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Let's try and Find a Solution for Red Slime


albertthiel

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Red Slime Algae - Cyanos - Cyanobacteria

 

From what I read on this and other forums, lots of hobbyists deal with red slime and have to go to extreme measures to get rid of them, e.g. redoing their entire tank and scrubbing their rock and getting new sand, etc. or use what I think are mostly "patch" methods such as some of the chemical treatments that are on the market or using antibiotics, with all the risks that involves.

 

Do share here what you had to do to get rid of them, what methods you used, whether you were able to control there appearance in some fashion and what that was, in short anything that has to do with Red Slime Algae that may be of use to others.

 

You can also post what you are currently experiencing and anyone reading your messages can give you advice on what you may want to do.

 

The GOAL is to find a SOLUTION .... so let's hope that if we put our knowledge and experience together that we can find one.

 

In subsequent messages I will post information I have found that either worked or that brought about some real reduction in them, and whatever else may be of interest to those who follow this thread.

 

I know that there are a number of topics on red slime already but none, to my knowledge, is dedicated to trying to find a solution to :

 

1. avoid getting them

2. eradicating them once you have them

3. not having them re-appear within weeks or days of having gotten rid of them.

 

Whether we can find a solution I am not sure of, but we can try .....

 

Albert

 

EDIT: I will keep track of what seems to work, what worked, what the adverse effects of some products were, etc. so that I can post a message listing everything we found out after there have been a good number of responses and details.

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I've had red cyano once. I started the tank only using RO water but as soon as i changed over to distilled it went away with in a matter of days. I'm no biologist and cant explain, but it's what worked for me.

 

You can see it covering the rock here...

IMG_0084.jpg

 

It's kinda hard to see because of the coral but after the change...

IMG_0141.jpg

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I've had red cyano once. I started the tank only using RO water but as soon as i changed over to distilled it went away with in a matter of days. I'm no biologist and cant explain, but it's what worked for me.

 

You can see it covering the rock here...

 

It's kinda hard to see because of the coral but after the change...

 

When you say you changed to Distilled do you mean you did not use RO/DI but distilled only, or double distilled as is available at some places.

 

BTW if you used just distilled .. where did you get it from if I may ask ... as indeed it seems that it took care of it and you say in a few days.

 

So how many water changes with distilled water did you do, and how large were they as a % of the tank's content, e.g. 10% or larger and how often did you do them? Several a day, or every day once, or every few days.

 

This is interesting as most Hobs use RO/DI and not distilled ...

 

I would appreciate it if you could give more details ... Thanks

 

Albert

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Has anyone tried this product for red slime control ?

 

http://www.empireaquatics.com/Live-Bacteri...CFQsGnQodJDYA4Q

 

It is called Marine SAT and the links tells you more about it ... I am not saying that it gets rid of them, just wondering if anyone has used it

 

Thanks

I have not used it. But i did once have cyano and it killed my torch. It covered my torch and i blew it off with a turkey baster and it went into the overflow and that's the last i saw of it in my tank. I kept up with weekly WCs of 1-2 gallons.(16%-~30%)

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I had a really bad case of cyano about a month or two after setting up my 30 gallon. I started trying to take care of it by manually removing it frequently and doing a bunch of water changes. All my parameters were in check but it just kept coming back in force. I ended up getting it cleared up by using Red Slime Remover. It just took a couple doses of that and within a week or less it was all gone and hasn't come back.

 

When I added the first dose of red slime remover, I just mixed it into some water as stated in the directions but wasn't very thorough with my mixing to make sure it was completely dissolved. I then just dumped it into the tank all at once and noticed that my red monti that was under where I dumped it lost flesh in a few white patches. The other doses, I made sure to 100% dissolve the powder and to add the solution very slowly in a high flow area. After that, it had absolutely no ill effects and the PO'd monti came back in a couple days and is still completely healthy. I highly recommend Red Slime remover as an effective solution as long as you follow the directions on fully dissolving it in water before adding to the tank and adding the solution slowly.

 

Here's a photo of the red cyano in my tank before I used the Red Slime Remover. Before I decided to use the Red Slimer Remover, it kept covering my acans and managed to kill a few heads. That's when I decided it was worth trying the chemical route.

IMG_0206.jpg

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I have not used it. But i did once have cyano and it killed my torch. It covered my torch and i blew it off with a turkey baster and it went into the overflow and that's the last i saw of it in my tank. I kept up with weekly WCs of 1-2 gallons.(16%-~30%)

 

Did you use RO/DI water for the water changes ? Just out of curiosity why the 1 and sometimes 2 gallons. Was that based on the results of some tests you did or was it just your routine to do a 1 gallon one week and then a 2 gallon the next week ?

