wet dry setup and red slime algae

[caligal]

got a 56 gallon tank with a large wet dry over-flow system in the corner.

all that is in the tank is a pair of large ocellaris clowns and a large carpet anemone. theres also an anemone crab, a few turbos and 2 dwarf hermits, with some live rock.

i cannot get rid of a red slime algae problem that seems to attack the tank. i realize that a large problem is that their is no protein skimmer and that would probably help but i'm not putting a protein skimmer on it and need alternatives.

as far as livestock, the anemone used to be in the sand so i was unable to put anything in the tank because they would fall victim to him. now he's moved to a corner in the top of the tank next to the output and seems to be very happy there, so i'm hoping i can now add some stuff.

what can i do to seriously keep this red slime out of my tank?

 

[DaveK]

Red slime algae issues are rather common. What it all comes down to is controlling the nitrates and phosphates in the tank.

Most likely one of the big problems here is your wet/dry filter. They are notorious for becoming nitrate factories, and are not the filtration method of choice on a modern reef system.

You also mention that you don't have a skimmer. This means the live rock and the wet/dry filter need to deal with all waste products.

I recommend that you replace the wet/dry with a modern berlin type sump and a large powerful skimmer.

The other two areas to check are you feeding and the quality of water your using for water changes. Most people tend to over feed their tank. Be sure to test your new water used for water changes for nitrates and phosphates, and make sure this isn't part of the problem.

What ever you do, do NOT use any of the "red slime remover" products. You'll do a lot more harm than good. Yes, they will kill off the red slime, but unless you have corrected the underling problems, you simply trade one problem algae for another.

Lastly, when you say "some live rock" how much are you talking about? A tank that size should have about 50 - 75 pounds of live rock. This is important, because it is a major part of the filtration system in a SW reef system.

 

[wagomes]

I have a red sea 30D tank for three months now. Have a few fish, corals, crabs etc. Recently probably due to overfeeding and a little over heating got a bad case of the red slime. My aquarium guy recommended water changes and using UltraLife Red Slime stain remover. Did the water change and put the red slime remover in my tank and 48 hours later no more red slime. Also stopped feeding fish three times a day. Now down to once in the morning. Also got me a water chiller as my tank was running at 84 degrees.

 

[Talon33]

yeah i tried the wet/dry filtration, do yourself a favor and toss it. Just by taking it offline my nitrates reduced by like 20ppm and i cleaned those balls like weekly. Its just a PITA. The only good thing about them is they can hold a lot of bacteria that synthesize ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate but then you are stuck with all that nitrate, only good for a fish only system.

i removed mine and added a nice reef octopus diablo skimmer and had to wait it out....it takes time (about 1 1/2- 2 months) with weekly water changes and using RO water! and siphon and clean out that sandbed especially if you do not have a lot of flow in your system which i do not and have to do maintenance on my SB weekly or every two weeks

 

[caligal]

thanks for the advice. unfortunately a skimmer is not anywhere in the future because of $$$ and will not be put on the tank for a while, so i have to fix the problem with out. i'm not the only one who feeds the tank so ill probably have to monitor that more closely. i was hoping there was any sort or cleaner crew option that would keep the sand clean enough that the slime would grow and spread. the only livestock in the tank is 2 clown and a ~30" anemone. theres also probably 15 lbs of live rock and 60 pounds of live sand in the 56gallon display. the carpet nem walks like crazy and has a trunk the size of a football so its limited the amount of rock that been put into and been removed from the tank.

 

[DaveK]

If there were a quick and easy way to solve red slime algae issues, we'd all be using it. There really are no short cuts or easy alternatives here.

The 15 lbs of live rock is also a problem. That just isn't enough. Considering the size of the anemone, you really should have a much larger tank.

The bottom line here is that the wet/dry filtration system, without a skimmer, plus the limited amount of live rock, just isn't up to solving your red slime issues. You really need to address this one way or another. Perhaps some DIY projects may be possible?

 

[reefer gladness]

Several factors can cause cyano bacteria and unless you tackle all of them there's no guarantee you will fix the problem.

Obviously 15 lbs of live rock isn't very much, it's about 1/4 of what you would normally find in a tank that size. But with only 2 clownfish in the tank there shouldn't be a huge bioload - unless they are being overfed so you should definitely monitor that closely.

Lighting can be a factor, especially if you have older T5 or halide bulbs in need of replacement.

Water flow is a huge factor in my experience. The only place cyano has ever been able to grow in my tank is a low-flow area in the overflow box. Usually when I see tanks with cyano problems there isn't a lot of water flow in them.

Vacuuming the sand bed will help clean up that area of the tank.

I wouldn't add any new livestock to the tank until these problems are addressed, it will just make your battle against cyano longer and harder.

 

[bullet]

IMO you need a bigger CUC also to help with the over feeding as davek had mentioned