green/brown/redslime algae

[deepreeftank]

hello and thank you b4 hand
just last week my gobie died of old age i beleive because he has been in the tank the longest and lived through it all... now my sand is a brown color(red slime on the sand because gobie died) and now threre is agreeen and brown color algae that my snailos are not really attacking on the glass but its not on teh glass....calyou help i dentify it please...

 

[davelin315]

Although a fish dying can add to the nutrients in your tank, it probably is not the cause of slime algae in your tank. My guess is the goby may have been moving your sand around so that the slime algae was not as noticeable. Slime algae will start growing with high nutrients, poor circulation, reduction in lighting quality, and a number of other factors. I wouldn't attribute a new growth to the death of your goby. I'm not sure of what else you mean about the snails etc and the glass, it's a bit unclear by your post.

 

[james wiser]

chop up the slime on the bottom of your bed first and do a slight vaccum. Use the red slime remover from ultra life products. Follow directions for dosage. Turn off your protien skimmer when you add it for 24 hours. Put it in a container like the salifert plastic holders for testing and release it near the sand bed. It will turn tank water yellow but that is temp.

after 24 check to see if it is not returning. You can redose according to package. If slime is clear you can add a small new layer to your sand bed to return the white clean look.

I used it for the first time a week ago and it worked great. Did not harm corals.

Correct lighting and circulation are the key to keep it from flaring up in your tank.

HTH

James

 

[Anonymous]

Has anyone ever heard of black slime? The Petco down the street has a little Ecosystem 29 tall setup for inverts. The sand bottom is about 75% covered with what appears to be black slime. What causes this?

 

[deepreeftank]

i just went and got a new godie and some capuela(sp)so i think that well take care of the sand and i scraped the stuff off the glass...

 

[kipreefer]

i have also seen this same purple or black slime what is it does anyone know

 

[davelin315]

I think it's all the same stuff. It just can have different colors in your tank. It's really a deep deep red or brownish color, but can be so dark that it looks like it's black. The best way to get rid of it is to reach in and peel it off. Whatever sand is stuck to it, toss it out with the slime. Once you've removed as much as you can, change some water, replace lights if necessary, and then toss in some phosphate remover and carbon. After that, you can toss in the slime remover and kill it off (remove the carbon and phosphate and turn the skimmer off as recommended first). After the treatment is done, add some new phosphate remover and carbon, turn your skimmer back on, and you should be good to go.

 

[Anonymous]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by davelin315:
<STRONG>I think it's all the same stuff. It just can have different colors in your tank. It's really a deep deep red or brownish color, but can be so dark that it looks like it's black.</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This stuff is a true black. Where it spreads thinly across the sand and you can "see" through it it's a charcole grey colour. It looks REALLY unhealthy.

-Greg