Red algae Dilemma

[JurassicRIP]

I seem to have growth of terracotta red algae on the glass of my tank. Can anyone, A:tell me what it could be, and, B:can i use a standard green algae treatment to remove it?

 

[reefrunner69]

Is it red, or a rusty brown color> is it like a dusty coating that is fairly easy to remove, or does it come off easily, in sheets?

 

[JurassicRIP]

Update

Its a dusty coating that comes off the glass easily with an algae scraper.The fish wont touch it.

 

[reefrunner69]

It sounds like diatoms, they are fueled by silicates in the water. Typically when a tank is new they bloom, but as the silicates are used up, they slow down considerably. They tend not to die off completly, cause we keep adding silicates back to the water with top off and water changes. IME, plecostomus and other algae eating fish make short work of it.

 

[JurassicRIP]

Thanks!

Thanks for that. will try this out and see if it works. Also may take a sample to uni and try to make definate diagnosis....will keep you posted

 

[JurassicRIP]

update

Well, i finally got a sample under a microscope, and i can confirm it's diatoms.They're mostly clumps of centric and pennate types , although there seems to be a few interesting dinoflagellates in there!!. Have now put the tank in total darkness for a few days to see if that has any effect (after all they photsynthesise as much as the green stuff!). I have to get their numbers down, as the tank is starting to develop that distinct algae smell(like an estuary)heres hoping it works.

 

[JurassicRIP]

Breaking news!!

I seem to have solved the problem by reducing the lighting time to 8 hours. Hopefully will break the cycle of regrowth if left long enuff!!