Red slime growing on my sand and powerheads

Was wondering if i should try and extract these patches of red slime algae, they are still really small and when i turn the lights off it almost disapears by the morning.

Can take pic if needed

 

you can blast it with a turkey baster - ave you identified and resolved the cause ?

 

awesome idea, and no i have not identified the problem as of yet. i was thinking light cycle

 

if you are goin to disturb it you had better suck it out of the tank.

 

I would leave it and focus on fixing the problem. If you remove it theres no way to guage wether or not you really found and fixed the problem. How often do you feed?

 

whatever you do do NOT end up mixing it into the sand bed, it will just comer back stronger...I started off where you're at and now if I remove it all it's back in 6-8 hours.

dread the stuff... got a phosban reactor running now, we'll see if that helps.

Next up is Red Slime Control.

 

I have this stuff all over my refugium but none in my DT (knocks on wood).

 

Nutrient control is key. Get the phosphates and nitrates down and the problem will cease. Use a phosphate reactor (PhosBan) and/or Phosphat-E (as a bandaid). The reactor will keep phosphates at bay consistently.

For nitrates, a coil denitrator or refugium would do. I use both.

 

+1

Phosphates, silicates and nitrates are where you want to begin testing. Whater changes to reduce all three, RO/DI, feed properly. Water flow is key, someone said to suck it out - you can do that or ust blast it, you described small amounts....shouldn't be a concern once you address the cause, but for arguement sakes just suck it out.

A good potein skimmer will remove disolved organics in the water which will help reduce/starve out cyano.

A good cleaning crew should be in there to eat up the detritus and also helps to keep things mixed up - if cyano can't hold on it won't grow (remember the part about good flow)

A refugium is a great idea - I am not sure that I would use both a coil denitrator and a refugium, but I have no experiance since i never did this - so P-john might be on to something. I would have guessed the two would work against each other as there are only so much excess nutrients to go around.

Anyway, I am about to get on a plane and go scuba diving so I won't be around till perhaps tonight...keep your conversation going and others will speak up to help you resolve your nutrients problem. I wish you luck !!

 

Alright, i have cut off the lights for a few days now and the growth is limited. I turned the lights on for maybe 1 hour today when feeding and to do a little glass cleaning. The flow in the tank is to say the least excessive, 2 hydor (1) #3 and (1) #2. I feel that the problem lies in the phosphates, and i am going to LFS tomorrow to have my water tested.

On a lighter note, one of my Staghorn crabs have left its coral shell and is now running around the tank in a small hermit shell. Those guys are awesome, highly reccomend to anyone!

Update* i now see a TINY patch of green hair algae, it is on the powerhead. I dont know if these two algae are linked but i thought i should let everyone know whats goin on.