Red Slime Remover.... Fail

[MarkoD]

Cause of cyano is over feeding while I was on vacation.

And yes the box says to keep slimmer on. I'll take a picture of it of I still have it. Brand is ultra life red slime remover

[Reef Pilot]

My Chemiclean instructions say to turn the skimmer off. So sounds like it is not the same stuff.

[Trigger Man]

I've used the chemiclean product in the past and had good results as well.

[Delphinus]

I've used both over the years. To me they are similar (although not identical) products. I seem to recall they both smelled like banana flavored candy to me for example. But Chemiclean is a white powder and RSM is a yellow powder. They might not be the same thing. I think you can also use Erithromycin but I've never tried this myself so don't quote me on that.

I think in a way they are both right because the same sort of thing happens with either of them: 1) the skimmer goes nuts, and 2) the O2 level depletes in the tank as the cyano starts to die off and rot, thereby increasing the risk of suffocation/asphyxiation of the tankmates.

Therefore, leaving the skimmer "on" means it will likely overflow and make a mess, and leaving it "off" takes away something that helps with re-oxygenation. Nothing is black or white, but there are a million shades of grey.

My advice is:
1) If the skimmer is in the sump, just leave it on and let it overflow back into the tank, as there is no risk of flooding your floor or emptying your sump.
2) If the skimmer is a hang on the back style, or external to the sump, then leave it on, but dial the air intake as far down as possible. Lower the water level in the skimmer if you can too. This way it's still bubbling away, but not emptying the tank.
3) If you don't have a skimmer at all then stop being so eccentric and just go out and buy one. (JUST KIDDING. Sheesh, put the tomatoes away. Everyone's a critic.. ). But seriously, if no skimmer, then maybe add a powerhead to agitate the water surface or something like that just to keep up with the O2/CO2 exchange.

Hope this helps..

[Myka]

Good advice Tony.

My ChemiClean instructions say to turn off the skimmer, but to add an airstone. I said, "F that crap, I'll just let the skimmer overflow." Kill two birds with one stone! Ha! It did take almost two weeks for my skimmer to run consistently after the treatment. I had the water level way down, and every time I would adjust it up it would overflow in an hour or two, then I would turn it down and wouldn't get any skimmate...it was frustrating.

[paddyob]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

Cause of cyano is over feeding while I was on vacation.

And yes the box says to keep slimmer on. I'll take a picture of it of I still have it. Brand is ultra life red slime remover

Whatever the brand... It will work with diligence. I used it in several maintenance tanks when I was with AI...and at home, Skimmer off as it directed at the time I guess.. Water change and siphon.

Works.

[MarkoD]

here's what the box says " For best results, DO NOT turn off UV Sterilizer or Ozonizer. Continuation of Protein Skimming is recommended but may require adjustment.
Due to Increased biological digestion of organic solids we recommend increasing your O2 levels by the addition of airstones prior to and during treatment.
No need for Water changes or Removal of Carbon Filtration. "

also read about it here

http://www.marinedepot.com/Ultralife...FIMERM-vi.html

[Reef Pilot]

I just don't think your product works as well as Chemiclean. As per past posts, many, incl myself, have had good success with Chemiclean.

In my case, I just turned off the skimmer, and followed the instructions exactly, since I had plenty of flow and aeration in the tank already. I turned it back on after the water change.

One treatment, and cyano was gone for good. Corals and fish were not affected.

[MarkoD]

Either way. I put a filter sock on and removed all the cyano manually

[Reef Pilot]

One other thing I should mention with my mine, is that I started using MB7 (beneficial bacteria) after my Chemiclean treatment. I had already been using it with my other tank with my bio pellets as cyano preventative (and never did have cyano in it). The theory is that beneficial bacteria seeded by MB7 out competes cyano.