Red algae good or bad

[darkdancer333]

This is only on the rocks not sure if healthy or not

 

[Mr Pants]

Is this a newly set up tank?

[darkdancer333]

Is this a newly set up tank?

yes its about 5 weeks old

 

hard to see but there is green algae mixed in with the red, it doesnt seem slimy or hairy

at my reef store was told to add more cleanup crew

now I have 8 small snails and 6 hermits..

[xlzerolx]

It looks like cyano bacteria to me

[LEEWINK]

shouldnt be a problem, I blow mine off the sand and rocks every other day, I could leave it to let it burn itself out, mines been with mine since early days, I dont see it a problem, as long as its the "dust" type that just blows off with a section of airline etc.

[darkdancer333]

shouldnt be a problem, I blow mine off the sand and rocks every other day, I could leave it to let it burn itself out, mines been with mine since early days, I dont see it a problem, as long as its the "dust" type that just blows off with a section of airline etc.

it comes off real easy with a tooth brush

 

It looks like cyano bacteria to me

i thought cyano in the rocks also this stuff is only where the lights hit directly. underneath the rocks there is no algae. if cyano wouldnt it spread everywhere. only parts affected are the exposure to light

[LEEWINK]

mine is light based too, on the sand and upward facings of the rock

In fact my sand has a light covering now, I haven't "swished" it tonight

[LEEWINK]

Can't beat CUC though, they battle with it, if not just brush it around LOL.

 

My 120ltr, i've said has got probably the best part of 20+ snails - big and small nassarius ect, brittle star, cleaner shrimp, blood shrimp (soon another 2 on that), 3 or so red legs, 4 algae hermits ... bonkers hermits that do little more than faff with algae rather than eat it LOL

 

Soon to add some conch snails, maybe 4 small of them too, but I have 7 fish in it now on a good feed per day, so there's plenty of mess

as I say, ive got a small length of airline with a rigid section of it on the bottom, I just blow jets of water on it and it raises off easy, I pulse it into the sand too to turn it over

[darkdancer333]

Can't beat CUC though, they battle with it, if not just brush it around LOL.

 

My 120ltr, i've said has got probably the best part of 20+ snails - big and small nassarius ect, brittle star, cleaner shrimp, blood shrimp (soon another 2 on that), 3 or so red legs, 4 algae hermits ... bonkers hermits that do little more than faff with algae rather than eat it LOL

 

Soon to add some conch snails, maybe 4 small of them too, but I have 7 fish in it now on a good feed per day, so there's plenty of mess

 

as I say, ive got a small length of airline with a rigid section of it on the bottom, I just blow jets of water on it and it raises off easy, I pulse it into the sand too to turn it over

turbos an a- snails can't keep alive.. Only the little snails live.. I was told 14 hermits and 14 small snails for cuc

I dont know if this is cyano or coraline. my reef store I sent pics and he thought it was pretty normal..

[LEEWINK]

.... If you can literally blow it off or tap with a brush and it floats off, thats cyano, coraline is hard and chalky purple colour, you wouldnt blow or brush it off, although maybe a wire brush LOL

[xlzerolx]

From reading your description, it is definately cyano . Clean up crew won't do anything for cyano, almost nothing touches it or consumes it. Since it's a new tank you will get cyano that will go away eventually. Unless your rocks or sand are leaching phosphates.

 

If it gets really bad, you will need to reduce phosphate and it will eventually go away.

 

If the rocks leach out phosphates. There are a few ways to deal with this.

 

The most cost effective way i have found is to use lanthanum chloride. You can get it at a pool store. It's used for removing phosphates from swimming pools. I'm not sure where you are located, but in Canada there is a product called phos free, and in the states it is called seaklear.

You will have to do this in a seperate container with a skimmer or a very fine filter sock with a pump pumping water into it. You would dose lanthanum chloride slowly into the skimmer cup or filter sock The lanthanum will preceipitate the phosphate out of the water and it will get taken up by the skimmer or trapped in the sock. This reduces the "saturated" [phosphate concentration in the water in the container and will allow more Phosphate to leach out. The procedure is repeated until there is no more phosphate detectable in the water. It's a much shorter way than suffering cyano outbreaks in the display tank and doing water changes.

