What is this red stuff?

J

jkdavids121507

New member
Tank3.jpg

I was wondering is anyone could help identify what this is. It is red in color and started growing slowly but I have recently noticed it growing in other areas. I used a turkey baster and was able to blow some of it off the rock, but very little. The rest stayed attached, no matter how hard I tried.

My tank has been stable since it cycled 4 months ago.

Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 0
PH - 7.8-8.0 (hard to tell on my API test kit)
Phosphates - 0
Calcium - 420

If you know what it is, please provide some details.

Thanks
 
does it look fuzzy? if so then i say its cotton candy algae... which im currently in a yr long battle with inside my tank...
 
It does not appear to be fuzzy. What actually came off appeared to be somewhat slimy. I will google the cotton candy algae and see what it looks like.
 
After looking at some pictures on google, I do not think it is cotton candy algae. That appears to be more purple in color. This is very red and aside from the one area that blew and appeared slimy, the rest looks more like a coralline algae...

Is it possible for coralline algae to appear and spread within a 4 month timeframe?

If not, what else could it be?
 
in my battle with this ive seen the color on the cotton candy algae to be like pinkish, purplish, redish, and it started off very similar. i will take a photo of my problem now to give you an idea..

and yes coralline could spread that fast...
 
looks like cyano. I recently bought some medicine to treat cyano and it works pretty good. after just a few hours I noticed some of my cyano dying/disappearing from the rock. medicine is supposed kill off the bacteria within 48 hours and is reef safe. (that is what I have read online from the manufacturer and customer reviews) I did not have good water flow so I am dosing again to see what happens.
 
I definetely think it is cyano. It is slimy to the touch. With that being said, what can i do to get rid of it?

I do a 2-3 gallon water change every week and try to only feed what my fish and shrimp will eat. I have moved my powerheads around a couple of times for flow. What else could I do to get rid of this stuff?
 
jkdavids121507 said:
I definetely think it is cyano. It is slimy to the touch. With that being said, what can i do to get rid of it?

I do a 2-3 gallon water change every week and try to only feed what my fish and shrimp will eat. I have moved my powerheads around a couple of times for flow. What else could I do to get rid of this stuff?
Click to expand...

cyano tends to appear up in areas of low flow.

I'd ensure those spots are getting good flow, remove what you can by hand, and suggest bumping the amount changed when doing water changes.

You can also try a commercial product such as cyanoclean. I think I've heard of people having good results with it. just follow the instructions.

When I had cyano in my fuge, I moved my skimmer output to blow over it, and changed the bulb in my chaeto light. These two things cleared the cyano up without any further intervention from me in 2 weeks to a month.

If you have any kind of bulb style light, it might also be time to replace that too, I think maybe.
 
I run LED's so I dont that would be the problem plus they are only 3 months old. I adjusted my powerheads last night but still feel like my circulation is lacking. I may order a wavemaker this weekend to add to the flow.
 
Can you point a powerhead right at the stuff? I've done that before and within a day or 2 it's gone. Also try turning the lights out for 2 or 3 days if you can.
 
FDdragon said:
looks like cyano. I recently bought some medicine to treat cyano and it works pretty good. after just a few hours I noticed some of my cyano dying/disappearing from the rock. medicine is supposed kill off the bacteria within 48 hours and is reef safe. (that is what I have read online from the manufacturer and customer reviews) I did not have good water flow so I am dosing again to see what happens.
Click to expand...

Hey what product did you use? I'm having a similar issues to the original poster, brand new led lights, normal water quality. I think it's probably the food I was using but I'd love to just zap it away, especially since its really making my leathers mad:(. For the OP I having been trying to increase my WC and cleaning my skimmer etc.. Best if luck
 
Looks like cyano. Phosphate test kits are notoriously faulty. Also, the cyano could be absorbing all the phosphates and cause your test to give you a false reading.

Options:

1. Increase flow
2. Start a regiment of water changes
3. Use GFO or vodka dosing.
 
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