Slime Algae

[Meric]

I used to have a nice clean tank, no signs of slime algae anywhere at all. Then I purchased a fish from a pet store and commited a Cardnal sin. I forgot to ut the fish in the quaranteen tank first, and I poured the water from the bag into the tank, by accident. I wasn't thinking when I did it. Since that time my tank has been overrun with this nasty red slime algae everywhere. It even grown in high velocity areas. It is growing on the back of my tank directly in the path of a MaxiJet 1200. It is in the Fuge, it even grows on the snails in the tank. Basically anything that doesn't move too fast this stuff starts growing on. I've reduced photo period, I not fed the tank for days and days and the stuff still grows. I have 0 Phosphates, 0 Silicates, and less than 5 nitrates in the tank. And still the stuff grows.

So I spoke with the pet shop that "infected" me to see what they thought would cure it. They made (3) suggestions:

(1) They said that my Instal Ocean Salt was causing the problem and that I need to switch to Reef Crystals or Red Sea Salt to fix the problem

(2) They said to put 1 Tablespoon of Sugar per 50 Gallons of water in the tank to create a bacteria bloom that would "eat" all the nutrients that the Slime Algae eats, thus starving it.

(3) Add Chemi-Clean to the tank to kill the Algae.

I know Chemi-Clean will work, but can be toxic to Corals if overdosed. Has anyone ever heard of using Sugar? Also does anyone else use Instan Ocean Salt and have a Red Slime problem?

[golfish]

So I spoke with the pet shop that "infected" me to see what they thought would cure it. They made (3) suggestions:

(1) They said that my Instal Ocean Salt was causing the problem and that I need to switch to Reef Crystals or Red Sea Salt to fix the problem

(2) They said to put 1 Tablespoon of Sugar per 50 Gallons of water in the tank to create a bacteria bloom that would "eat" all the nutrients that the Slime Algae eats, thus starving it.

(3) Add Chemi-Clean to the tank to kill the Algae.

I know Chemi-Clean will work, but can be toxic to Corals if overdosed. Has anyone ever heard of using Sugar? Also does anyone else use Instan Ocean Salt and have a Red Slime problem?

1) the first one is the funniest...IO and RC are the same salt the diff being Ca.

2) This is something I've read about (Vodka) but I wouldn't do it.

3) can't hurt..You could also use Red Sea slime remover.

[sirspeedy77]

actually, normally i would have laughed at the lfs... but for some reason i had a nasty ass algea bloom when i used insta ocean.. I swicthed to reef crystals and i havent seen anything grow back yet but some green algea...
It could have been many other things as well besides the salt but it was kind of a coincidence...

[Ninong]

I assume we are talking about cyanobacteria, right? If so, it is everywhere. It is in every tank, every piece of live rock, every sand bed, every room in the house, it is literally in the air we breathe. It will "bloom" whenever conditions are ripe. You don't have to be "infected" with it.

What is your lighting setup and when was the last time you changed your lamps? Maybe it's time for a lamp replacement?

[Meric]

I assume we are talking about cyanobacteria, right? If so, it is everywhere. It is in every tank, every piece of live rock, every sand bed, every room in the house, it is literally in the air we breathe. It will "bloom" whenever conditions are ripe. You don't have to be "infected" with it.
What is your lighting setup and when was the last time you changed your lamps? Maybe it's time for a lamp replacement?

Lamps are 5 month's old. I would hope that I would get a little more than 5 months of usage out of my lamps. However it could be an issue.

[Ninong]

Lamps are 5 month's old. I would hope that I would get a little more than 5 months of usage out of my lamps. However it could be an issue.

They should certainly be good for more than five months. What exactly are they?

[Meric]

They should certainly be good for more than five months. What exactly are they?

(4) 96W PC 50% 10K/ 50% Atinic 03

[Ninong]

How long has your tank been set up? Has it been set up for at least five months or is it just that your lamps are five months old?

[Meric]

Tank is about 6 months old. I added live rock in June, Started running the lights around July. No slime algae for the last 5 months. It just started recently, after I added a Clown Fish. I thought it was nutrient problem, but my parameters are:
Ammonia - 0, Nitrite - 0, Nitrate - ~5, Phosphate - 0, Silicate - 0. I use only RO Water and the TDS on the RO is ~4. RO unit is only 6 months old also. I may change the prefilters on it just to make sure they are not the problem.

