Help

[Tbaby]

Can anyone tell me what this red stuff is and why it’s happening and how I can stop it from happening please I’m new to the saltwater

 

[Reefing102]

Looks like the start of Cyanobacteria. For some it’s the start of an ugly phase, but may need more flow around the bottom. Might want to check your nitrate and phosphate to see if they’re bottoming out. Others find it to be a very persistent algae resulting to chemical treatments and others just let it go. I know @griss just came through a significant battle with it but can’t find his thread

 

[Misled]

griss’ Battle with Cyano - all the Things I’ve Tried

Anyone have any experience with Dr. Tim’s Cyano Treatment? In 36 years in this hobby I've never had such a problem with cyano. I've been battling it for at least 6 months. I have a 40BR drilled in the back with an eshopps through the tank overflow. I have (2) 520 gph powerheads and a 230...

forums.reefcentral.com

 

[griss]

IMO, with all I tried in that thread, what finally rid my tank of cyano was balancing out the Nitrates and Phosphates. Mine were at ZERO when I was having the issues. Bringing Nitrate (dosing ESV Nitrate) and removing the GFO brought the levels back up to optimal and the cyano went away.

 

[Tbaby]

Looks like the start of Cyanobacteria. For some it’s the start of an ugly phase, but may need more flow around the bottom. Might want to check your nitrate and phosphate to see if they’re bottoming out. Others find it to be a very persistent algae resulting to chemical treatments and others just let it go. I know @griss just came through a significant battle with it but can’t find his thread

Thank you

IMO, with all I tried in that thread, what finally rid my tank of cyano was balancing out the Nitrates and Phosphates. Mine were at ZERO when I was having the issues. Bringing Nitrate (dosing ESV Nitrate) and removing the GFO brought the levels back up to optimal and the cyano went away.
View attachment 32403010

how do I do that?

 

[griss]

Thank you

how do I do that?

Do you test your Nitrate and Phosphate levels? If so, what are the levels? If not, you'd need to get a reliable test for each. For Nitrate, Salifert or Red Sea are good kits. For Phosphate, I like to use a Hanna Checker.

So, you'd check your levels of those nutrients and make adjustments accordingly.

Another option would be to have a refugium with macroalgaes that could outcompete the cyano for nutrients.