 

Thanks

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I had a really bad case of cyano about a month or two after setting up my 30 gallon. I started trying to take care of it by manually removing it frequently and doing a bunch of water changes. All my parameters were in check but it just kept coming back in force. I ended up getting it cleared up by using Red Slime Remover. It just took a couple doses of that and within a week or less it was all gone and hasn't come back.

 

When I added the first dose of red slime remover, I just mixed it into some water as stated in the directions but wasn't very thorough with my mixing to make sure it was completely dissolved. I then just dumped it into the tank all at once and noticed that my red monti that was under where I dumped it lost flesh in a few white patches. The other doses, I made sure to 100% dissolve the powder and to add the solution very slowly in a high flow area. After that, it had absolutely no ill effects and the PO'd monti came back in a couple days and is still completely healthy. I highly recommend Red Slime remover as an effective solution as long as you follow the directions on fully dissolving it in water before adding to the tank and adding the solution slowly.

 

Here's a photo of the red cyano in my tank before I used the Red Slime Remover. Before I decided to use the Red Slimer Remover, it kept covering my acans and managed to kill a few heads. That's when I decided it was worth trying the chemical route.

 

Thanks for the info ... yes fully dissolving the compound is needed. I believe that Red Slime remover contains the antibiotic Erythromycin, and antibiotics obviously are used against bacteria, so my question is did it do anything to your biological filter ?

 

Normall antibiotics would kill the cyanobacteria but other ones as well. Did you notice that after using it that you had ammonia and/or nitrite in the tank ? How did the life forms in the tank react to the treatment and did you remove all the chemical filtration compounds and stop your skimmer if you were using one ?

 

Thanks

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Thanks for the info ... yes fully dissolving the compound is needed. I believe that Red Slime remover contains the antibiotic Erythromycin, and antibiotics obviously are used against bacteria, so my question is did it do anything to your biological filter ?

 

Normall antibiotics would kill the cyanobacteria but other ones as well. Did you notice that after using it that you had ammonia and/or nitrite in the tank ? How did the life forms in the tank react to the treatment and did you remove all the chemical filtration compounds and stop your skimmer if you were using one ?

 

Thanks

I believe I did remove all the filter media and store it in a ziploc bag with some water until after the treatment, since most chemical treatments recommend doing that. I do not remember if I continued running my skimmer or not, but I know that I did not have any nitrate or ammonium spikes with my regular testing after the treatment. It would make sense that it would kill the good bacteria in the tank, but I didn't notice any ill effects. All my coral, fish, and invertebrates were totally fine and I would think I would have seen some negative effects if the biological filtration got completely wiped out because I have a pretty heavy bioload in my tank.

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I believe I did remove all the filter media and store it in a ziploc bag with some water until after the treatment, since most chemical treatments recommend doing that. I do not remember if I continued running my skimmer or not, but I know that I did not have any nitrate or ammonium spikes with my regular testing after the treatment. It would make sense that it would kill the good bacteria in the tank, but I didn't notice any ill effects. All my coral, fish, and invertebrates were totally fine and I would think I would have seen some negative effects if the biological filtration got completely wiped out because I have a pretty heavy bioload in my tank.

 

Thanks for the additional clarification and I am glad you had no negative effects.

 

And yes you probably did remove the chemical compounds IMO as if you did not the compound(s) you used would have been removed from the water more than likely and you would not have seen the positive results you did.

 

Do you remember the name of the Manufacturer as there are several such products on the market and not all of them contain the same ingredients. Thanks for letting me know, so I can record it as I indicated in my original message.

 

Albert

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I had a cyano outbreak about 2 months into my tanks life. Dosed 1 time with chemiclean and it was all gone in 48 hours. Have not had any cyano since. 2 cents. W-

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My mistake was not thoroughly cleaning rock pores out before adding in new uncured live rock. It resulted in this (after I cleaned up a bit)

1d5fd9b0.jpg

 

I dosed peroxide to kill off the red slime, 5 ml into my 10 gallon tank and shut the lights off. 20 minutes went by and my water was entirely red. I followed that with two 75% water changes, basting the rocks like hell and siphoning every bit I could. after that, I bought an appropriate cuc including detrivores and herbivores and everything was spotless.

