Brown slime alge problem

[k9anna]

ok guys this was a problem that realbigfish had with this tank also we broke down the tank and cleaned it really good when we moved it over here to my house.... I changed to lighting from 2 6500k 400s to brand new Ham. 2 10,000ks with 1 6500 k that comes on for 1 1/2 hour at noon. plus running SHO actinic and 30 watts of light blue lights for moon light at night. now the same algee is coming back again its like a red slime algee but brown. I have tried polyox and it didn't work did i really didn't use it heavy for being scared of hurting the rest of the reef... anyone got any ideas.
everything else is going great......

[Penguin]

I have a problem with what sounds like the same algae as you. Look for anything in your system that might be fueling the algae. If you have and foam pads or prefilters, clean them frequently. Make sure your sump is clean. You could also try dosing "Red Slime Remover". I've never used it, but lots of people I've talked to have, and it's supposed to be reef safe and work well. I may have to resort to it myself soon.

[Joaco]

now the same algee is coming back again its like a red slime algee but brown. I have tried polyox and it didn't work did i really didn't use it heavy for being scared of hurting the rest of the reef... anyone got any ideas.

You mean it looks like cyanobacteria but brown?
Colors can change from setup to setup, it's not only red or blue, it depends on many factors (there isn't just one type of cyanobacteria), even UV-B radiation is know to affect processes such as pigmentation (Donkor and Häder, 1996 & 1997).

But bottom line is, if it's cyanobacteria, it needs nutrients to grow. If you kill it with chemicals, you are only adding more nutrients to the tank (dead cyanobacteria), boosting the problem instead of resolving the cause.

Other than the new lights, has there been any other change in the tank? you added realbigfish's LR to your tank? long ago? the increase in bioload could have caused and increase in nutrients, but we would need more details.

Are you siphoning the film out? that would really export it, and at the same time you would do a small waterchange, thus helping to reduce possible excess nutrients.

Joaco

[Joaco]

You mean it looks like cyanobacteria but brown?
Colors can change from setup to setup, it's not only red or blue, it depends on many factors (there isn't just one type of cyanobacteria), even UV-B radiation is know to affect processes such as pigmentation (Donkor and Häder, 1996 & 1997).

http://www.pyrrol.com/e_page/pyrrol_4.html

The center of the protoplasm of cyanobacteria is transparent, but possess the chromosome and there is a colored area around it. The consistences of the color are chlorophyll, carotenoid and phycobilin (chromoprotein), and it called photosynthetic lamella. Phycobilin contains phycocyanin (blue color) and phycoerythrin (red color), but usually, it contains phycocyanin much higher than phycoerythrin. Therefore, almost all cyanobacteria look like blue green.

Joaco

[Joaco]

You could also try dosing "Red Slime Remover". I've never used it, but lots of people I've talked to have, and it's supposed to be reef safe and work well. I may have to resort to it myself soon.

If you have a cyanobateria problem, resolve the cause (see above about killing cyano and feeding the problem)

Red Slime Remover:




I'm not sure what's in it, but it could be potassium permanganate.
That compound oxidizes organic material, which helps the skimmer to remove the waste, therefore increasing the Redox potential.

Cyano can be get rid of without the use of chemicals. Personally, I like the natural approach MUCH better (water changes, siphoning the slime out, lower nutrients, etc)

Joaco