?'s about tank

[samiam]

Came back from college and there have been some changes in my tank... I have some questions about a couple of things...
1. There is algea, black, red, green, you name it growing all over my tank.... Is this a good thing or bad.. I remember hearing that it is good to have a lot of stuff growing... SOme is like 1 inch long.... Also there are white spots on the walls and under the algea.
2. Under the sand next to the walls of my tank there are red lines going to the surface.. I mixed the sand around and they reappeared... Any clue what they are? I Saw one today above next to the glass. Are these harmful?
3. I have had my tank for, wow, at least 2 years, and was wondering if I should be doing water changes... I add distilled water from walmart, but is that it? How would I do a water change, cause if I used the suction thing I use on my gravel with my freshwater tank it would suck the sand out. Any help?
Thanks

 

[pyro]

Do you have a test kit? I would test for NH3, NO2, and NO3 pronto.
Water changes? You don't need to neseccarily vaccuum the sand out, just replace water.
Depending on the size of your tank, remove about 15% of the water, and replace it with new salt water.
Make sure your saltwater has been mixed and aged for a couple of days before adding it and that it has the same salinity as your tank.

 

[sweetreef]

sound like cyano it comes in all diffrent colors what do you have for flow in your tank??

 

[samiam]

55 gallon
45ilbs live rock
3 powerheads, fluval 404, power filter

 

[samiam]

now these long red things are hanging on the wall.... Are these parasites?