 

 

 

...untill I got lazy. Pre-emptive Prevention is key

 

That is the only picture I currently have, but every last inch of rock NOT covered in coral was thick with cyano. This was taken right after a long session with some tubing.

 

 

The cyano was so thick at times that it would clog up my siphon.

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Do you remember the name of the Manufacturer as there are several such products on the market and not all of them contain the same ingredients. Thanks for letting me know, so I can record it as I indicated in my original message.

 

Albert

I still have it in its original packaging since I didn't use anywhere near all of it. I just got it out and the brand is "UltraLife Reef Products Red Slime Remover". Here's what the packaging says in terms of directions and how it works:

"UltraLife Red Slime Remover is a revolutionary time tested product. UltraLife RSR contains natural cellular matter, select biological accelerators and special supplements proven effective in removing Red Slime from Corals and Invertebrates.

For best results, DO NOT turn off UV sterilizer or ozonizer. Continuation of protein skimming is recommended but may require adjustment.

Do to increased biological digestion of organic solids we recommend increasing your O2 levels by the addition of airstones prior to and during treatment.

No need for water changes or removal of carbon filtration.

 

Directions:

Thoroughly mix and dissolve 1 level spoonful for each 15 gallons of aquarium water with a small amount of water from the aquarium to be treated. Pour dissolved solution into the aquarium. Repeat after 48 hours if necessary. Wait at least 1 week before additional treatments. Safe for reef tanks, corals, invertebrates, desirable macro-algae, nitrifying bacteria and fish.

 

Contains NO ALGAECIDES OR ERYTHOMYCIN SUCCINATE.

WARNING: MAY EFFECT PH AND OXYGEN LEVELS"

 

So apparently, they claim that it does not harm the good nitrifying bacteria since it does not contain erythromyocin. Also, the recommend adding airstones, which I did not do during treatment and didn't have any issues with low O2 levels.

 

207118-UltraLife-Red-Slime-Remover-a_1.jpg

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/ultralife-re...me-remover.html

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I still have it in its original packaging since I didn't use anywhere near all of it. I just got it out and the brand is "UltraLife Reef Products Red Slime Remover". Here's what the packaging says in terms of directions and how it works:

"UltraLife Red Slime Remover is a revolutionary time tested product. UltraLife RSR contains natural cellular matter, select biological accelerators and special supplements proven effective in removing Red Slime from Corals and Invertebrates.

For best results, DO NOT turn off UV sterilizer or ozonizer. Continuation of protein skimming is recommended but may require adjustment.

Do to increased biological digestion of organic solids we recommend increasing your O2 levels by the addition of airstones prior to and during treatment.

No need for water changes or removal of carbon filtration.

 

Directions:

Thoroughly mix and dissolve 1 level spoonful for each 15 gallons of aquarium water with a small amount of water from the aquarium to be treated. Pour dissolved solution into the aquarium. Repeat after 48 hours if necessary. Wait at least 1 week before additional treatments. Safe for reef tanks, corals, invertebrates, desirable macro-algae, nitrifying bacteria and fish.

 

Contains NO ALGAECIDES OR ERYTHOMYCIN SUCCINATE.

WARNING: MAY EFFECT PH AND OXYGEN LEVELS"

 

So apparently, they claim that it does not harm the good nitrifying bacteria since it does not contain erythromyocin. Also, the recommend adding airstones, which I did not do during treatment and didn't have any issues with low O2 levels.

 

Ultralife-Red-Slime-Remover-2.jpg

Ultralife-Red-Slime-Remover-1.jpg

http://www.marinedepot.com/Ultralife_Red_S...-FIMERM-vi.html

I have used this a couple of different times in the past and had some great results. I set up a 180 gal fowlr and had a massive out break. The sand and rocks were cover so thick you could hardly see them. After dosing the it started floating to the surface. I scooped it out with a net and kept up the recommended treatment. Completely cured the problem. In my 15 gal tank I had a small out break about 2 months ago. Same thing followed the directions and took care of the problem in short order. It didn't harm any of my corals torch, frogspawn, pulsing xenia, kenya tree, acan or my misc zoas and paly's, Just make you sure you mix right when you poor it in the water or it clumps and is a pain to dissolve.

Kevin

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I had a cyano outbreak about 2 months into my tanks life. Dosed 1 time with chemiclean and it was all gone in 48 hours. Have not had any cyano since. 2 cents. W-

 

Thanks for the contribution, and yes I have seen quite a few posts that ChemiClean from Boyd Enterprises works well and that it does not affect life forms if used at the right dose.

