red slime algae problem

[jpond83]

i have been fighting red slime algae for a couple weeks now. i do water changes every 2 or 3 days, i syphon it out almost everyday and it just comes back the next day in full force. what can i do to get rid of it? this is realy starting to get on my nerves.

[mharmon]

I expect that you do not have adequate flow in the problem areas or that perhaps you have older bulbs in your fixtures. I believe that it can also be a problem related to overfeeding or food rich in phosphates.

I'd stay away from any additives that claim to deal with this. Better to identify the root cause and avoid chemicals that could be deadly.

[JimD]

Need more info on the tank, ie: flow, feeding, lighting, FLOW, sandbed, refugium, FLOW, fish, skimmer, water for changes, did I mention FLOW?

[msmith619]

Need more info on the tank, ie: flow, feeding, lighting, FLOW, sandbed, refugium, FLOW, fish, skimmer, water for changes, did I mention FLOW?

I agree with the above but, usually the problem is over feeding, or using water with too much phosphates, etc. Use only RO/DI water and stop feeding a few days or, cut the feeding way back might help.

[ErikH]

You could have trapped detritus building up in your sandbed, which is the reason flow is muy importante. How big is your clean up crew? You may need a refersher there. Do you have alot of pods?

[jpond83]

i have a koralia 1 and a rio800 with the spinning attachment, a 250w 14k MH(bulb is only a couple months old), no skimmer, 2 hang on back filters, i feed once a day and they eat it all. i have a maroon clow, fang goby, domino damsel, and a scooter blenny. tank has been up for about 5 months or so with no problems up until recently.

[JimD]

Im betting on the hang on filters as being part or all of your problem. What kind are they? Remove any filter pads or clean them well and regularly so they dont leach organics back into the system.

[ErikH]

what sized tank? how old is it? Is there a sump? Macro Algae? DSB?

[jpond83]

one has a filter pad and the other one is full of live rock rubble. i clean the pads about 2-3 times a week

[ballardjr2000]

no sump by the sound of it....also no skimmer i run a skimmer you can get hob ones that work good. i had some slim alage problem when i first set that up but my macro beat it out as well as skimming. to remove disovled "stuff" in the water. also if you don't have light needing corals kill the lights the fish can live with out light but the alage can't. and as everybody says water change water change water change....and you might want to kick up your sand bed when you do to get anything trapped in there out. also a good clean up crew helps a lot. i have 20 hermits 20 snails and already about to get more.