Dale_M
Community Member
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2017
- Messages
- 34
- Reaction score
- 38
- Location
- Valrico, FL
- What state or country do you live in
- Florida
A little background first
Started a new saltwater setup back in March this year.
20 gallon with live sand, dry rock (not live), HOB filter.
Added a few fish (2 clowns, 2 cardinals, 1 dottyback) and everything was going great.
Went through the normal buildup of diatoms (they have come and gone a few times)
Added some snails (5 Nassarius and 5 Turbos + 1 large hermit crab), they do a great job of cleaning up
Also added 1 peppermint shrimp and he is great at cleaning up leftovers.
I typically feed Mysis shrimp every other day.
So... to say everything was normal is an understatement. I tested parameters constantly and everything was well within the norms.
To the point that I stopped wasting my test kits, why bother... nothing changes.
After a few months I started getting a little bit of color here and there, splotches of greens, purples and a little red here and there.
Things were looking great. Until....
One of those splotches of red started growing out of control... I got the red slime!
Started reading and testing parameters again. Nitrate and phosphate a bit high.
So I started feeding a bit less, added a powerhead to increase flow, starting using Red Sea NoPOx.
Nitrate and phosphate levels came back down to normal and the red slime growth seemed to slow down.
Then, it took off like crazy! Everything covered in red slime!
Per some advise I used Ultra Life red slime remover, 2 doses over 48 hours and then a 20% water change.
Waited another week and did another 20% water change.
Great news, no more red slime!
Bad news, no more color in the tank. Everything is a dull gray. Where I was starting to get some coralline algae is gone.
So, I am at a bit of a loss as to what I can do to get things starting to grow again without ending up with red slime again.
Any advice is welcome!
Started a new saltwater setup back in March this year.
20 gallon with live sand, dry rock (not live), HOB filter.
Added a few fish (2 clowns, 2 cardinals, 1 dottyback) and everything was going great.
Went through the normal buildup of diatoms (they have come and gone a few times)
Added some snails (5 Nassarius and 5 Turbos + 1 large hermit crab), they do a great job of cleaning up
Also added 1 peppermint shrimp and he is great at cleaning up leftovers.
I typically feed Mysis shrimp every other day.
So... to say everything was normal is an understatement. I tested parameters constantly and everything was well within the norms.
To the point that I stopped wasting my test kits, why bother... nothing changes.
After a few months I started getting a little bit of color here and there, splotches of greens, purples and a little red here and there.
Things were looking great. Until....
One of those splotches of red started growing out of control... I got the red slime!
Started reading and testing parameters again. Nitrate and phosphate a bit high.
So I started feeding a bit less, added a powerhead to increase flow, starting using Red Sea NoPOx.
Nitrate and phosphate levels came back down to normal and the red slime growth seemed to slow down.
Then, it took off like crazy! Everything covered in red slime!
Per some advise I used Ultra Life red slime remover, 2 doses over 48 hours and then a 20% water change.
Waited another week and did another 20% water change.
Great news, no more red slime!
Bad news, no more color in the tank. Everything is a dull gray. Where I was starting to get some coralline algae is gone.
So, I am at a bit of a loss as to what I can do to get things starting to grow again without ending up with red slime again.
Any advice is welcome!