 

And that product mentions that it does not contain Erythromycin, but of course it could contain another antibiotics or another form of it and not the "ethylsuccinate" (and just as some info the label on the product refers to "succate" which is erroneous).

 

I appreciate the post. Thanks.

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CHEMI-CLEAN end of discussion. Used it once as directed and all cyano was gone within 2 days with no ill effects on my aquarium. Slime has been gone for months now and never needed another treatment. CHEMI-CLEAN FOR LIFE

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My mistake was not thoroughly cleaning rock pores out before adding in new uncured live rock. It resulted in this (after I cleaned up a bit)

 

I dosed peroxide to kill off the red slime, 5 ml into my 10 gallon tank and shut the lights off. 20 minutes went by and my water was entirely red. I followed that with two 75% water changes, basting the rocks like hell and siphoning every bit I could. after that, I bought an appropriate cuc including detrivores and herbivores and everything was spotless.

 

...untill I got lazy. Pre-emptive Prevention is key

 

That is the only picture I currently have, but every last inch of rock NOT covered in coral was thick with cyano. This was taken right after a long session with some tubing.

 

The cyano was so thick at times that it would clog up my siphon.

 

Yes IME when it begins it just gets worse and worse until one does something about it and you point out something important and that is that "cleaning one's LR in the crevices that exist" is important (in addition to other measures one needs to take).

 

Glad you got it under control and did not have to use antibiotics but used H2O2 dosing the tank and not spot injecting the areas where you had slime but I guess you had so much of it that you had to take drastic measures. which you did.

 

Thanks for the contribution payback ... and I noted the dosage of peroxide you used.

 

Albert

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Red Cyano is in every reef tank and always will be. The good news is that most of the time it is just part of the micro-fauna and isn't noticed...until it blooms out of control.

 

Couple of things that other have noticed is that it really likes some soft coral/zoanthid stalks. Conditions must be just right under there, even if the rest of the tank is clear of it.

 

For many years I haven't seen this stuff on any LR, but since I started feeding the tank more this past month I've noticed it in a few places. A weekly blast from a baster or, if really bad, a scrub from a toothbrush is all I use to clear it up. From there I just cut back a bit on feeding so it doesn't come back. I should mention that a clean SB/detritus removal is very important in limiting the nutrients that help Cyano grow IMO.

 

Turning a '-' into a "+", I use the visible presence of it to help me determine when I'm overdoing my feeding :)

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I still have it in its original packaging since I didn't use anywhere near all of it. I just got it out and the brand is "UltraLife Reef Products Red Slime Remover". Here's what the packaging says in terms of directions and how it works:

"UltraLife Red Slime Remover is a revolutionary time tested product. UltraLife RSR contains natural cellular matter, select biological accelerators and special supplements proven effective in removing Red Slime from Corals and Invertebrates.

For best results, DO NOT turn off UV sterilizer or ozonizer. Continuation of protein skimming is recommended but may require adjustment.

Do to increased biological digestion of organic solids we recommend increasing your O2 levels by the addition of airstones prior to and during treatment.

No need for water changes or removal of carbon filtration.

 

Directions:

Thoroughly mix and dissolve 1 level spoonful for each 15 gallons of aquarium water with a small amount of water from the aquarium to be treated. Pour dissolved solution into the aquarium. Repeat after 48 hours if necessary. Wait at least 1 week before additional treatments. Safe for reef tanks, corals, invertebrates, desirable macro-algae, nitrifying bacteria and fish.

 

Contains NO ALGAECIDES OR ERYTHOMYCIN SUCCINATE.

WARNING: MAY EFFECT PH AND OXYGEN LEVELS"

 

So apparently, they claim that it does not harm the good nitrifying bacteria since it does not contain erythromyocin. Also, the recommend adding airstones, which I did not do during treatment and didn't have any issues with low O2 levels.

 

Great of you to be so specific and even list the details of what the product contains and how to use it.

 

Thanks for the additional information and the name of the manufacturer and the pic of the box. Very thorough. Thank you

 

Albert

 

 

 

 

I have used this a couple of different times in the past and had some great results. I set up a 180 gal fowlr and had a massive out break. The sand and rocks were cover so thick you could hardly see them. After dosing the it started floating to the surface. I scooped it out with a net and kept up the recommended treatment. Completely cured the problem. In my 15 gal tank I had a small out break about 2 months ago. Same thing followed the directions and took care of the problem in short order. It didn't harm any of my corals torch, frogspawn, pulsing xenia, kenya tree, acan or my misc zoas and paly's, Just make you sure you mix right when you poor it in the water or it clumps and is a pain to dissolve.

