Red Slime Algae

[reef-nut]

Whats the best way to get rid of red slime with no side effects? So far it just gets on the front gravel in a 16 gal. bowfront nano. It never gets on any rock. The only other thing it gets on is the heater.

 

[reeftank21]

Red Slime Remover by Ultralife. It works. I think the algae is a bacteria. I had some in my sump but mostly because the flow in the refugium was not moving around enough. After I added more flow it went away. I also added a much more powerful light to the refugium that may have caused it as well.

 

[Timeless1]

The best way to fight Red Slime is to do more frequent water changes, before trying any chemicals. And when doing water changes siphon off any off the sand and LR. go with about a 25% weekly change, for a few weeks, reduce light a bit, and reduce the amount of food.

I hope this helps.

 

[darknessheir]

after doing water changes and phos buster didnt work i used the stuff i bought from fosters and smith and 2 days later it was all gone!

 

[ScubaBosh]

Use the red slime remover. works great!

 

[reef-nut]

somebody told me its because there is no water flow on the bottom of the bow of the tank where I am getting all the algae

 

[nayrgaijin]

Glad it's all gone!
I've gone with non-photo periods for 1-3 days at a time and more frequent water changes to get rid of this stuff before. It's worked quite well for me, but I've heard that product you purchased works quite well too.

 

[NanoNano]

Yep it hates not having light like most algae... It also siphons very easily imo with a turkey baster. I got rid of it completely by siphoning.

 

[DaveA]

The best way to fight Red Slime is to do more frequent water changes, before trying any chemicals. And when doing water changes siphon off any off the sand and LR. go with about a 25% weekly change, for a few weeks, reduce light a bit, and reduce the amount of food.

I hope this helps.

+1 This plus the improved refugium that Timeless1 suggested is a much better way than chemicals that the others suggest. Chemicals might in fact get rid of the red slime, but the fact that it's there in the first place points to a problem in the balance of nutrients in your tank. If you use chemicals, you'll get rid of the red slime, but the underlying problems will start causing other problems. You really need to attack the underlying causes.