# Red Slime Agle



## Aran (Dec 6, 2012)

Dear All, 
i can't get rid of my red slime algae, i know this was discussed before in here, and tried every advice, change water every week , lower the light , reduce feeding ,using chemical (Chemiclean & RedSlime remover), siphon the sand bed, but right after every water change the red slime comes back the next day!!!! 

please help


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

What kind of nutrient export do you have? Skimmer? Refugium? Algae scrubber?


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## Aran (Dec 6, 2012)

i have Eshopps Cone Skimmer S-120 and refugium for my 54 gal corner tank.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Do you clean your refugium of detritus? Do you use any kind of mechanical filter that traps detritus? Do you have detritus buildup in your rock work?

You get algae because your nutrient build up faster than you can export them. There are basically two sources of nutrients in an aquarium: livestock, and detritus. (Any food you feed ends up in one of those two forms.)

You have two options: reduce nutrient build up, or export more of them.

I would first look at ways to reduce any detritus accumulation.


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## notclear (Nov 5, 2011)

Are you using RO/DI and what is the TDS?


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## Aran (Dec 6, 2012)

Thanks for the advice, Yes i use RO/DI and i just changed all the filters. and TDS is 0


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## Aran (Dec 6, 2012)

solarz said:


> Do you clean your refugium of detritus? Do you use any kind of mechanical filter that traps detritus? Do you have detritus buildup in your rock work?
> 
> You get algae because your nutrient build up faster than you can export them. There are basically two sources of nutrients in an aquarium: livestock, and detritus. (Any food you feed ends up in one of those two forms.)
> 
> ...


Thank you for advice, 
yes i did clean refugium , i just have filter sucks , the rocks are seem ok for now.
can you be more specific how can i do that?


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## badmedicine (Oct 27, 2012)

I use a REVEAL POWER SCRUBBER (home depot) and scrub everything in my tank twice a year. RED ALGAE thrives on tank crap (deitrus) and by scrubbing everything and getting of it (major water change) the algae does not have a food source.


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## Aran (Dec 6, 2012)

thanks, do you scrub the rocks too?


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## badmedicine (Oct 27, 2012)

I ran a 180 gallon deep sand bed tank for years (10 plus) and was always fighting with algae of some type.
Last year I started a 120 gallon bare bottom (no gravel) and have a canister filter for biofiltration. The filter takes water after the filter socks and protein skimmer have done their job. 
My tank sits beside my front bay window (which some say is a no-no) and is algae free almost (I clean my glass once a month when I start noticing stuff on the glass).
I am thinking that water that is not moving (ie parts of rocks and parts of sand bed) is breeding ground for unwanted algae. My biofiltration is in a separate canister filter from my sump and has thorough water flow constantly and so I do not have the algae problems I used to have.

... just something to consider.


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## badmedicine (Oct 27, 2012)

Aran said:


> thanks, do you scrub the rocks too?


yes I scrub everything. Glass, rocks,powerheads,overflow...EVERYTHING. Some people will say that this will cause a cycling of the tank (which is a valid concept) but I have not experienced this myself. Nothing a few water changes cant handle I am thinking.


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## Aran (Dec 6, 2012)

solarz said:


> Do you clean your refugium of detritus? Do you use any kind of mechanical filter that traps detritus? Do you have detritus buildup in your rock work?
> 
> You get algae because your nutrient build up faster than you can export them. There are basically two sources of nutrients in an aquarium: livestock, and detritus. (Any food you feed ends up in one of those two forms.)
> 
> ...





badmedicine said:


> I ran a 180 gallon deep sand bed tank for years (10 plus) and was always fighting with algae of some type.
> Last year I started a 120 gallon bare bottom (no gravel) and have a canister filter for biofiltration. The filter takes water after the filter socks and protein skimmer have done their job.
> My tank sits beside my front bay window (which some say is a no-no) and is algae free almost (I clean my glass once a month when I start noticing stuff on the glass).
> I am thinking that water that is not moving (ie parts of rocks and parts of sand bed) is breeding ground for unwanted algae. My biofiltration is in a separate canister filter from my sump and has thorough water flow constantly and so I do not have the algae problems I used to have.
> ...


