the world?...just a warning in case you ever want other corals in there.

 

[Angelo Fatica]

Yep they work fine but if you don't find the reason why you are getting red slime in the first place it will just come back

True but it's a good temporary solution so that your corals don't die or so you're tank doesn't look ugly while you find the source, kinda buys you time

 

[greenhorn reefer]

Something is missing here.....water testing is a must....using quality kits...not API. Do you have a LFS that will test the water for you?

RODI - do you have a TDS meter on it? What is it reading?

With 3 fish (tang will get you chastised by the tang police in a 29 gallon) there should atleast be nitrates and phosphates of some kind without a sand bed.

What type of filtration are you using?

Also and aside....do you realize the GSP is going to grow across your entire tank....not stop until it takes over the world?...just a warning in case you ever want other corals in there.

Why does API get such a bad rap? I used it prior to buying a bunch of red sea test kits and it was pretty much on par. I ran out of Red Sea but still use api and my tests are right on par with my LFS (which uses another type of test kit and who also bashes API). I don't know why everyone gets erroneous results with it.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Why does API get such a bad rap? I used it prior to buying a bunch of red sea test kits and it was pretty much on par. I ran out of Red Sea but still use api and my tests are right on par with my LFS (which uses another type of test kit and who also bashes API). I don't know why everyone gets erroneous results with it.

Yep.

 

[greenhorn reefer]

I would try some hard work... Pull out the hair, brushing off the hair, blow off your rocks, suck it out. Do 20% water changes for several weeks while repeating those steps, then hit it with chemiclean. That hair algae is why your phosphates are 0. They're sucking it all up and trapping it, remove it and you'll remove your old* nutrients. Hair algae will also trap TONS of detritus making it worse. Then get a sail fin Blenny aka lawnmower Blenny. Those are things I've done that all worked, at least for me they did.

 

[ndz98]

the carbon dosing will feed the cyano directly.
And yea, coralline, lil algae etc. in a lot of bad water tanks its common to not have those. something kills it. sometimes you'll get ammonia and nitrites. Thats due to the nitrifying bacteria not functioning as it should. I call it a stunted cycle. (TM)
really common in some distilled water and bottled water tanks as well.

What's the best way to go about carbon dosing?

 

[ndz98]

@ndz98 what is your filtration regime? Do you have any sump? You said this is a 29G setup right ?

Yes, I have a 10 gallon Sump that house my skimmer and heater.

 

[ndz98]

Something is missing here.....water testing is a must....using quality kits...not API. Do you have a LFS that will test the water for you?

RODI - do you have a TDS meter on it? What is it reading?

With 3 fish (tang will get you chastised by the tang police in a 29 gallon) there should atleast be nitrates and phosphates of some kind without a sand bed.

What type of filtration are you using?

Also and aside....do you realize the GSP is going to grow across your entire tank....not stop until it takes over the world?...just a warning in case you ever want other corals in there.

I only use Red Sea test kits. Yes I know about the tang police lol. I'm moving to a 75 gallon tank soon but want to tackle this algae issue so it doesn't occur in the future. I use a skimmer rated for 150 gallons and water changes every three weeks as my filtration. I like the gsp so far and hasn't caused me any issues yet. It's mostly situated on its own rock that way I can move it any time I think it's going to start becoming invasive.

 

[ndz98]

I would try some hard work... Pull out the hair, brushing off the hair, blow off your rocks, suck it out. Do 20% water changes for several weeks while repeating those steps, then hit it with chemiclean. That hair algae is why your phosphates are 0. They're sucking it all up and trapping it, remove it and you'll remove your old* nutrients. Hair algae will also trap TONS of detritus making it worse. Then get a sail fin Blenny aka lawnmower Blenny. Those are things I've done that all worked, at least for me they did.

Yea those are all things I do constantly. All it does is stir up the water with algae floating all around until it grows back the next day. Only exception is the lawnmower blenny.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

What's the best way to go about carbon dosing?

I would not carbon dose in your tank. it already has cyano.

Can we assume your not on RODI water?

 

[ndz98]

I would not carbon dose in your tank. it already has cyano.

Can we assume your not on RODI water?

Sure, why not lol. If it helps me with this algae we can assume anything

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Sure, why not lol. If it helps me with this algae we can assume anything

non rodi water may be killing the good bacteria od directly feeding the cyano. That's why the question has been asked by several members.

 

[greenhorn reefer]

Yes, I have a 10 gallon Sump that house my skimmer and heater.

Filter socks? If so, change them every 2-3 days.

 

[ndz98]

non rodi water may be killing the good bacteria od directly feeding the cyano. That's why the question has been asked by several members.

And that makes sense but how could I be getting bad water from a new rodi unit?

 

[netdawg]

quite likely due to less places to hide.

yeah I thought about that too, one thing though I notice is that my cardinals don't eat Pods even when I drop ones from my cheato clean up into the display they rush to them and leave them alone once they move. I was thinking the Fluco actually took away some of the food source of the pods but can't confirm it.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

And that makes sense but how could I be getting bad water from a new rodi unit?

I don't believe you mentioned it was rodi, thus the question, but apparently we missed it. Have you checked the TDS? are they quality filters?

Looking at your two year old tank and my 3 yrs old, two year old, and one year old tanks, and working with a lot of people with tap and bottled water problems on r2r for several years, your tank exhibits all of the signs of bad water.

 

[greenhorn reefer]

And that makes sense but how could I be getting bad water from a new rodi unit?

Tds meter? If you can't see how many total dissolved solids are in your output, you may just be using bad water.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

yeah I thought about that too, one thing though I notice is that my cardinals don't eat Pods even when I drop ones from my cheato clean up into the display they rush to them and leave them alone once they move. I was thinking the Fluco actually took away some of the food source of the pods but can't confirm it.

check the the big thread on bryo. Its bizarre how many survival strategies it has, one if holing particulates till they dissolve. Im sure bugs love it. Mine did.

 

[burtbollinger]

my 2 cents is: I'd test my RO/DI...I'd get feedback on the amount of flow you have....I'd dose Chemiclean...then step up water changes, skim wet, syphon frequently, baste rocks occasionally, and I'd run some Purigen, ROX 0.8 carbon and GFO (even running passive would be a start).