Been having some red cyano lately so I tested with my salifert kit and got something in the range of 10-25ppm. Red flag for me! I tested source waterand it is zero and mixed salt water is still zero. I decided it was time to do a couple things. I gravel vacuumed the SSB and got a lot of detritus out that way and started to skim more on the wet side. I have been feeding heavily so I suspect that is how hte mess started in the first place.
I also decided it was time to move to the next level and get a really good Nitrate test kit. The Lamotte is a bit pricey but so is everything else about this hobby. I used it for hte first time yesterday and got 2ppm Nitrogen-Nitrate which converts to 8.8ppm nitrate. In terms of accuracy I am pretty happy and it is easy to use.
I am happy to report that cyano is going away without using any red slime removers and organics are coming back in line. I got a little distracted with all the LED stuff I think.