Is this red algae? Help Please :)

[usagainst100]

Hi,
I have this red stuff all over my tank but I do not know what it is or how to control it. It's not slimy like red slim (Cyanobacteria). Its kind of hard and not easy to get off of glass. Does anyone know what it is and how I can get rid of it or control it? I keep my lights on for 7 hours a day. Is this bad for my tank?

 

[flower]

Hi,
Sounds like red coraline...I had it all over my rocks as well. It looks kind of velvet and deep red and hard to scrape off like rock. You can get it off of glass with a single edged razorblade. Long spinned urchins eat it off the rock....however once the algae in the tank is gone they starve, they eat a ton of algae.
sorry...about the seahorse comment...wrong person.
If it isn't a soft slime it isn't cyanobacteria. It might be a red macroalgae but it is too early to tell. I had Halymenia macro that started out looking kind of crusty and later grew into what I call petals. The only bad thing that is red to my knowledge is cyano, the other stuff that are red in a fish tank I like.

 

[usagainst100]

Thank you so much for the reply Flower! I'll get a spinned urchin and see if it eats it for me. If it eats it all, I will just take the urchin back to the fish store and trade it for something else
Thanks for the help!!!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by UsAgainst100 http:///t/391886/is-this-red-algae-help-please#post_3477405
Thank you so much for the reply Flower! I'll get a spinned urchin and see if it eats it for me. If it eats it all, I will just take the urchin back to the fish store and trade it for something else
Thanks for the help!!!
Most people like coraline algae. Macros are great for removing phosphates and nitrates from the system. any urchin will eat algae but they are bulldozers and knock your corals around.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I like the way the red is looking on your rocks... it's better then being all brown and green IMHO. But, I hope you have the tank that you want! Good luck with the urchin!