please help red slime algae attack

tank is 10 mos old.. 55 gallon.. noticed problem two months ago and have been battling with it ever since. i do 10 percent water changes ever two weeks and weekly scrubbing of rocks and coral..... nitrates seem normal although i know it is a fluke when the algae is feeding off of it. i have done the water changes.. the chemicals... everything i could find .. i need a real person who has had this problem to tell me ewhat they did.. to the T please.. i am so depresse dabout this .. went away for a few days came back and tank is HORRIBLE red red red.. i think i might throw everything away and start all over.. that is how bad it ahs gotten.. please help me.

 

Read this! Blade Runner found it...this will help.
Welcome to 3reef as well!!!!
Cyano, Cyanos, Cyanobacteria, Blue-Green Algae, Algae, Red slime Algae, Slime Algae, Slime, Undesirable algae

 

i had that problem and one of my co-workers had the same thing. if you have your own r/o water then the filters might be bad. that is what my co-workers problem was. my problem was years ago and it was over feeding. i killed the lights for 2 days and monitored my corals. red algea seems weakened by the lack of light. it worked for me. also i sucked out the rest.

 

Wow.....A. Thiel. That's a name I haven't seen in a while.

You cannot get a test kit reading for Nitrates or Phosphates when you have a cyano bloom. They absorb so much of it and our test kits don't go that low. If you can get a reading, you have a serious maintenance problem that needs to be addressed.

Siphon the cyano out. Other than a protein skimmer, it's the best exporter there is.

In order to make a meaningful comparison, we need some standardized measure of growth, however, because a "stalk" of one alga and another may be quite different. The most common measure is "specific growth rate" in which the growth is measured in mg per gram of algal body weight per day, or percentage increase. So, to compare the specific growth rates of some of the more common species that I can find data for, the maximum growth rates appear to be something like this:

Halimeda: ~2% / day (10-20 mg/g/d)
Dictyota: ~ 10% (50-100 mg/g/d)
Padina: ~ 10% (75-100 mg/g/d)
Caulerpa: ~ 10% (50-100 mg/g/d)
Thalassia: ~1.5% (10-15 mg/g/d)
Palmaria: ~15% (doubled in 1 week)
Enteromorpha: 20% (7 fold increase in 1 month)
Gracilaria: 6-10% / day

However, if you want to maximize the nutrient export, the clear winner in field experiments is the cyanobacteria Lyngbya, which grows at a rate of roughly 5 times that of any of the common macroalgae in the trade, and adds an average of about 35% (300-400 mg/g/d) of it's weight per day! In fact, if cyano wasn't so hard to remove, none of us would have any macroalgae in our tanks.

Unfortunately, the study I got this info from did not test chaeto.

Even after doing this, we still need to figure out why the phosphates and Nitrogenous compounds are building up.

 

I recently had a problem with cynabacteria myself. It took over my tank aswell. Take a look at my photo gallery you will see ones from when it was taking over the tank. Then 2 weeks later it is gone. I can tell you how I did it. I simply moved some small powerheads lower in the tank so they will blow stuff off the sand. This means less build up D.O.C., or dissolved organic carbon, or dissolved organic material. I then bought a new protein skimmer. The previous one I had was a cheap knock off brand. DONT DO IT. I bought the Coralife Super Skimmer and let her work its magic. I did a couple water changes in them two weeks. One about 10% then a 5%. I didn't do anything different with my feeding patern as I knew I wasnt over feeding but you should look at that. Another thing people suggest is that you use R/O water. Well I don't use R/o water and my tank is running good. However, as soon as I get the money to get an R/O unit I will. I just stat that as I dont think thats a main problem either. I read the three page bulletin from bladerunner as well. It and IMO think that the major problem is the D.O.C and D.O.M. (stated above). Get less of this and the cyna doesn't have anything to feed on, thus weakening, and disappering. Make Sure to Look at My gallery to see my old problem and new tank look. THanks

 

thanx so much u guys i will def. try all that. i DONT have a protein skimmer.. shame on me.. i have known for a while one was needed.. i just invested in my lights first.. put a pretty big dent in my pocket book.. but thank you very mcuh!

 

is a sump needed with the Coralife Super Skimmer ?? i am dumbfounded when it comes to sumps and protein skimmers... the owner of a saltwater shop here in my hometown told me that nothing such as a sump or protein skimmer is needed on a 55 gal... obviously i have been told wrong.. i probably wont go to them anymore... but can u give me some info on that???

 

Many of the skimmers on the market are able to be used interchangeably meaning in sump or HOB. You can also be successful with a tank, more so a reef tank by not using a skimmer. However, I wouldn't take that route, as you will be responsible for more frequent water changes, water testing, will have to have a deep sand bed and good amount of live rock, a sump and refugium would also be a plus!!! Feeding would have to really be done properly as well... You see, I wouldn't negate having a skimmer for your success and the health of your livestock. Why take a chance on your investment!
By the way, I don't know what the pet shop personnel was saying to you about not needing a sump or skimmer.
Good luck!

 

Yeah the Coralife Super Skimmer is able to hang on the back. Seens how you brong up that question what are you using to filter the water?

 

Marineland Emperor BIO-Wheel 400.. is that bad???