# grey slime algae



## bpm2000 (Feb 16, 2005)

Just wanted to hear stories about grey slime algae - how you got it and how you got RID of it .


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## Salamastre (Jun 19, 2005)

I did a post on grey slime here a couple of weeks ago, and got a bunch of usefull links.

Basically, it is cyanobacteria.

The way i got rid of it was by turning of the aquarium light (not a complete blackout as recommended), and dosed 1ml 3% peroxide (normal drugstore stuff) for every liter of water, for 6 days. 

The grey slime stayed in the tank, at first I tought it was not dying, but after siphoning it out, it did not grow back.

The fish did not suffer, but a couple of snails spent the 6 days with their heads outside the water, and about half died.


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## bpm2000 (Feb 16, 2005)

could you possibly direct me towards that thread? My searching abilities dont seem to be able to find this particular thread. 

peroxide.. like hydrogen peroxide..??

EDIT: found it.. could you describe the peroxide routing in a little more detail? Leave filters on/off? Spot dose, or just into the water column? 

thx!


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## Lissette (Apr 2, 2005)

Maybe this thread might interest you.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=3635&highlight=grey+slime+algae

Good Luck!

Lissette :wink:


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## Salamastre (Jun 19, 2005)

Sorry it took so long to respond.

I read a lot of threads about using H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), and they all quoted different proportions, lenghts of treatment, etc. I made good use of the google calculator (just type something like *(10 ml/liter) to oz/gallon* into the google search box, and you will get something like *10 (ml / liter) = 1.28 oz / US gallon* ). Take a look at http://www.google.com/help/features.html#calculator
it also does currency conversions like *10 USD/gallon to mexican money/liter*

Because I was worried about the shrimp, I went with 1 ml/liter, although the most recomended dosage for a tank with fish was around 4ml/l. I did a little test with a java fern, and it took 10 ml/l for a week with no signs of distress. You could try this in a plant only tank.

My filter only has floss in it, and it was contaminated with the slime as well, so I left it running. I could see lots of 'pearling' on the slime after the 3rd day, which meant something was happening. 

I dose with a syringe, and what i did the first days, maybe overkill, was to turn of the filter, and dose the peroxide as close as possible to the affected areas, and turn on the filter after an hour or so. I don't know if it made a difference or not.

And I did cheat the last day. As the fish and shrimp showed absolutely no sign of stress (good color, eating like pigs, normal behaviour), I dosed 2 times the amount.

Grey slime is ugly, it even smells a little bad after a while. I was temted to nuke the tank and start all over again, but decided to give the peroxide treatment a try. It takes patience (nothing happens the first 3 or 4 days), but at the end it is worth it. As a side effect, most of the older parts of my java moss greeyed and 'dissolved' with teh treatment, leaving only the bright green new shoots. It look 10 times better now.


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## RoseHawke (Mar 10, 2004)

I had it. I thought I was rid of it, it came back, I did the same things I'd done before to get rid of it, lost about 10 cardinals and a male AFF, lost heart, let the tank go for two months, finally said to h*ll with it, and have now broken it down. The stuff's a b*gger.


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## Clone (Feb 29, 2004)

BPM Is the algae in your tank green/gray and pulls off in sheets or is it a dull brown/gray in which case it looks like someone blew their nose in your tank? The treatment for the two are different.


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## bpm2000 (Feb 16, 2005)

like this:

http://staff.washington.edu/bpm2000/images/algae.jpg

thx!


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## Clone (Feb 29, 2004)

That looks like diatoms to me bpm. I started getting it when my tank started to get densely planted. All the articles I have read suggested silicates in the water and/ low light. Neither was the case in my tank, but I did add a power head for more circulation and did 30-50% daily water changes for four days and it cleared up. I wasn't until I added the powerhead that it stayed away.


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## bpm2000 (Feb 16, 2005)

hmm maybe i need more circ... ill try it. what is a good powerhead for a 10g?
its gotta be small.


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## bpm2000 (Feb 16, 2005)

well peroxide killed it.. but it also browned the hell out of my teargrass, HC, vals, and swords. hopefully they can make a comeback.. ive halted CO2 (yeast flucuates too much) and ferts for now.


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## Lissette (Apr 2, 2005)

You've got guts. I hope your plants can recover.



Lissette :wink:


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

I've had little issue getting rid of this one.

Never needed H2O2.

Just did a very good cleaning and had the owner fluff the stuff off and keep on the large water changes, redosing each time after.

Never came back on two seperate tanks.

I dount it's a Cyano, I looked from samples Cavin sent me, there were no spores of any type, looked more like a fungus.

EM has no effect on it either. 
A blackout should knock it out as well.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## bpm2000 (Feb 16, 2005)

It definitely responded well to a blackout, but managed to come back each time (probably due to some imbalance with ferts/co2). Ive halted the CO2 (a flaky yeast system) and ferts and it hasnt come back yet since the peroxide treatment. I'm putting the tank on "stand-by" right now since I am moving soon - hopefully I can get everything back in order with some replanting and restructuring.

thanks for all the help!


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