So I thought I was overfeeding. I reduced Photo Cycle to just 3 hours a day, and reduced feeding to once a day, and 50% of what I was feeding. I purchased a new protein skimer which removes about 1 quart of nasty black scum every 3 days.

I have some chemi clean that I know will work, but I didn't want to use it until I thought I had no other choice. That's when the Pet shop mentioned using Sugar to kill the Cyno, they said it was safer. Sugar is basically a form of carbon, so they say.

[Ninong]

That's when the Pet shop mentioned using Sugar to kill the Cyno, they said it was safer. Sugar is basically a form of carbon, so they say.

Sugar is sucrose (C12H22O11), a carbohydrate.

Cyanobacteria is a phototrophic prokaryote (photosynthetic bacteria). It can be single celled or form strings. There are hundreds of different species of cyanobacteria. Since it is photosynthetic, it contains pigments. The most common pigments are phycoerythrins with optimized absorption levels between 555-564 nm. This is why aging lamps that shift spectral output can trigger cyano outbreaks because they change the existing delicate balance of factors, chemical and otherwise, that can result in an environment favorable to cyano.

Cyanobacteria depends on the right mix of several factors to flourish:

(1) Light in the suitable spectral range.

(2) Nitrogen.

(3) Lack of turbulence. Strong water currents will break up the strings of cells.

(4) Living space.

Cyanobacteria is quite simple and at the same time complex. It fixes nitrogen and it is photosynthetic. At one time it was called blue-green algae (cyano means blue-green in Greek) but the trend for the past couple of decades has been to classify it as bacteria. It has attributes of both algae and bacteria. In fact, cyanobacteria developed the precursors to chloroplasts in plants ages before plants came into existence.

It seems to be more of a problem in less "occupied" reef tanks than in mature, fully occupied, reef tanks. That's what I mean by "living space." In other words, you need to outcompete it. This is tricky in a captive system because we do not have its natural controls.

The consensus in the hobby is that it can be managed with strong water current, strong lighting that does not shift too much to the red, strong protein skimming or some other form of nutrient export. The commercial "cures" are based on antibiotics. They have only a temporary effect. They don't do anything about the cause of the problem. They simply treat the symptom, not the problem that caused it.

[Ninong]

One thing I forgot to mention is that some hobbyists say their alkalinity was low when they noticed a problem with cyanobacteria and that in addition to all the other recommendations for controlling it, raising alkalinity might help.

If your alk is low right now, try raising it up to about 12 dKH with calcium around 450 ppm or thereabouts and see if that does anything.

[Meric]

Alk was in a normal range of 8.0 dKh with Calcium 450 ppm about 10 days ago. I have raised it over the last week and a half to 11.5 dKh with Calcium still at 450 ppm. I was thinking the same thing, so I had been raising the Alk slowly to avoid shoking the inhabitants. I'll keep it at 12 dKh for at least a month to see if there is a difference.

[Arctic Fox]

I know I am going to get yelled at for saying this but...

I have a chocolate chip starfish that eats the crap out of cynobacteria. I had a bloom once, kind of like what you're talking about, it was all over the tank, and in about a week the starfish had it all eaten and it was gone. Hadn't had a problem since.

People say that chocolate chip are too preditory for a reef tank but I've never had a problem, I dunno if it's because I don't have any corals that the starfish likes to eat or if it's because it prefers to eat fish poop & left over food over coral or if it just simply isn't true about them eating corals, (who knows, I just could be extremely lucky!).

If you're not too worried about your corals getting eaten I'd get a chocolate chip starfish to eat all that slime. Or at least "rent" one from somebody.

[randymon]

I had the same problem and tryed everything, increased current, starving fish, water changes etc. I dont like to add chems to my tank but finally tryed chemi clean. It worked great, and my tank and inhabitants were obviously thankfull. Nothing hurt and cyno still gone months later. Remember to just follow the directions to the tee.

