tenurepro
New member
Hi Folks... I am a newbie... I started my first saltwater tank 10 days ago, and i have something that looks like algae or cyano growing on my life rocks. Can you please help me ID it. Color is red/purple-ish, It feels 'mossy', it is feathery, the branches sway in the current, it is physically attached to the rock and is difficult to scrub off. See pictures attached.
history of aquarium and equipment.
30 gal [used] with aquatop cf-400UV cannister filter [used, but media is new including 1 tray with 2 filter membranes, 1 tray w/ activated charcoal, 1 tray with Seachem Matrix biofilitration media granules]. eheim 250 heater [used], 2 maxi-jet 600 powerheads [new]. 30 lbs of live sand [new], 30 lbs of live rock from a local aquarium store [ it was cured they said, and running in some of their tanks]. I ran vinegar water through all the used equipment for a day, then cycled clean tap water for another day, then dried everything and filled the tank with premixed instant ocean. I also used Seachem's stability [i.e. bacterial in a bottle] for the first week. I ran the aquarium w/ live rock and it seemed like it cycled in 5 days - no ammonia and nitrite by then. So i added 1 emerald crab and 4 hermit crabs at day 6 [i was going to wait longer, but my 6 yr old wanted the crabs really badly
]. Crabs are doing fine. chemistry as of yesterday is
ammonia - 0; nitrite - 0, Alk ~180, PH ~ 7.8, nitrate ~ 20
History of algae growth ... i did notice these red patches on the rock when i got them, but they seem to be spreading over the past 3 to 4 days. I normally have the lights off (US current orbit), expect when me and the kids want to spy out the crabs. The algae growths are restricted to two bits of live rock. they are not found in the sand bed, which still looks pristine... If this is an invasive algae, should i try to remove it. if so, was thinking about taking out the two live rocks that have the red algae and boiling them ? is that too drastic.
Thanks for your help!
history of aquarium and equipment.
30 gal [used] with aquatop cf-400UV cannister filter [used, but media is new including 1 tray with 2 filter membranes, 1 tray w/ activated charcoal, 1 tray with Seachem Matrix biofilitration media granules]. eheim 250 heater [used], 2 maxi-jet 600 powerheads [new]. 30 lbs of live sand [new], 30 lbs of live rock from a local aquarium store [ it was cured they said, and running in some of their tanks]. I ran vinegar water through all the used equipment for a day, then cycled clean tap water for another day, then dried everything and filled the tank with premixed instant ocean. I also used Seachem's stability [i.e. bacterial in a bottle] for the first week. I ran the aquarium w/ live rock and it seemed like it cycled in 5 days - no ammonia and nitrite by then. So i added 1 emerald crab and 4 hermit crabs at day 6 [i was going to wait longer, but my 6 yr old wanted the crabs really badly
]. Crabs are doing fine. chemistry as of yesterday is ammonia - 0; nitrite - 0, Alk ~180, PH ~ 7.8, nitrate ~ 20
History of algae growth ... i did notice these red patches on the rock when i got them, but they seem to be spreading over the past 3 to 4 days. I normally have the lights off (US current orbit), expect when me and the kids want to spy out the crabs. The algae growths are restricted to two bits of live rock. they are not found in the sand bed, which still looks pristine... If this is an invasive algae, should i try to remove it. if so, was thinking about taking out the two live rocks that have the red algae and boiling them ? is that too drastic.
Thanks for your help!
