red alge how to kill

[DaveAngie79]

i have red alge starting up in the tank is there any way to kill it when it is surrounding my coral without killing the coral

 

[Blown 346]

Any nuisance algae needs to be killed by what is causing it. For mean ttime you could do a water change, and siphon as much as you can get out.
Then look at water flow in the tank,low flow areas are more likely to have algae form.
How much and often you feed. You have to get the nutrients and maybe even phosphates down to stop it.

 

[Aries4u]

You need to get your phosphates and nitrates as low as you can this is a fuel for it. Cut back on your feeding because you have high nutrients in your water. Note where it grows because that will be your dead spots in your tank that you will need to correct (current or flow in your tank). I use a large sponge to wipe down the glass trying not to release it back in the water, do this with the pumps off. If you have a sandbed dont stir it up use a turkey baster or siphon hose to suck it out, if its on your corals just blow it off with the baster and chase down the debri. Then do a lot of water changes becuase you need to remove it from your system.
I read where someone siphoned water out in a garbage can and pumped water in from another as long as the temp and salt mix matched your tank it didnt stress it but I am still thinking long and hard over that. It takes a bit of time but you will win sooner or later.

 

[Mndrsn2000]

Use some airline tubing to siphon out the algae, that is probably Cyanobacteria.

 

[PatMayo]

DaveAngie79
What kind of flow do you currently have and how long has the tank been up since the cycle completed? Do you use RO/DI water?

Regards,

Pat

 

[gibbswagon]

good luck and happy reefing

 

[msman825]

Would red slime romover ???

 

[Fast Fred]

Treat the illness, not the symtom.

 

[firefish2020]

Use chemi-Clean (that is the only chemical treatment for cyano I will recommend), to get it under control but it will only remove the problem- it is not a cure, you must find what is causing the problem. It is caused by an import export problem, in short your nutrient export and your nutrient import are way out of balance.
Also as suggested you may want to up your flow and kill off dead zones.

 

[ddevlin]

I have read that Mexican Red leg Hermit Crabs eat Cyanobacteria. Not sure how acurate this is but I added 20 to my tank last night. I will let you know if it works out.

 

[Sm0kin]

there is a great thread on remote deep sand beds. great read. Use it to help lower the nitrates in the water.