thanks, can you tell me what canister you use , maybe that could help me to get rid of this aalgae


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## Aran (Dec 6, 2012)

badmedicine said:


> yes I scrub everything. Glass, rocks,powerheads,overflow...EVERYTHING. Some people will say that this will cause a cycling of the tank (which is a valid concept) but I have not experienced this myself. Nothing a few water changes cant handle I am thinking.


i completely agree , i am changing water every week now and red slime comes back the next morning.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Aran said:


> Thank you for advice,
> yes i did clean refugium , i just have filter sucks , the rocks are seem ok for now.
> can you be more specific how can i do that?


It depends.

First how often do you change your filter socks? Is it possible to change them more often?

What kind of rock work do you have? Would you be able to rearrange them to allow more flow?

If not, then you might have to look into ways to increase your export.

How is your refugium doing? What macro are you using? How are they growing? Can you improve its performance?

You can also look into getting a better/bigger skimmer, or you can look into setting up an Algae Turf Scrubber.

Finally, you can also look into reducing your stocking level.


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## Aran (Dec 6, 2012)

solarz said:


> It depends.
> 
> First how often do you change your filter socks? Is it possible to change them more often?
> 
> ...


thanks , i change the socks every few days, i might be able to do little rearrangement , i think i have pretty good skimmer , but not familiar with macros , i just have cheto in it!!! and can you tell me more about Algae Turf Scrubber how do i get that?thanks again


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Aran said:


> thanks , i change the socks every few days, i might be able to do little rearrangement , i think i have pretty good skimmer , but not familiar with macros , i just have cheto in it!!! and can you tell me more about Algae Turf Scrubber how do i get that?thanks again


How big is your refugium and what kind of light are you using? How fast is your chaeto growing?

You can google Algae Turf Scrubber for some DIY ideas. The ATS is meant to replace the refugium.


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## Aran (Dec 6, 2012)

solarz said:


> How big is your refugium and what kind of light are you using? How fast is your chaeto growing?
> 
> You can google Algae Turf Scrubber for some DIY ideas. The ATS is meant to replace the refugium.


10Gal, and chaeto growing good, i have AquaIllumination®, the Hydra HD 26.

thx


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Aran said:


> 10Gal, and chaeto growing good, i have AquaIllumination®, the Hydra HD 26.
> 
> thx


Is 10 gal the size of your refugium or your sump? And by light, I meant the light you're using for your refugium, not for your display tank.


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## Aran (Dec 6, 2012)

It's 10 gal sump, and it's led light from home depot ,6500k


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Aran said:


> It's 10 gal sump, and it's led light from home depot ,6500k


Yeah, that's probably not enough. 10 gal sump means you have, what, 1/4 of it as refugium? The LED light is definitely not enough.

Look into CFLs for refugium light, and see if you can't get a bigger sump. If not, maybe look into building an ATS?


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## Aran (Dec 6, 2012)

solarz said:


> Yeah, that's probably not enough. 10 gal sump means you have, what, 1/4 of it as refugium? The LED light is definitely not enough.
> 
> Look into CFLs for refugium light, and see if you can't get a bigger sump. If not, maybe look into building an ATS?


Thanks , but i can't have bigger sump as i have space limitation any other suggestion?


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Aran said:


> Thanks , but i can't have bigger sump as i have space limitation any other suggestion?


In that case, I think your best option is to build an ATS, since it doesn't take as much space as a refugium and is more efficient at exporting nutrients.

Definitely look into using CFLs instead of home depot LEDs. A lot of people neglect refugium light, but that light is the driver behind the effectiveness of your macro.


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## Aran (Dec 6, 2012)

solarz said:


> In that case, I think your best option is to build an ATS, since it doesn't take as much space as a refugium and is more efficient at exporting nutrients.
> 
> Definitely look into using CFLs instead of home depot LEDs. A lot of people neglect refugium light, but that light is the driver behind the effectiveness of your macro.


thanks again , will do


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