Kevin

 

Thanks for the details on both your tanks and how you cured it of the red slime. Seems like it worked really well for you without any ill effects.

 

I appreciate the detail and the response and have made a note of your comments etc ...

 

Albert

 

 

CHEMI-CLEAN end of discussion. Used it once as directed and all cyano was gone within 2 days with no ill effects on my aquarium. Slime has been gone for months now and never needed another treatment. CHEMI-CLEAN FOR LIFE

 

Thanks for the response ... did you have a severe outbreak and did you have to use to more than once or just that one time ?

 

Also how long ago was it and did any slime re-appear ?

 

Thanks. Glad it worked well for you ...

 

Albert

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Red Cyano is in every reef tank and always will be. The good news is that most of the time it is just part of the micro-fauna and isn't noticed...until it blooms out of control.

 

Couple of things that other have noticed is that it really likes some soft coral/zoanthid stalks. Conditions must be just right under there, even if the rest of the tank is clear of it.

 

For many years I haven't seen this stuff on any LR, but since I started feeding the tank more this past month I've noticed it in a few places. A weekly blast from a baster or, if really bad, a scrub from a toothbrush is all I use to clear it up. From there I just cut back a bit on feeding so it doesn't come back. I should mention that a clean SB/detritus removal is very important in limiting the nutrients that help Cyano grow IMO.

 

Turning a '-' into a "+", I use the visible presence of it to help me determine when I'm overdoing my feeding :)

 

Thanks Nano sapiens and yes it can appear in any tank and overfeeding will do it. Good point.

 

I noted your remark about the Zoas ... thanks.

 

So you never used any compound ... no need to respond unless you wish to as your post does not mention that you used any of the several ones that are on the market.

 

Also noted that when you see any small patches you reduce feeding and it goes away.

 

What I have noticed though from reading posts on other forums and here is that even low levels of nutrients can bring about red slime even if NO3 and PO4 are not detectable. This is of course odd in a way but since we are dealing with bacteria light and in this case areas of low flow are were they usually appear first based on what I read an have experienced years ago.

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

Albert

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Yes. The peroxide was a last ditch effort for me before I would have just took the tank down out of frustration. I REALLY don't like to use any chemicals of any sort.

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Yes. The peroxide was a last ditch effort for me before I would have just took the tank down out of frustration. I REALLY don't like to use any chemicals of any sort.

 

I understand patback, and I do not like to use them either but this red slime issue has been going on for so long (it was an issue 25+ years ago as well and still is) that I am trying to gather as much information as I can about what those who have had to deal with them did, so that when I have a good number of responses that I can summarize it all and post a message about what worked and what did not, and whether anyone had any negative effects (from the posts so far that does not seem to be the case).

 

I think that accumulating as much info as possible may eventually lead to either a solution or a set of recommendations for hobbyists to follow to avoid getting plagued by them.

 

Thanks for your comments ... and your contribution

 

Albert

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Thanks to all those who contributed so far ....

 

Need some more input from hobbyists who have had to deal with either minor or major outbreaks of Cyanos, red slime algae.

 

Please share your experiences.

 

Tanks

 

Albert

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Sorry, Albert, in over 25 years of keep reef tanks I haven't had a need for any of the special products. I've always arranged rock work to minimize dead spaces and I think that is part of the key to avoiding an outbreak of Cyano. The others are keeping detritus down to a minimum and not overfeeding.

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Sorry, Albert, in over 25 years of keep reef tanks I haven't had a need for any of the special products. I've always arranged rock work to minimize dead spaces and I think that is part of the key to avoiding an outbreak of Cyano. The others are keeping detritus down to a minimum and not overfeeding.

 

Yes that is indeed one of the many ways to avoid them and I am glad that in all that time you were able to avoid them, since as you well know, once they show up they are very hard to get rid of and even when one succeeds, it is often only for a few weeks and they show back up, unless the Hobbyists had made the needed changes in their tanks to avoid their growth.

 

As I get more input, I extract all what seems to work and post a message that has all that information in it.

 

Right now I need more input though, although there have been quite a few posts, not enough to start drawing any suggestions out of them (although I obviously have a whole number that I know of myself but I am looking for possibly more of them from posts from other hobbyists).

 

Thanks Nano Sapiens ...

 

Albert

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