boyd chemi-clean

[t1771]

do you guys have it in stock? if so how much is it? thnx Tiffany

[genkireefer]

yes we've got it.
i don't recommend it though, unless you've tried the four solutions first.
the product is a little shady and though the packaging says it's reef safe i've had several customer's experiences of bad. bad bad. i betcha it contains antibiotics which will always harm a reef.
red slime algae is called cyanobacteria. it's a very cool life-form that's actually a symbiotic algae and bacteria so antibiotics are particularly effective on it.
in any case, the four solutions that almost ALWAYS work instead of dumping in chemicals:
1. increase and maintain high alkalinity/calcium levels (eg. alk 14, 15, ca 500, 550) will inhibit algal growth and will by no means harm reef inhabitants.
2. increase water movement in affected areas by adding or moving pumps or other water movement devices. cyanobacteria can't hold on well, it won't be able to grow back if water is moving quicker. of course, use common sense, don't blast coral life with crazy flow.
3. feed less. once a day or once every other day and only as much as the fish will finish within seconds will be fine. cyano also feeds well off of nitrate and phosphate... the chemical result of nutrient breakdown. either leftover food, fish waste, or the decay of animals who are dead or dying will cause crazy cyano sometimes.
4. light for fewer hours temporarily. 8 or fewer hours will be fine for most reef inverts.
come in and talk to us about the problem. chemiclean will work when you add it but you'll probably see a nutrient spike from die-off of microfauna and plus, if the cause of the cyanobacteria is not eliminated, you'll always see it come back again and again. best to figure things out naturally.
let me know if you need anything else!
by the way, if you knew all of the above and i'm overtalking, sorry! just that i use chemiclean as a last resort!
cheers, michelle

[Reefried]

raising your alk to 14, or 15 WILL harm reef inhabitants, espacially SPS, 14 is almost DOUBLE where I keep it which is 7-8...I try to keep params at close to NSW....if you are going to raise your alk levels that high then do it SLOWLY, or your corals will get alk burn, and eventually RTN...

[genkireefer]

thanks reefried... of course i forgot to mention to do everything slowly which to most is common sense but i should have said it anyway.:p

so let me clarify the alkalinity thing:
generally speaking, 8-12 is an acceptable range for most systems. many people who keep a tank heavily stocked with coral and are looking for faster growth will keep all concentrations (calcium, magnesium, strontium... etc.) slightly proportionally higher. as long as there are no extremely large changes in water conditions and everything is kept an eye on, there is no harm in 14-15 which is only slightly higher than the normal range recommended.

of course in a perfect world, no one would suffer algal pains and everyone could easily keep their aquariums within normal sea water parameters. i am a huge fan of the natural approach to everything, but having an alkalinity of 7dKH (like natural sea water) in a closed system (especially smaller) is usually linked to pH fluctuation and associated issues... one of the constant problems i am helping many enthusiasts with.:o

so i absolutely agree with you, reefried, but the alkalinity step i mentioned above is only temporary to combat algal growth. it has proven itself VERY effective at controlling a major nuisance and is definitely a far lesser evil than dumping "magic algae solutions" into a reef aquarium.

thanks for lookin' out.
by the way, i LOVE your handle!:D

cheers, michelle