Algae/Red Slime in Reef Tank

[NigeltheBold]

I've been battling a weird outbreak of red and green slime/algae for the past several weeks. At first I thought it was a cyano bloom, but now I'm not sure because I see both green and red stuff on the rocks, water surface, walls, and sand bed. Trying to figure out what the cause is so I can fix it.

I've been running this tank for 2+ years. It's mostly SPS with a few fish. Corals seem to be doing fine, and fish seem great as well. I suspect maybe overfeeding led to a lot of organics in the water? Or maybe I'm over skimming and it's kinda the opposite problem? Hard to say. I'm about 3/4 of the way through a Dr. Tim's regimen which started with Re-Fresh and is now in the Waste-Away phase. It doesn't seem to be helping at all.

Phosphate is at .03ppm according to Hanna checker. Nitrate was very low (near zero) so I bumped that up a couple of ppm using neo nitro. Skimmer pulls about a liter of black/brown stuff every 10 days or so.

Here are some pictures:

 

[shakacuz]

chemicleam will help you through this. if you're using hanna checkers keep in mind that .03 reading could also be: 0.0, or 0.06. while you dose chemiclean you'll have to manually remove most of this as well! perhaps increasing your CUC as well to help clean up any organic matter left over from feeding.


also, trying out @SunnyX's reef snow mix can help keep it at bay.

 

[NigeltheBold]

chemicleam will help you through this. if you're using hanna checkers keep in mind that .03 reading could also be: 0.0, or 0.06. while you dose chemiclean you'll have to manually remove most of this as well! perhaps increasing your CUC as well to help clean up any organic matter left over from feeding.


also, trying out @SunnyX's reef snow mix can help keep it at bay.

I've been hesitant to use ChemiClean because it's tough to get out of the water once it does it's job. I've used it before and it makes the skimmer go nuts, and I've ended up with foam all over the place. I also want to figure out what I'm doing wrong instead of just using a band-aid solution to fix it. Although maybe getting rid of it first is the only way to move forward.

I've never had great luck with clean-up critters. What are the best types for cleaning up uneaten food? Hermits? Snails? I have a handful of blue-legs and astrea snails, but I could probably use more.

 

[shakacuz]

I've never had great luck with clean-up critters. What are the best types for cleaning up uneaten food? Hermits? Snails? I have a handful of blue-legs and astrea snails, but I could probably use more.

what size tank?

also even if chemi-clean is a bandaid, cyano does kill corals by smothering them, so its best to take action whilst noting down the potential causes so you can monitor things as the tank is balancing out.

 

[NigeltheBold]

what size tank?

also even if chemi-clean is a bandaid, cyano does kill corals by smothering them, so its best to take action whilst noting down the potential causes so you can monitor things as the tank is balancing out.

Total system volume is 125 gallons. And you're right, I guess I should try Chemiclean next. I was hoping the Dr. Tim's thing would work. I'll also try the SunnyX thing once I start seeing the slime dying back. Thanks

 

[shakacuz]

Total system volume is 125 gallons. And you're right, I guess I should try Chemiclean next. I was hoping the Dr. Tim's thing would work. I'll also try the SunnyX thing once I start seeing the slime dying back. Thanks

Quick Crew (125 Gallon)

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you can also make your own "custom" pack depending on your issue (in this case green/red slime). i've bought multiple times from them with little issues (some die off in my orders but weirdly enough i've ordered during winter into the transition to spring)

Custom Clean Up Crew - Reef Cleaners

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[gbroadbridge]

I've been battling a weird outbreak of red and green slime/algae for the past several weeks. At first I thought it was a cyano bloom, but now I'm not sure because I see both green and red stuff on the rocks, water surface, walls, and sand bed. Trying to figure out what the cause is so I can fix it.

I've been running this tank for 2+ years. It's mostly SPS with a few fish. Corals seem to be doing fine, and fish seem great as well. I suspect maybe overfeeding led to a lot of organics in the water? Or maybe I'm over skimming and it's kinda the opposite problem? Hard to say. I'm about 3/4 of the way through a Dr. Tim's regimen which started with Re-Fresh and is now in the Waste-Away phase. It doesn't seem to be helping at all.

Phosphate is at .03ppm according to Hanna checker. Nitrate was very low (near zero) so I bumped that up a couple of ppm using neo nitro. Skimmer pulls about a liter of black/brown stuff every 10 days or so.

Here are some pictures:

Looks like a bad case of cyanobacteria. It's a bacterial film not an algae.

How are you reducing dissolved organics in the system?

Best bet is to do multiple water changes and syphon out as much as you can as often as necessary.

Once you get the organic load down it will retreat and you can then try supplementing a bacteria product such as MB7 to try outcompete the cyanobacteria.

Chemiclean and other antibiotics are not the answer. They may clear the visible problem, but the underlying issue will remain so the cyano will return perhaps with other problems as well.

 

[NigeltheBold]

Looks like a bad case of cyanobacteria. It's a bacterial film not an algae.

How are you reducing dissolved organics in the system?

Best bet is to do multiple water changes and syphon out as much as you can as often as necessary.

Once you get the organic load down it will retreat and you can then try supplementing a bacteria product such as MB7 to try outcompete the cyanobacteria.

Chemiclean and other antibiotics are not the answer. They may clear the visible problem, but the underlying issue will remain so the cyano will return perhaps with other problems as well.

I use a protein skimmer and I run activated carbon, which probably needs to be changed. I put the carbon in the compartment at the bottom of my roller filter, which is meant for media, but I wonder if it's not getting proper flow and/or I'm not replacing it often enough. Maybe I should invest in a media reactor and put the carbon in there?

 

[gbroadbridge]

I use a protein skimmer and I run activated carbon, which probably needs to be changed. I put the carbon in the compartment at the bottom of my roller filter, which is meant for media, but I wonder if it's not getting proper flow and/or I'm not replacing it often enough. Maybe I should invest in a media reactor and put the carbon in there?

For carbon I find using smaller amounts and replacing often is more effective than a big bag changed infrequently. It tends to clog up and lose effectiveness.

It needs to be somewhere it can be changed with minimal effort, but also works best if water is being forced through it, so there's a tradeoff involved.

 

[Spare time]

I'd make sure to keep nitrate up.

 

[Tcook]

Have you looked at a specimen under the microscope? I developed the same green slime looking algae with bubbles a few weeks after treating my tank with fluconazole for gha and bryopsis. It showed the long strands you see with cyano but also dinos. Quite the mess

 

[NigeltheBold]

Have you looked at a specimen under the microscope? I developed the same green slime looking algae with bubbles a few weeks after treating my tank with fluconazole for gha and bryopsis. It showed the long strands you see with cyano but also dinos. Quite the mess

I haven't looked at it under a microscope. It's a mix of green and red slime. It seems to produce bubbles as the day progresses. So maybe it's a mix of algae and bacteria. Does cyano produce oxygen like algae does?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Does cyano produce oxygen like algae does?

Yes it can.

 

[bratfink]

Trocus snails will eat this, if you’re looking for a CUC solution.
I have been going through a similar phase in my tank. I just brush it off the rocks and siphon out as much as I can every few days.
Adjusting the lighting to more blue if you can get away with it might help.