fuzzy red algae

[jonthefb]

Ok everyone, i need help with an id of an algae. but first let me give you a little history of the tank. It is a 20 gallon tank with about 20lbs of live sand giving a 3-4 inch dsb. I also have in the tank about 30 or 40 lbs of live rock, both of which came from an established tank that has been running for about three years now. All of my water parameters are at zero, pH is at about 8.2, and my specific gravity is at 1.022. Within the past several day i have notieced an algae growing on the rocks which i have never seen before in my experience or in any books. The algae is red-maroon in color, and grows in small fuzzy tufts. I at first thought red-slime algae, but it is not sliming over everythign, and is not producing the tell-tale oxygen bubbles trapped beneath the slime itself. The algae is in fact growing on several small rocks and looks like fuzz. It is not stringy and has no discernable form, other than the fact that it grows in small fuzzy patches. Any help with this guys??? Im reallt at a loss here and i am not sure if it is beneficial or not. My phosphates are at zero also in case you were wondering. Thanks in advance
Jon

 

[mlm]

Since you said that your phosphates and your nitrates were at zero then the first thing that I would try is some trouchus snails. I like these much better than the turbo snails because they can upright themselves and seem much stronger. Anyway if that does not work then I would try somthing called chemi-clean. It is reef safe and I find that it works very well.

 

[jonthefb]

Yeah i have yet yo get a cleanup crew for the tank, but i will definately keep those guys in mind. And teh chemi clean sounds like a good idea, but im not sure if it is beneficial or not. I woudnt want to try and get rid of something that does no harm. I was thinking about trying a lawnmower or bicolor blenny. Any suggestions as to which would do a better job in a 20???

 

[broomer5]

Does this reddish maroon algae look like either of these ?
<a href="http://www.globaldialog.com/~jrice/algae_page/redturf.htm" target="_blank">http://www.globaldialog.com/~jrice/algae_page/redturf.htm</a>
<a href="http://www.globaldialog.com/~jrice/algae_page/maro_coralline.htm" target="_blank">http://www.globaldialog.com/~jrice/algae_page/maro_coralline.htm</a>
<img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />

 

[jonthefb]

Yeah it kinda does, but the stuff in my tank is more compact than the stuff in the photo, but it is very similar. Do you think it is beneficial??? the website didnt really say anything about it being a nuisance or a help!

 

[jeff2]

I have the same problem and someone said it is red hair algae. he told me to buy urchins. hope it works