velvet algea attack!

how do i get rid of this stuff?

 

Cynobactiria? More flow, less light, less nutriants to the tank. Redslime remover.

 

reduce lights and feeding, maybe more flow, add phospate/silcate absorbers.

 

Is red slime remover reef safe?

 

I used chemi pures brand of red slime remover in my 29 years ago and had no coral deaths. Its reef safe, i do remember having to turn the skimmer off and once the tank was treated a fairly large water change needing to be done. Here it is: Boyd Chemi-Clean 2g (Saltwater Aquarium Supplies > Medications > Red Slime/ Cyanobacteria Removers )

 

What are your nitrate and phosphate levels? Phosphate should be as close to zero as possible. Would be good if nitrates are less than 10 ppm (the less the better so zero would be great). In 7+ years of keeping saltwater tanks, I've twice had cyno problems and both times it was followed by GHA (Green hair algae). So, lowering phosphates and nitrates is a good idea as you don't want to battle GHA (it's a royal PITA). It may not happen, but why take the chance?

More flow, more flow, more flow. Increase your water flow. How many gallons per hour flow do you have in your tank? 20 times (or more) the tank volume is a good amount. I have a 38 gallon with 1050 gph flow (27 times the tank volume), and this is not even close to too much flow. When I had 500 gph (13 times the tank volume), I had some cyno problems (water flow wasn't the only culprit- excess nutrients and low water flow were). More flow helps to get the detritus off the substrate, and into the water column, where it can get picked up by your filter. Cutting back on nutrients (feeding less and using ro water), increasing flow, making sure you have good lighting (replace bulbs if they are more than 12 months old (t5ho or vho or power compacts) or 6 months if regular fluorescent), and making sure phosphates and nitrates are as low as possible are all necessary steps to getting rid of cyno and GHA. Red slime remover is a temporary bandaid for a cyno problem. If you don't fix the problem, it will just come back (speaking from experience).