red algae like stuff in sand

[cancun]

what is this red algae like stuff on top of the sand?

Hi! I need some help guys.....I have this red algae like stuff on top of my sand......does anyone know what is causing this? My nitrates are 10....Phosphates 0....nitrites 0....ammonia 0....and salinity 0.124. ...also would my tuxedo urchin take care of it....is there any inverts that would clean the sand bed? And lastly how can I get rid of it, and keep it from coming back....? Thanks a bunch!!!

 

[Mebbid]

Sorry, but I am going to have to really stress that you need to only make one post per topic. There is no need to have three different threads for the same issue.

Can you post a picture of the issue? Also, what do you run for filtration and flow in the tank?

 

[cancun]

I use the biocube filter....and in the same chamber under that filter I use esither API Phos-zorb or API Chem-zorb. ....I clean the filter and filter media several times a week....sorry I don't have any pics...

 

[Rmckoy]

Hi! I need some help guys.....I have this red algae like stuff on top of my sand......does anyone know what is causing this? My nitrates are 10....Phosphates 0....nitrites 0....ammonia 0....and salinity 0.124. ...also would my tuxedo urchin take care of it....is there any inverts that would clean the sand bed? And lastly how can I get rid of it, and keep it from coming back....? Thanks a bunch!!!

It is a Cyano bacteria .
Also known as red slime algae .
Cause is , high nitrates , phosphates ,
What are you using for water ?
Even though you are testing 0ppm for phosphates there are phosphates in there .
I had the same problem before switching to RODI water .
As soon as I switched and added rowaphos to my canister for a media it was gone instantly .
Phosphates soak into the rocks and over time they will not be detectable .
How often do you do water changes ?
2)
I had a urchin and it worked amazing on algae .
It was more into the coralline algae , and hard algae on the glass .
They don't do well with nitrates and makes their quills fall out .

 

[cancun]

Wow! Thank you for the info! I use RO water to top the tank off....and buy my salt water from my lfs.....I do a 10% water chg every other week religiously.....Yea it is strange....it is just on one spot in my tank....is there a good way to clean it up out of my sand?

 

[melosu58]

We have an article about it in our sw articles section.

 

[Willba200]

I have the same problem and it's only one side of my tank too. Gonna add some better snails tomorrow.

 

[cancun]

Thank you! I will check out that article! I appreciate all the help!!

 

[Willba200]

Although I don't think snails will help with red algae , I need them for my sand bed as it's filthy!

 

[cancun]

LOL! My sand bed is too......I read you can try siphoning deitrus and stuff from the sand bed but I haven't tried it yet.....has anyone tried that? Or does anyone have any ideas to make the sand bed cleaner? Thanks again everyone!!

 

[Willba200]

People say to up your flow and not to syphon as you should not disturb the sand bed. Trouble is I have upped mine and it's still filthy. lol

 

[cancun]

LOL! Yea I have heard that to....and yea like you I upped my flow adding another power head...but still have that red algae. ....

 

[TheTodd]

It is probably Cyanobacteria. Water changes, good water flow and using RODI water should help. You can siphon off the layer from the top of the sand too, but it is usually an excess nutrient issue with not enough flow. The siphoning is a temporary fix if the nutrient and flow issues are not taken care of.

 

[Rmckoy]

I have a white sand sifting goby .
He does a amazing job keeping the sand white .

 

[Sniperhank]

Todd is probably correct with this statement. You have had a ton of posts over the last few days, and I'm glad you are asking lots of questions. Make sure you are taking the process of establishing your new tank slowly. Cyano is a nutrient issue, like was already stated, and adding things from here on and not beginning to address this issue now will only make matters worse.
I might be wrong with this, but didn't you finish top off with tap water and prime? That might be a big source of the issue there if I'm remembering correctly.