frustration with red slime

[hit_the_gap]

hi everyone
i have had my 72 gallon setup running for about 1.5 years now and i occasionally battle red slime. currently, i am struggling to keep it away. i have gotten to the point where i am just going to leave the lights out for a day or two. i just did a full check on the tanks parameters and they are:
amm: 0.0
nitrate:0.0
nitrite: 0.0
phosp: .25 ( i added a phosphate remover about 2 weeks ago and it doesn't seem to be helping.
alk 7.0 (working on raising this)
calc: 440
mag: 1500 (don't know how to lower it).
-i run a 4 bulb T5 HO system (about 1 month old with the daylights and about 4 months old with the actinics). They are giesemann bulbs.
-i have a mag 9 return pump and two hydor power heads(i don't remember the flow rates on these power heads, but they are not low flow). about 3 weeks ago i added the hydor controller. thats when i began to notice the red slime coming back.
-i dose 2 parts (alk and calcium) although i haven't been dosing calc because its at a good level.
i clean my tank weekly about 8 gallons.

so i seem to have good flow, i have good lighting, and i have good husbandry. i have cut back in the last week on feedings (which i don't like). i also have an in sump AquaC skimmer. i don't want to use chemicals. Any other suggestions?

 

[Reefing Madness]

Change your GFO more frequently. If your just put it in and its not doing anything, then its exhausted already. .25 is quite a bit. So, you could throw in a liquid phosphate binder to get it all out in a hurry, then use GFO after that. Up to you.
Brightwell Phsophate E
SeaKlear

 

[kv2wr1]

Do you have chaeto? Do you carbon dose? I wasn't able to get rid of it until I added chaeto and vinegar dosed.

 

[Velodog2]

If your phosphates have been that high for over a year then it is going to take some time to bring them down most likely. I ran a "dirty" softy tank for a couple years then tried to clean it up for sps. When I increased lighting I got mad cyano. Seriously. Running gfo, religious water changes, blowing detritus off rocks, siphoning cyano out, etc., took 6 months to a year to get rid of most of cyano. But it did. Still getting some patches of hair algae, but I seem to be winning that struggle too.

 

[ravi197699]

Hight Nutrients in the tank can cause the cyano outbreak....doing vinegar will help you and increase the flow since cyano does not like high flow...

 

[McAllyn]

You said you just added the Hydor controller to your power heads. Were they switched before or both running all the time? If they were both running all the time and now are alternating, then you now have half the flow you used to have. When I moved to alternating power heads, cutting my flow in half Like this, I had a cyano outbreak.

Mac

 

[acko1990]

This may sound crazy but so you burn candles in the house because I have helped out some local reefers and we discovered it was candles. Also throw a conch or 2 in there they love cyano

 

[hit_the_gap]

mcallyn you bring up a great point that i wasn't thinking about. when i first got the hydro controller i had the power heads switching every 10 seconds and the algae appeared. in the last few weeks i changed the setting on the hydror controller to switch every 10 or 15 mins. this keeps the wear moving much better and the red slime has gone away, but like you said i decreased the flow when i added the controller. i am looking into getting a MP10 in the next few months to help increase my flow. i am running carbon and a phosphate remover (in media bags in my sump). i will replace the media more often. what is a good rule of thumb to replace the media? once a week, month, ??

Acko, my wife rarely burns candles in the house, but that is very interesting and i will keep an eye out.

also, i am not sure if this is an issue, but i have a small amount (15-20 bubble) of green bubble algae and some green hair algae in my overflow. should i scrape and remove that stuff?

i used to have cheato in my sump, but it never really bloomed. i had a light on the sump as well, but it kind of just went away.

by the way, thanks for all the help on this problem.

 

[Dragonreef202]

Be careful with thebubble algae. Makes sure they don't burst and release into the tank. I took some out my overflow when I did water change.. my emetald crabs seem to be getting a few on rocks that pop up.