Red Algae in beginning reef tanks...

[the flaming scallop]

I have a 46 gallon reef tank thats almost a month old now. I have 4 inhabitants: 2 tomato/tomatoe clowns 1 Yellow tang 1 Flame scallop. The nitrate has been high for about a week, and my flame scallop has been partially closed for the past two days. There also are some spots of red algae in my tank...is this supposed to happen in new tanks and can it harm my fish?
Thanks
~The horny sea urchin

 

[mlm]

Is it red slime hairy looking algea? Do you use tap water? That could be the cause. It is not normal to have this red algea if you use RODI water.

 

[the flaming scallop]

whoops, my tank has high nitrITE not nitrate sorry and yes it is hairy...i do use tapwater and i treat it with stress coat before adding it into the tank...

 

[the flaming scallop]

^^^ TOP for people to see, im worried about my scallop

 

[mr.bubble]

How old is your tank? you shouldnt have a tang in a 49 gallon. thats probably why.

 

[the flaming scallop]

i bought my tank about 1 month ago. the tang is very small, just a little bit bigger than the tomato clowns...

 

[steamboat1569]

Mr. Bubble - Why shouldn't you have a tang in a 49gal. I have a 55gal which is not much bigger. I have had a tang in there for almost 4 yrs.

 

[mr.bubble]

i think you shouldnt because the ang needs grazing room and will get very big. at least thats what i heard from everybody else

[hr]
WARNING: I AM A NEBIE! I MIGHT GIVE INCORRECT ADVICE! CHECK WITH SOMEONE ELSE BEFORE YOU TAKE MY ADVICE!

 

[cyn]

Your tank is only 1 month old and you have alot of fish. You need to slow down. I know first hand that it is hard to take it slow, but it is alot easier to go slow and prevent problems in this hobby than it is to fix things that result from going fast.
How much do you feed? Over feeding is a common cause of elevated trates.
To get to the problem, it is not normal. Try to remove as much of this alge as you can either by siphon or scraping or both.
You may also want to check for phosphate and post back with the results.
HTH,
cyn

 

[the flaming scallop]

i feed the fish flakes, the tang 1 peace of lettuce a day. i also add agara milk every other day or so and also this "invertebrate smoargasboarg" stuff along with the milk.

 

[mr.bubble]

I heard somwhere that you shouldnt feed tangs lettuce because it is not healthy for them instead you should feed them sea weed. i dont want to be too much of a pain so i will stop posting

[hr]
WARNING: I AM A NEWBIE! I MIGHT GIVE INCORRECT ADVICE! CHECK WITH SOMEONE ELSE BEFORE TAKING MY ADVICE!

 

[cyn]

I agree with Mr. Bubble here, you should not feed lettuce. You can buy Nori, the seaweed used to wrap sushi. This is often less expensive than what is sold in fish stores. My tangs actually prefer the nori to 'seaweed selects'.
cyn

 

[the flaming scallop]

+you can eat the nori if u get hungry eh? mmmmmm seaweed

 

[nm reef]

What caught my attention was
tank is one month old
numerous fish(2 tomato clowns& a yellow tang)
plus a high nitrite level
Not sure but your system may not have completed its cycle yet.
slime may be due to excessive nutrients in the water from feeding and or type of water used....personally I'd look at removing the tang...use only quality top-off water(no water changes until cycle is complete)...and be patient....in time things will stabalise and settle down.