 

You can also use cyano clean to kill what's existing in your tank. However if there is still a source of major phosphates in your system, there is a good chance it will come back

[darkdancer333]

I tried blowing it off and nothing it's stuck solid. I went at it with a turkey baster and nothing.. Only way off is a tooth brush

to brush it off I have to hit it with a tooth brush an scrub lol then it comes off

[xlzerolx]

huh, weird.... maybe it's not cyano then...

[LEEWINK]

I've got <0.03 Phosphates ....

[LEEWINK]

There are loads of theories as to what stops it, dosing all sorts of potions and such like rubbish, you can increase flow is one, skim more is two.

 

It is known as being predominant in low flow areas yes, but more importantly where the gaseous exchange (there food in simple) is from anaerobic areas, such as rocks, or indeed fine sands that denitrify.

 

I have a skimmer over 5 times rated for the size of my tank, I clean sand and rocks every / other day, and the best part of 3000 ltr/h flow in a 2 foot tank, yet I am looking at it now.

 

The thing i will say, is its part of the "bigger" tank cycle, in some cases can take a year to finally show defeat if at all, it can be helped on by flake foods and the like, to me i'm not to fussed as long as its killing nothing, its easy to temporarily get rid of it till its done.

 

Give it time and then re-assess

[darkdancer333]

There are loads of theories as to what stops it, dosing all sorts of potions and such like rubbish, you can increase flow is one, skim more is two.

 

It is known as being predominant in low flow areas yes, but more importantly where the gaseous exchange (there food in simple) is from anaerobic areas, such as rocks, or indeed fine sands that denitrify.

 

I have a skimmer over 5 times rated for the size of my tank, I clean sand and rocks every / other day, and the best part of 3000 ltr/h flow in a 2 foot tank, yet I am looking at it now.

 

The thing i will say, is its part of the "bigger" tank cycle, in some cases can take a year to finally show defeat if at all, it can be helped on by flake foods and the like, to me i'm not to fussed as long as its killing nothing, its easy to temporarily get rid of it till its done.

 

Give it time and then re-assess

I just got a better pump maxi jet 900

I am turning lights off when no one home so hours cut from 14 hours to 8

[darkdancer333]

huh, weird.... maybe it's not cyano then...

as you can see in pic there is a lot where there is light exposure. tank is only 5-6 weeks old

[LEEWINK]

must agree, 14 is on the heavier side yes, think mine run at that but they are ramped so only say about 11.5 hrs of full light, may cut that a bit soon, haven't decided quite yet

[LEEWINK]

... me and my head sorry, yes its running at 11 hours with a 2 hour ramp either side, effective lighting is probably 9 hours now

[farkwar]

If you toothbrush it, how does it leave your tank?

[farkwar]

 

It is known as being predominant in low flow areas yes, but more importantly where the gaseous exchange (there food in simple) is from anaerobic areas, such as rocks, or indeed fine sands that denitrify.

 

I was growing tons of cyano in my highly oxygenated high flow upflow algae turf scrubber.

 

It is NOT obligate anaerobic. The ATS had more oxygen and flow than any other zone of my system, outside my skimmer.

[farkwar]

I've got <0.03 Phosphates ....

 

Why does that matter?

 

You can have undetectable phosphate and still be growing cyano, or any algae with 0.00 phosphates. Well, I dont know about you specifically, but I can; so I only assume anyone else can.

 

Its likely that you have low phosphates because you're growing cyano and other crap algae. As soon as some free phosphate molecule floats by the little cyano goes, "Hmmm, Lunch". And eats it, then your test kit can't see it in the water.

[LEEWINK]

It feeds off gaseous exchanges of anaerobic areas, at least do your homework before slating me, flow does help so does skimming, but if you read it, it is time that can be the key thing here.

 

I argued <0.03 because someone argued high phosphates, again please read, and no, phosphates isnt a key "lunch" !

[saltman123]

I've seen this type in new tanks, usually cleans itself up if you are keeping up on water changes and stuff.

[DC5]

Why does that matter? You can have undetectable phosphate and still be growing cyano, or any algae with 0.00 phosphates. Well, I dont know about you specifically, but I can; so I only assume anyone else can.

 

I can!

 

My phosphates never test high when I let the algae go...this was especially true when I had a fuge with macroalgae.

 

Let me explain it this way...

 

If a case of beer were phosphates, and I was green hair algae, and my refrigerator was the aquarium water, your test would find no traces in the "aquarium water", of any "phosphates", because "I" would be consuming it all before you got there.