My Biggest Problem Ever - Red Turf Algae

[Solarfall]

What I have is what Solarfall has. Yote has something different. BTW, there are brown, green and red algae and red has the most species. Its very easy to confuse the different types.

I tried blow torching rock in a 5G bucket last night. The bucket had used change out water and the rock in there was out of the water for only a couple minutes. I rinsed the rock well put it back in. Today the bucket stinks of charred something and there is a nasty spike of nitrites and nitrates both. I did not check ammonia. I think I may back off on the blow torch plan. Maybe a steel brush and rinse the rock in used change out water.

Err yeah if you have nitrites you probably have ammonia. I'd definetly back off on the blow torch. You probably killed a lot of micro life like that and in a tank as small as yours it could definetly set off a cycle.

 

[sen5241b]

Took some rock out today and used one of these things, attached to a drill, on the algae. I could not get all of it out. Where it grew in crevices I could not get it out. This brush scrapes off some rock too. I rinsed the rock in change out water then put it back in the tank. I got over half of it out my tank. I'll let an urchin or Trochus snails eat the rest. I don't think what I did will set off a cycle but I am monitoring my water parms closely.

Problem is, after two showers I still stink of rotting seaweed. The stuff flew all over. Yes, algae may affect my sex life.

 

[sen5241b]

No 'trate spikes yet. The steel brush helped.

 

[sen5241b]

UPDATE: I've had some red-turf algae covered rock in a bucket (with heat and flow) for a month now with NO light and the algae has barely died back. It looks like maybe 5% has died off.

 

[yote]

Sen.I've found one thing that WILL help with red turf.Urchins.
They seem to really like the stuff.At least mine do.

 

[sen5241b]

1+ Yote

I put a Blue Tuxedo Urchin in my 29G 2 days ago and I am amazed at how fast he is eating the stuff up. After a huge amount of research and experimentaiton with the whole Red Turf algae issue --the only good answer is Urchins.