Algae turning into.....

[puff(er) daddy]

I have a bad case of the brown algae all over my substrate and l/r. It's now turned dark brown almost red and slimmy looking, It's so bad now that it's waving in the wind.
I recently added another powerhead (802) and my other is a powersweep (214). I have a 125 gal. tank and that should be enough water movement.
What kind of algae is this and what can I do besides water changes(that's what I'm doing).

 

[tacks]

How long has the tank been set up? What are you using for your water source? What kind of lighting do you have?
I also have a 125g and the same thing happened to me. After upgrading to VHO and using an RO unit, the problem went away. The brown stuff is diatoms which is a sign that your tank is maturing (it's a stage all tanks go through). You could also try getting a clean up crew.

 

[puff(er) daddy]

It's been running for almost a year now. I started out with tap water. I've been doing constant water changes with RO water since. As for lighting it's the standard single tube fixture that came with the tank. I haven't got around to changing them yet. What type of sufficient lighting could I get with just the single tube fixtures?

 

[tacks]

You should definately change the bulb if not the ballast as well. My guess is if it's the lighting that came with the tank it's a tar ballast. Sounds like you don't have the right spectrum which is why your getting the red slimy stuff. You should at a minimum, change the bulb to a 50/50. I would also invest in an electronic ballast (sounds like you have a tar ballast). Good Luck and I hope this works.

 

[puff(er) daddy]

Tacks how can I find out what type of ballast I have? Also what kind of electric ballast should I be looking at? I'm going to get the 50/50's tomorrow. Thanks

 

[tacks]

IceCap makes a good ballast. I have the 660 and the 430 on mine. If your bulb is NO (normal output) and it came with the tank, you probably have a tar ballast. It should say right on the ballast. Hope this helps...