red/purple agae dont know what it is - Aquarium Advice

Kelso · 10-16-2009, 11:56 PM

Hi my name is kelsea and
this algae has been growing on my live rock for a few weeks now and things in my tank arent doing well. can anybody tell me what is it and if it is good or bad for my tank?

**roka64** · 10-17-2009, 12:06 AM

Cyano bacteria....as you can see, it's bad.
How much/often.what are you feeding?
How long/old are you running your lights?
That is a pretty color purple....
It thrives off of excess nutrient.

lmetcalf · 10-17-2009, 12:24 AM

I had a bunch of that i my tank last week. Mine wasn't near as pretty of a colour!

I found a chemical in the LFS called "Chemiclean red slime bacteria remover"
it was 20$ and is enough to treat 300gal.

I used it and the slime looked like it was dying after 24 hours and after 48, i did a waterchange (as per the directions) and the slime was clumped and dead looking, so i sucked it out carefully. (it can easily spread if you don't take it out very carefully)

Might be worth a try if you're interested. I would also suggest restricting the number of hours your lights are on, and how often/how much you feed your fish. Also, do you have a protein skimmer to remove organic waste?

thominil · 10-17-2009, 01:43 AM

My only comment is that if you use one of the chemicals like lmetcalf mentioned, you need to be VERY careful as they are notorious for crashing tanks, most likely due to the fact that people don't follow directions step by step, word for word, but that's just my opinion.

lmetcalf · 10-19-2009, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thominil

My only comment is that if you use one of the chemicals like lmetcalf mentioned, you need to be VERY careful as they are notorious for crashing tanks, most likely due to the fact that people don't follow directions step by step, word for word, but that's just my opinion.

I agree! The chemiclean came with a very thorough instruction booklet that gives step by step instructions and firm warning not to stray from them.

I might try to manualy remove it and get rid of the food source (light, organics, phosphates) and just try the chemiclean as a last resort.

Good luck!

factorboa · 10-17-2009, 02:26 AM

:O i hope i dont get that lol

havent so far

**melosu58** · 10-17-2009, 04:50 AM

The only problem I have noticed with the chemi clean that it will work OK at the start but it does come back with a vengence. Kind of like a bandaid solution. IMO better to take care of the fuel factors

Kelso · 10-17-2009, 05:37 PM

ya my lights are on way too long, 13 hrs a day. also i feed my clown and blenny twice a day. i did add essential elements about 3 wks ago, maybe it wasnt needed. does this stuff just go away with time or does it need to be removed? also can i get it out any other way without using chemicals? thanks for the help guys. oh and yes i do have a skimmer.

ezy33 · 10-17-2009, 06:41 PM

IME I couldn't get rid of it until I added a DI filter after my RO filter. The DI filter ( from E-Bay ) removes Phosphates that feed the Cyano bacteria. The Chemiclean works but like lmetcalf stated it's temporary and will return if you don't remove what it"s feeding on. Also a refugium with live plants will help remove excess nutrients.

Kelso · 10-17-2009, 08:32 PM

This cyano bacteria wont kill my fish right?