I loved your podcast on Copepods, it was amazing to get so much info from an expert like that.

Would love to see a similar show on just how to combat redslime. Seems like a very common problem with many urban ledgens on how to get rid of it but not too much in the way of what really is the cause and how to remove it. Have even read of some fish die off just by the toxins being release into the water as they remove it.

The typical solutions dont always work for everyone in the hobby. For example, how do you control red slime if your fish can't take high water flow and need to be feed several times a day. Thats usually the first two things people suggest changing.

HI seaboy Welcome to TR

we're talking about cyno here yeah, photo synthetic bactera that clings to more things than that of a dag on a sheeps bum! occurs with higher nutrients, higher DOC's, higher CO2 and so totally loves absorbing light @ levels of 555-564 nm wavelengths. which incidently can be cause by bulbs shifting wavelengths due to dieing slowly!

you could try natures way!
Clibanarius digueti aka meheko(mexican) hermit crab red legged dwalfed>opps dislexic today!
or Nerita funiculata aka nerite snails
or Cerithium strercusmuscarum aka cerith snails

someone whispered in my ear about garf grunge for long term solutions> yet to meet that band, do they play local? :D
and i'll throw a link to show i actually researched something! lol
link me (http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/algaewar/algaewar.htm)

well hell, after all the excitement of riding an emu, i forgot to say hello and welcome:mrgreen:

Hey thanks for that link. One of thoses snails I have not tried yet. The crabs scare me a bit with seahorses as they are probably the worlds slowest moving fish and even get algae growth on them from time to time. One of my horses is such a couch potato that I once cought a faster movinge sea star actually climb on its head! I could just see a crab going for the algae on its back for a nice meal.

Ahhhh... me likes ya already Seaboy... Seahorse system woes. Welcome to my every day :)

First and foremost, how much flow DO you have in your tank. I ask, only because when I first set up my system, I was dreadfully afraid of too much flow. I used JUST a Rio 50 in the tank and even throttled down my return pump as to not upset the ponies.

THEN... BANG... what a mess! I had cyano, hair algae, Spermothamnion (that pink cotton candy looking junk), you name it.. I had it.

I then began to rethink the flow in my system and made some modifications. I opened the return pump flow wide open. However, I pointed the return nozzle to create a chop on the water surface and not point downward in any direction, but instead allowed the water to break the surface and then meet the front glass causing a slight down draft of that water flow. No harm, no foul.

I then put the Rio 50 on the bottom corner of the tank and put it on a timer. It comes on twice a day, for 10 minutes each time. This literally pushes the detritus and other sediments back into the water column and then shuts down. This allowed my overflow to take in more junk to the sump for circulation through my skimmer.

Finally, I added another powerhead on the opposite side, and positioned it such that it met the downdraft caused by the return pump and broke that stream making a lighter, but more erratic flow.

I immediately saw a difference in the hair algae on the rocks.

(more...after I get coffee)

David

Okay... back to my friend the Cyano...

Even though I was able to get a grip on the hair algae and other tuft like algae, I still had my cyano problem. First things first... I checked my water quality. I found that the RO/DI was pushing a reading of 82 PPM. Ouch... I changed the cartridges.

Next, I changed my feeding habits. I was NOT using a feeding dish like most pony keepers do. My ponies like to hunt, so I simply broadcast the food into the system. Now, I put in just 10 or so mysid at a time (4 ponies and a goby) and wait until it is gone before putting more in. I typically end up feeding twice. I also rinse the mysid and other foods before putting it in the water. It's amazing how much oil and other organics are released with a salt water wash.

Finally, I got a nice sand sifting goby. I have a twin spot or crab eyed goby. This guy is a worker! He sifts every inch of my sand bed and keeps it sugar white now. I'm putting the goby in another tank and putting my yellow watchman in the seahorse tank. I want to pair it with a pistol shrimp. In any case, any decent sand sifting goby will do wonders.

Ever since putting in the goby, adjusting flow, and reducing nutriends in the tank, I've had zero cyano.

I do use hermit crabs in my tank. I use the blue legged crabs. They seem less likely to accidentally nip the ponies and have smaller claws. I also use tons of nassarius snails (a dozen in my 26 bow), tubos etc.

David

Thanks David,

Oh, man, I just spent 2 days cleaning out the tank before I went out of town and and when I came back found a ton of food in the tank from the fish sitter along with more red stuff then when I left!

I think I might try some more water circulation, only have two main one built into the back and a drop in that is near the top. Has putting in a powerhead near the bottom really made a big difference?

I also have a sand goby, but the little bugger has developed a taste for Mysis and hardly shifts through the sand any more. He has even figured out how to go up to the feeding dish which is about 6" off the sand then scatters it all over the tank when I am not looking.

Have you tried any of the chemical stuff like Chemi -Clean? I was thinking about that to get it under control, but I read on several sites it can be very dangerous to fish incliding death. I wonder if taking out the rock and giving it a chem bath would be safer then nuking the tank?

What else do you have as a clean up crew? I also have the Nasarius snails wich are great for food clean up. But since they dont eat hair, or cyano, not going to help there. What do you think about emerald crabs?

I'd not use any mythrax (emerald) crabs in a pony tank. They are more agressive than the hermit crabs as it comes to sheening algae and they have a much larger "bite". Just look at those claws remove encrusted matter from LR. They are NOT made to be gentle :) Yeah, from time to time, a silly hermit will nip a tail on my ponies. The SHs do a quick "barrel roll" and knock them off. No harm, no foul. I've had my Reidi for a while now and have seen no ill effects from a nip here and there. Getting stuck in the vice grip of an emerald however, that could be ugly.

I have Nassarius, Turbo, Asrea (zebra striped kind can right themselves if they tip), blue legged hermit crabs and scarlet hermit crabs, peppermint shrimp and a serpent star. The pepps and serpent do a great job at cleaning in the nooks and crannies of the rocks. Just ensure that you also "target feed" the serpent stars because they can not live on mysid or other seahorse foods alone.

I did, once, use a product called Red Slime Remover from Ultralife Reef Products. It was very effective at eliminating red slime in an old Nano that I had. However, it also wiped out all the pods and mysid that were in there. Again, it worked, but I had to repoplulate the sand bed fauna afterwards.

If you do some digging, you'll find that the product affects the PH and oxygen levels in the system. Also, the product contains Erythromycin, an anti bacterial. Basically, it breaks the chain required for protein synthesis. However, keep in mind that it is not a "target" product and just as it interferes with the protein synthesis in the cyano, it will do the same with other "probable" beneficial bacterium (i.e. Nitrifying bacteria). I'd use it as a last resort.

Yes.. although I'm not going to "officially" endorse anything, I've had better luck with the Boyd Brothers products (Boyd Enterprise) Chemi-Clean etc. AND... I like the kids... they are good people, working hard to keep up their dad's dreams!

Continue with water changes (siphoning the slime as you do so), reduce your photoperiod, ensure that your calcium levels are up, reduce feedings (especially if you see food on the sand bed) and do check your RO/DI system to see if you are getting "pure" water. There is a lot of stuff in your tap water that will cause you to have continuous battles with all kinds of algae and metal issues.

Yes, the proper placement of a lower flowing powerhead WILL help you keep your sand bed cleaner. Again, I have mine on a timer that comes on twice a day to "stir it up" (sung in my best Bob Marley) and it seems to work well.

Dave

He he he... Again... I really love when the board says "Posting Quick Reply". When does Dave EVER have a 'quick reply'?

D

lol.. ok, i will change it to..
"Posting Quick Reply, unless this is Dave"