Crazy Algae

Sounds like Red Slime Algae (Cyanobacteria).

Turkey baster...blast it with water from within the baster and the focus your siphon over the area when performing your partials to suck it out of the tank.

Decrease lighting

Test for phosphates and Nitrates (check the food your feeding the tank too for it--I know there's a flake food for saltys that has it in there, so I'm pretty sure there's others out there too).

Easy defin. -- excess nutrients in the water column, many will instantly tell you to use Ro/Di water, but when I had my saltwater tank I got it and was already using Ro/Di...mine was found to be the cause of the flake food I was feeding -Phosphates & Nitrates.

A word of advice...don't try alot at once to erradicate...try 1 thing at a time and also you may want to consider increasing circulation (dead spot/spots).

There is a product you can use (Boyd Chemiclean Red Slime Remover)...but without finding the source it will only come back shortly after using the product. Please note, before using ANY product...always check to make sure it's safe to use with ALL of your inhabitants.

 

I'd cut them back slowly...12 hours of lighting is the max (so you're at that end with the actinics) and your at 8 hours with the daylights.

Myself I wouldn't go over 10 hours (but again, I'd cut them back slowly..maybe by a half hour at a time) and wouldn't go UNDER 8 hours.

For example: I'd probably aim for a schedule similar to this using timers>>
Actinics 10a-8p, and daylights 11a-7p

 

What kind of lighting are you using and is the tank covered or open top????

 

If it is cyanobacteria you do NOT want to blow it over the place with a turkey baster. As a bacteria it will only cause to spread to the area where it lands. Cyanobacteria develops in our systems because of 3 factors:

1.Lighting. When was the last time you changed your bulbs? remember that the spectrum of light emitted by bulbs only holds true for about 6 to 8 months, after, the spectrum tends to shift towards the red (more algae pleasing) spectrum, and this in turn creates problems with bacterial blooms and the like. Another point to consider is the length of your photoperiod (lighting cycle). Cyanobacteria is light dependant, and if you give it more light once its there... it just helps it's growth. Specially if the bulbs have exhausted the phosphours that make up the blue spectrum part.
2.Nutrients. Too much feeding, fish waste, too many additives ect.
3.Circulation. Too little or no effective circulation by itself will not cause the cyano, but if you have poor circulation in an area coupled with lots of nutrients, they tend to settle on the subtrate, rocks ect and where the nutrients settle you get algae, bacteria and others.

Solution:
Attacking the cyano from the 3 angles is the best fastest way to erradicate it.
Cyanobacteria is easily killed with the product suggested above (Slime). It is reef, invertebrate and corals safe. There is a catch... The erythromicin also kills beneficial bacteria, so you have to be careful on dosing amount so to avoid destroying lots of your beneficial bacteria.
You can do this:
1. Cut your lighting down to about half. Your corals will be fine. If you see them stress out a little bit increase by an hour or so, but they can be cut down in light by up to about a week without ill effects. This will help kill some of the cyano.
2. Add Slime to your system. You will need to turn your skimmer off as it takes out the chemical and makes the skimmer foam too much. Have it off for a good 2 or 3 days after the addition of SLIME.
3. Do a water change. At this time you have killed almost all of it. If there is any around the substrate or rocks or such, it is a good practice to syphon it OUT of your system while doing the water change. Again, blowing it, only makes matters worse. You do not want to spread bacteria, you want to extract it.

4. As Dawn said, if you do not find the reason why you got it, odds are it will come back to hunt you. In most cases is a combination of the 3 above, sometimes is just too much feeding, or the lighting coupled with another factor.

If the lights are OLD please do change, but only one bulb at the time, then allow corals to photoadapt for several days and then change another bulb, and so on. This way you wont harm or stress your corals too much.

good luck.

Regards

 

this is a old thread

and the member hasn't visited since

, but but I didn't say just blow it over the tank and leave it to spread...I said blow it and then Vac it out removing as much as possible

 

by blowing on it IS letting it spread. There is no need to blow it anywhere. when you can kill it on the spot, and then vaccum the rest.

 

that's what I did to erradicate mine. Might not have been the best way, but did the trick for me

 

Changed my lighting to metal halide lamp and gone in 2 days !!!

 

wow, I can't believe increasing lighting made it disappear (that shoulda made it spread...or at least that's my thoughts).

 

No it's true , i went too my local store Fish world . the owner is very knowledgeable and I mentioned my problem and explained the difference in lighting and what causes the algae slime and causes and my corals are 20=30 % active as well.

 

glad to hear it's gone! yay!

 

thanks me 2

 

I no longer have my saltwater setup, but always good to know there are various ways to tackle a problem.
How long did it take after adding the new lighting for the algae to disappear (just curious)?

 

it took about 36- 40 hrs with brushing down the tank3-4 times

 

so you went with the brush and vac method I take it?
(when I had it I tried blowing what I could, brushing the rest with a toothbrush, and vac it out with a siphon...I had to do this for I think it was 3 or 4 days before it all was completely gone...but I had an entire tank full of it that greeted me after I got out of the hosp).

Ps. Never get sick or go away when you have a saltwater tank. LoL

3-4 times aint bad at all.

 

No just some brushing , thats it pretty simple

 

man, wish I coulda got away with that when I had mine..I remember my arms being sore from scrubbing everything and trying to reach to the bottom of the tank.

 

Yes reaching the bottom is a chore at best , bought a 3 ' scraper which I luv now for moving and mixing up the the top layer sand .I have a very aggressive Blue Niger