Red Algea

[Piggy]

I tried to vacuum it out but it to heavy once the substrate attaches to it.

 

[yote]

ya think? I have not seen that color before. I guess it could be. my mistake if it is cyano. listen to Yote if you are worried, especially if it comes back fast after you vacuum it up.

-Dr Marco :sfish:

Yep Doc,Thats cyno.
When I first started my 30 I had some that color.


Piggy,
Try leaving the lights off for a couple of days.Then take some airline tubing and vac. it out.It might help to add another powerhead or 2 also,just to get more flow in.Cyno thrives in dead spots where theres low flow.

 

[reeffreak]

Definitely looks like cyanobacteria.Its pretty common in young systems.It doesn't look too bad now so I would go ahead and take steps to eliminate it before it does.It does look like its in a low flow area.

 

[Bifferwine]

I agree, cyano. Increase flow in the tank and take measures to reduce phosphates. And switch to frozen food if you haven't already.

 

[Piggy]

I have water flow on top of the water plus I added the powerhead. I move it around. I was thinking about getting another one for the other side. I did switch to frozen food. Also I only feed once a day.
Question, do I need to yurn off the powerhead and filter when I try to clean that stuff out? i just don' want to spread it.

 

[yote]

As long as you dont let the powerhead and filter suck air you can leave them on.But if plan to change enough water to lower it below them,then turn em off.

 

[BlueSi4]

i'm having the same exact problem, i clean the red algae and then it comes back. I do 2 week water changes, and i have a powerhead for water circulation, and i just switched to frozen food as well as dry seaweed, but the red algae seems to keep coming back.

 

[Bifferwine]

BlueSi, I would add another powerhead. In a 46 gallon tank, two should do much better than one. Be patient, in this hobby problems seem to manifest themselves overnight, but take forever to clear up.

 

[BlueSi4]

ok, i will go tomorrow and get another powerhead, any location i should place it? Right now i have the filter on one side, moving the water towards the front, while the powerhead is on the other side of the tank, pointing towards the filter.

 

[Doc]

point the return pump toward the front on the tank, in the middle, place each powerhead on opposite sides of the tank and force the current into the middle. that will create a swell that forces the water all around your tank.

-Dr Marco :sfish:

 

[BlueSi4]

are there any fish/snails/crabs/etc that might eat this algae??

 

[HAWKS12thMAN]

none that i know of......cynao is actually a bacteria algae. from what i have read nothing will eat it cuz it tastes like poop, you could always try erithromisin to kill it. Thats what i did as a last resort.

 

[Bifferwine]

Yeah I don't know of anything that will eat cyano either. Sorry.

 

[BlueSi4]

ok, i was just asking since pretty much there seems to be at least something that will eat any kind of algae, but yea, thanks guys! I went to get the phosphate remover today but they didn't have any more, so i'm gonna try another store tomorrow...that should help me get rid of that algae right?

 

[HAWKS12thMAN]

so you have a skimmer? Are you sure your not over feeding?

 

[Bifferwine]

Phosphate remover will help a lot. Like Hawks said, make sure you're not overfeeding, cut back on lighting if you don't have corals, increase the water circulation in your tank, and do regular water changes.

 

[Piggy]

Here's a update on my red algea. Most of it is gone. Yipee! I'm pretty sure the reason I had it was over feeding because I was feeding 1 of the frozen squares everyday. I cut back to a smig. I never realized how much food was in one of those squares. Everything seems to be doing good.

 

[BlueSi4]

i don't have a skimmer, i have 3 fish and i feed them about 1/3 of one of the cubes of brine shrimp per day...and i have a sheet of algae for my tang. As far as lightning goes, it's on for about 12 hours or so

 

[yote]

BlueSi
Try cutting your lights back to about 8 hours a day,and feed every other day.
I only feed my fish every 3rd day.

 

[yote]

The only thing I know of that eat cyno is a sea hare.They love cyno for some reason.