Red Algae

[rhenson]

Hi,

We have had our 1st half of our TBS package setup for some time now and we are starting to see a red algae growth on a portion of the sand ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ we have a hex tank and this is an area with a lot of current. I know the second half will come with a cleaning crew, but any recommendations on taking care of this in the mean time? I am worried that it is going to take over the tank! We have 5 Mexican turbo snails, but they donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t seem to be taking care of this ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ every now and then they will mow it down, but it comes back the same day.

http://www.skysystems.com/Images/red.jpg

Thanks for any advice,
Ritchy

 

[docklink]

Nice looking brain. You appear to have a cyano break out. Test your phosphate level, if possible. Siphon out the red goo. Another way to remove it that I've found effective is to take a bamboo skewer, insert it into the layer of goo and twirl it. The film will wind-up on the end of the skewer. Carefully remove the skewer from the water and wipe off the goo. Repeat till you have removed as much as possible. Then do a 10% water change (to help reduce phosphates). You might consider installing a phosban reactor or other type of phosphate sponge. Reduce feeding. Also, check your lighting to make sure your spectrum is not heavy in the 5k to 6k range (the cyano doesn't seem to grow as well in 10k or higher lighting). I haven't found too many critters that attack it, though I've heard mexican red-leg hermits and some conch will eat it. HTH

 

[rhenson]

Hey, thanks for the great info Jeff.

 

[Phenix 05]

First of all let it be known that the #1 reason one has a cyano break out which happends to be a bacteria, is because of insufficiant skimming
whatever that stuff is eating, your skimmer should be taking out.
better skimming, less cyano
as far as removing the bacteria, just siphon it all out. although this will not solve the problem
i agree with less feeding
good luck
we all deal with this battle

 

[rhenson]

I've got the AquaC Remora Protein Skimmer on this 45 gallon tank - it seems to do a good job - perhaps I need to lower the chamber so that it pulls more. I'll try that.

All I have in the tank is corals and 1 blue devil - so all I feed is DT every other day and the smallest pinch of flake daily.

For this outbreak I used "Ultralife Redslime Remover". The slime is gone - the stuff did what it said and hurt nothing else in the tank - I would recommend it to a friend.

Hopefully tweaking my skimmer will keep it away.

Thanks for all of the help!

 

[keswick]

The reason for the Red Algae outbreak was probably because of the new Rock having die-off....nutrient increase....then algae.

Also, stop the DT Phyto for a week or so (Phyto is algae and will/can promote algae outbreaks). Use it sparingly...read other threads here to decide if you want to keep using it.

If your water params and skimming are adequet, then the red algae will disappear for certain over time.

Good Luck

 

[dwculp]

I had a brief cyano break out soon after part two was put in. I siphoned it out on a daily basis and just made sure my water parameters were in check, a water changes and it went away.