Red Algae problem

hello everyone!

I'm sure this has been covered before but I can't seem to find any updates. I have a 36 gallon saltwater bow tank. I have had it going since march of this year. I have 3 green chomis, 2 Anthias, 1 Royal Gramma, 1 cleaner shrimp, bubble tip annome and a about 12 hermit crabs and probably half dozen turbo snails. In addition to all that I have 35 pounds of live rock. About 2 - 3 weeks ago I started to develop a red algae that seems to be taking over one side of the tank and just a little bit on the other side. My Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites are all zero. My specific gravity came down from a level of 1.030 to most recent test is 1.024 because of numerous water changes. My ph has gone from 7.8 up to 8.4 from my most recent reading. Any suggestions on getting rid of this algae? I was going to just go get a slew of snails and other critters but will that solve it?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Scott

 

Hello Scott,

See if this link helps you. I'm not a salt tank keeper.
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/red-slime-algae-and-getting-rid-of-it.37153/

One more:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/apr08/cyanobacteria.htm

I have moved your thread to the Water Parameters/ Saltwater Algae Problems section of the forum.

Ken

 

Thanks Ken I will definitely check it out.

Scott

 

Hey there and Welcome!!!!!! Just curious...have u checked out your phospates???? The red slime usually comes from a bacteria.....or not enough flow.....I am very new.....but I had it forever in with my SHs....no matter what I did I could not get rid of it and I tried everything. Nothing worked...I fineally took everything out of my tank....put all my horses in a tub,drained all the water, we scrubbed the inside of the tank with white vinegar,and very carefully rinsed the vinegar away. I did keep most of the tank water and didnt have to worry about my substrate,,,I cleaned all my decor(actually soaked it all in the vinegar then rinsed,rinsed,rinnsed......I wouldnt do anything with the LIVE rock except maybe kind of wipe it off with maybe a paper towel...u don't want to kill the good stuff on the rock.....but I did this as a last resort....and thankfully I have not had another issue

 

Thank you Lori,

Sounds like a good final effort if I need to. I am going to try a couple of water changes first and get a good cleaning crew. If that doesn't seem to work then I have your plan in the bullpen.

Again, thank you.

Scott

 

Hey Scott,

Welcome To FishLore Mate

I used to have the same issue with my reef tank. Eventually the red slime algae also known as CyanoBacteria will eventually die off if you keep your phosphates as close to 0 as possible. I find that reducing my tanks lighting periods e.g. from 12 hours to 10 hours this has also helped kill off unwanted algae. I also dose my tank with "Phos-Minus" which removes all phosphates and therefore starves the algae.

Hope this helped. Any other questions just ask.

Thanks,

Matt

 

Thanks Matt, my lights are not on for that long during the day. Typically they are on for about 7 - 8 hrs. I try not to keep them on longer because of a fear of an algae "uprising". I don't have a phospate test kit so ill have to get that. Thanks for the tips.

Scott

 

Welcome to FishLore!!! This algae is another stage in reef keeping. The main factor of this algae is phosphates and silicates in the water and will thrive on low circulation on the water flow the best way is to scoop out what you can with a vacuum and generate more water flow. I asume you are using R/O water? If not get some and start using it. You are almost there for the tank maturation to not have to go thru this problem. Another question that I have is do you have a skimmer and what type such as air driven or venturI type? Cyano algaes can be a pain but by doing the things I wrote to you will happen if followed. Good Luck and if you have more questions on this subject let me know!!

 

Your right I've been using R/O water for a while now. I tell you, I think it is the phosphates. I have never tested for them and didn't know about them until I read some of my responses to some of my posts. I am going to immediately get a test kit for phosphates.

Thanks,

Scott

 

Don't forget about the water circulation how many power heads do you have in the tank? Use phos guard by Sea chem for phosphate and silicate removal you must remove phosphate first then silicates if your not sure how to do this let me now!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

 

I have to get a phosphate test kit. That seems to be the consensus from everybody. My LFS never mentioned anything about phosphates. I'm ordering a test kit this weekend. Then I'll go to try and get it under control. I have two power heads running plus my protein skimmer and filter.

Thankyou for all your help.

Scott

 

for now just position the power heads to where it reaches to the problem areas.