[Spick]

The consensus in the hobby is that it can be managed with strong water current, strong lighting that does not shift too much to the red, strong protein skimming or some other form of nutrient export. The commercial "cures" are based on antibiotics. They have only a temporary effect. They don't do anything about the cause of the problem. They simply treat the symptom, not the problem that caused it.

I was thinking it was mostly due to the low current, i have in these areas. The problem however is, I have an open brain and bubble brain coral both on my SB, which require LOW current. So then let me ask... how much current is low?

I have a 35 G with two powerheads (600 & 1200) plus my filter outtake. How much more current do i need?

The other thing you mentioned was to out compete it, by taking away the living space. So you mean get mroe corals for my SB or in general?

Thnx

[Reefland]

I don't think that low current is a cause for cyanobacteria to bloom. Increasing the flow in the spots where it is blooming can be a temporary fix for the spot, not a long term cure. The best option is to find the source(s) of the bloom which Ninong has listed above.

[Ninong]

I was thinking it was mostly due to the low current, i have in these areas. The problem however is, I have an open brain and bubble brain coral both on my SB, which require LOW current. So then let me ask... how much current is low?

It isn't actually caused by low current but once it is established, it can be broken up by strong current, which disrupts the cell strands. Aiming the outflow of a powerhead at a problem area will help to get rid of it -- at least in that area and for the time being. Here again, you would just be treating the symptoms, not the underlying cause of the problem.

I have a 35 G with two powerheads (600 & 1200) plus my filter outtake. How much more current do i need?

I don't know how to answer your question. The amount of current you "need" is usually related to the type of corals you intend to keep. It shouldn't be related to whether you have cyanobacteria or not, except that strong current will assist in dissipating cyanobacteria. Then it might show up in some other, less turbulent area of your tank.

The other thing you mentioned was to out compete it, by taking away the living space. So you mean get mroe corals for my SB or in general?

In general, newer tanks are more likely to experience some problems with cyanobacteria than older more established tanks, unless the older tanks are becomming unstable in a process often called "old tank syndrome." Cyanobacteria is consider a natural phase in the algal progression that most aquarists experience in cycling a new tank. It is usually transitory.

Once a tank becomes more mature, it is more stable and more balanced. Cyanobacteria is usually not a problem in such tanks.

Cyanobacteria will always be present in every aquarium and that's a healthy thing. You just don't want it taking over and smothering all the good stuff. Cyanobacteria inside your live rock and inside your sand bed are beneficial and perform a valuable function.

In the meantime, you can manually remove some of the slime if that's what you feel like doing or you can add a few critters known to consume it. It won't truly go away until all of the "causes" are dealt with.

[Spick]

Thnx!

[gqsmoothster]

I have a problem with cyano. I think it's my lights as they are about 8 months old (130w of PC 50/50 in a 55 gallon FOWLR). I've tried three honking big Mexican Turbo snails which love eating algae off the glass and rock, but they won't touch the mat of cyano forming on the sand.

Tank is 9 months old. Just moved and did a 80% water change with RO water. I also have a 20 gallon sump and a Remora C HOT on the sump. All levels at/near 0.

Is there one species of "clean up crew" I could add that would work on the mat on the sand? I also have Nassarius which I love (my wife calls them "night of the living dead" snails when they come out of the sand at meal time and at night). I was thinking of adding a few hermits.

Any help?

[Spick]

I have a problem with cyano. I think it's my lights as they are about 8 months old (130w of PC 50/50 in a 55 gallon FOWLR). I've tried three honking big Mexican Turbo snails which love eating algae off the glass and rock, but they won't touch the mat of cyano forming on the sand.

Tank is 9 months old. Just moved and did a 80% water change with RO water. I also have a 20 gallon sump and a Remora C HOT on the sump. All levels at/near 0.

Is there one species of "clean up crew" I could add that would work on the mat on the sand? I also have Nassarius which I love (my wife calls them "night of the living dead" snails when they come out of the sand at meal time and at night). I was thinking of adding a few hermits.

Any help?

I had the same problem about 3 months in, i bought a strawberry conch and it resolved my problem within weeks. Havent seen any form on the SB since. Try your luck, figure one conch would have enough food in a 3 feet by 1 foot area. CHeers,