Is all red algae cyanobateria?

[mskvarenina]

In my refugium I have a lot of red algae coating the back and side walls. I don't have any of this in the DT

My chaeto while for the most part is a nice green also has some dark spots which may be this same algae?

Is the cyanobacteria and if so should I worry about it since it's only in the refugium? And to remove it I've seen a ton of products but if this is Cyano and since it's such a small amount should I just scrape it off the walls with a scraper?

 

[tmz]

There are many types of rhodophyta( red algae),about 6,000 species, including: f , red turf algae and coraline forexample. You can find some images fordiffernt types by googling rhodophyta.
Cyanobacteria often display red coloration in reef tanks to their advantage in gathering light in the spectrum avaialble. Cyano does , however, show a variety of colors depending on the specific species and light.

 

[mskvarenina]

Interesting. So what do you think about removing it? Should I be concerned with this small amount growing on the back and side wall of my refugium or should I just let it be? I'm a bit concerned that some of the chaeto is dark which makes me wonder if the red algae is also growing on the chaeto.

 

[tmz]

I don't know what it is. If it's cyanobacteria I'd siphon it out? If it's coraline I'd let it grow. As for the chaeto, I'd rinse it off. Cyano is usually a slimy mat. A picture might help id it.

 

[mskvarenina]

Here's a few pics. I don't think it's coralline as I don't have any coralline in the tank yet. This algae doe snot appear to be slimy. I also included a pic of the chaeto. You can see some is nice a green, and other areas are dark and on the red-purple side.

What do you think?

 

[Sk8r]

Thats cyano.
What is more concerning is the green stuff, which I take to be caulerpa. See if you can get hold of some cheatomorpha algae and ditch the caulerpa. It's toxic, it roots in rock where you can't get it, it reproduces by fragment, roots, spores and runners, and it's prolific. If it gets into your rockwork and you don't have a huge tank it's bad news.

 

[mskvarenina]

Yes that's caulerpa. I just added it yesterday. The chaeto ball is the size of an oversized football just to the left of the caulerpa which is separated by some egg crate. I thought maybe having a mix of chaeto and caulerpa would remove the nitrates faster?

So I should scrape out as much of the cyano as possible?

 

[tmz]

It looks to be a mix of things; I'd probably scrape it and siphon it.
Caulerpa will usually out compete chaetomorpha for nutrients which is why some folks prefer it and are able to care for it in a refugium separate from the tank. It is ,however, a single celled orrganism that is invasive .When it dies; it dies en masse and releases lots of nasty stuff into the water.

 

[mskvarenina]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I've scraped off all the cyano and cleaned up the fuge. Also trimmed back the chaeto. I'm going to give the caulerpa a try and see if it grows.