nasty red stuff

[darklcd]

good morning all I haven't been on in a while due to a new baby on the way and moving but I really need some help. I had to leave for a week for work and when I got back I had left my dad to take care of my tank and now I have all kinds of red algie all over the bottom of my tank. I don't know if its toxic but I want to get rid of it. I threw another power head in and that seems to be helping but I need it to go away. I thought that it might be from their food it was red flake food so I switched that too any one else have any other ideas on what I can do to get rid of it?

 

[CarlaW]

Sounds alot like cyano. You can siphon it out. What were they using for top-off while you were gone?
The other powerhead should help, but it won't cure the problem of excess nutrients, which caused this to begin with!!
HTH

 

[NaH2O]

I agree with charlie. Sounds like cyano, and can be caused by an excess of nitrates and phosphates. Siphoning it out will help to export the nutrients it is using. How are the nitrates? The use of RO/DI water will help reduce the amount of nutrients introduced with the water. Over feeding could have contributed, as well. Test your water, and see where your nitrates are at.

Also - congrats on the little one!

 

[ribbetribbet]

hi i had the same red pest in my 7 1/2 foot tank and i had it four about 2 months untill i replaced my protien skimmer. the fact was the red pest was growing on the protien in the water. when i touched the red alge it would float away in the water if you fix the high protien problem it will stop growing and die off. mine died off over 2 weeks and was not seen from again.

 

[darklcd]

I tested my water and everything is fine my amiona is a little high but not too bad. as for the protine skimmer I just got it about 4 months ago so I hope that its not that. as for siphoning it out I guess I will have to do a water change as the same time but thats not a problem. I don't have an ro/di system yet so I can't really do anything about that I am just wondering if I need a bigger skimmer. I baught one that was good for a 75 gal tank and mine it only 55 so I hope thats not a problem do you have anything other ideas on what I can do?

 

[NaH2O]

If your ammonia is elevated, then it sounds like you are going through a mini-cycle. Ammonia values should be at zero, and may explain why you are seeing cyano. Water changes would help to bring this down. Did anything die in the tank while you were away?

 

[ribbetribbet]

if your problem dosn't start to get butter with a water chage then may you can post a picture so we can all see what the red pest looks like i would send you a pic but i never toke a photo, when i get my marin log book back of a friend i will send you the name of my red pest so you can look it up and id the problom, you never know we could be thinking of to diffent red pests?

 

[bc_slc]

agreed. You are doing the right thing. i would invest in an RO/DI system over a new skimmer. This may be a problem you deal with forever unless you top off and do water changes with clean water. This is all depending on your baseline water quality out of the tap. you can check that with a TDS meter.

Mat

 

[darklcd]

well nothing died thank god lol I was thinking that a water c hange might help I just don't have all the stuff I need right now but I can pick some up. I just need to get rid of this stuff and an ro/di I don't think is in the cards anytime soon. I tried to siphon some of it out last night and that seemed to help but I don't think it will take care of it 100%. I was talking to a friend and he said that there is something I can get called al-gone or something like that to take care of it all but I am not sure if it woudl be a good idea to put into my tank. if it gets worse I will get a pic and send it to you guys so you can see it. I am just getting really mad with it I finally started to get my tank set up like I wanted and then this shows up. its just a little upsetting lol I just want to get rid of it I don't care how I just want it gone. and how often should I change my water any way?

 

[NaH2O]

I'm not a fan of using chemical means to get rid of cyano. It is mearly a bandaid fix, and the cyano would return if the source isn't taken care of. Like I stated earlier, if you have an ammonia reading, then your tank is in a mini cycle. You may continue seeing a problem until you get the water parameters under control. How often to do water changes, really depends on the individual. Some perform water changes, weekly, others twice a month, once a month, etc. The amount of water to change also varies, 10% weekly, 25% monthly. How often are you performing water changes? Here is a thread: Water Changes.

 

[darklcd]

I normally due water changes about once every 4 or 5 weeks but I don't know if I take enough out or not I am not really used to having city water my last tank I got all the water from a spring so I didn't have to worry about it that much. and is there any way that I can get my ammonia reading down? I thought that there might be something I can do but I wasn't sure I just want to get it all gone I am going to take a pic of it today and get it on here if I can I am not too sure how to get it on here but I am going to try. and is there anything else that I can do to get rid of it with out chemicals or a water change or are they my only two options?

 

[ribbetribbet]

the red slime alage i had in my tank was called (cyanobacteria)i looked it up in one of many books i have and i'll write what they say for you:
cyanobacteria are important to reef ecosystems in nature because of their ability to fix nitrogen . the most common problematic types are red or maroon in colour, and they can reapidly cover every surface in the aquarium under the right conditions. the right conditions in closed system aquariums involve high levels of dissolved organic compounds in the water. removal of these dissolved organic compounds is achieved with PROTEIN SKIMMING. Snails are also helpful for controllong cyanobacteria, as are herbivorous fish. if you need to know more just say so these losts more in the book but i think that will do you for now good luck.
but i would get a 2nd bigger skimmer and run them all the time because you alway have cyanobacteria present somewhere in your tank and so dose everyone else. it is only when they bloom that they become a problem.

 

[NaH2O]

darklcd - you could let the cyano grow a bit, then do a big harvest/siphon to remove the excess nutrients at your regularly scheduled water change. Maybe step up on the water changes a bit, until you see an improvement, and your ammonia goes down - I would really do the water changes, as the ammonia could be harmful to your livestock. How is the water flow in the areas of cyano growth?

 

[sryder]

I just have gotten over the cyano blues myself. i think mine was more new tank syndrome than anything else. to get rid of it i would do more frequent water changes, siphoning the algae and bottom often, kept all parameters where they are supposed to be and ran phosguard even after i had no detectable levels.. be patient and stay on top of the cyano and eventually you will get rid of it. as for the chemical usage i have heard good and bad about them. yes it will get rid of the red slime which in itself is a form of bacteria. it can also kill off some of your beneficial bacteria and drop your ph. i have never heard of any one killing anything using it but i wouldnt recomend putting anything in to treat the symptom. do as nikki suggested and and cure the problem. good luck ...steve