Sudden Red Algae Grow!?!

[kayak385]

I bought a couple frags of LR from my lfs and a noticably large quanitity of red algae growing everywhere and there are bubbles all over it.

:help:
I have been reading for a really long time, and just yesterday I started posting and all and I've learned a lot, with respect to information vs opinion of course.
Please let me know what type of critters are best to take care of this problem.
Right now i have a 75gallon tank, superskimmer, megaflow model 3 sump pump.
In the tank is a flame angel

, a purpleback pseudo, and 3 green chromis.
my purpleback doesn't seem to be so nice to my inverts. I had a halloween crab and porcelain crab but during the night they both were attacked.

 

[fbm]

If it is red slimy algea, then that isn't algea at all it is a bacteria. Remove it and increase flow to that area and it won't come back. But it is also something all new tanks go through. Keep phosphates low and that will also help.

 

[kayak385]

Originally Posted by fbm
If it is red slimy algea, then that isn't algea at all it is a bacteria. Remove it and increase flow to that area and it won't come back. But it is also something all new tanks go through. Keep phosphates low and that will also help.
All I know about it is that it grew all over my rock and sandbed within days and there are bubbles on it. It started off orange and is turning red in spots. I called the lfs and they said its red algae, but as in my previous posts, i really don't know how much i should trust my lfs so i'm getting another opinion just in case.

 

[renogaw]

i went through the red algae (actually, its cyanobacteria, do a search for cyano stage and ended up having to use a chemical to get rid of it.
but unless you
1) don't have enough water movement (10-20 times the size of your tank)
2) overfeed
3) use foods with a lot of phosphates in them
and/or
4) run your lights too much,
you shouldn't have major algae problems. see which of these is the problem and work on fixing it to keep your algae down.

 

[kayak385]

Originally Posted by renogaw
i went through the red algae (actually, its cyanobacteria, do a search for cyano stage and ended up having to use a chemical to get rid of it.
but unless you
1) don't have enough water movement (10-20 times the size of your tank)
2) overfeed
3) use foods with a lot of phosphates in them
and/or
4) run your lights too much,
you shouldn't have major algae problems. see which of these is the problem and work on fixing it to keep your algae down.

OK, I will work on that, My flow at the moment is from the top back left of the tank to the bottom back right of the tank, and all the rocks are in the middle.
Should I change the flow along with smaller amounts of food and light? (slowly decreasing amounts of course)

 

[kayak385]

will my change in direction of flow disturb my fish?
i currently have no corals in there unless they were on the frags i bought from the lfs. :help: :help: :help:

 

[who dey]

there's a product called tropical science phosphate pads with a red slime additive. I highly recommend it, with many water changes and also get this...

 

[who dey]

Originally Posted by kayak385
I bought a couple frags of LR from my lfs and a noticably large quanitity of red algae growing everywhere and there are bubbles all over it.

:help:
I have been reading for a really long time, and just yesterday I started posting and all and I've learned a lot, with respect to information vs opinion of course.
Please let me know what type of critters are best to take care of this problem.
Right now i have a 75gallon tank, superskimmer, megaflow model 3 sump pump.
In the tank is a flame angel

, a purpleback pseudo, and 3 green chromis.
my purpleback doesn't seem to be so nice to my inverts. I had a halloween crab and porcelain crab but during the night they both were attacked.

let me guess??? Did the frags come from house of tropicals???

 

[kayak385]

Here are some before and after pics... which took one week to change.
and here is after if I have posted it correctly

 

[kayak385]

How do i post pics?

 

[who dey]

Originally Posted by kayak385
How do i post pics?
when you reply there is a tab at the bottom that reads "manage attachments" make sure the image is 500x500 or less or it wont attach

 

[kayak385]

ok. here we go...
before
and after

 

[who dey]

thats not cyanobacteria aka (red slime) those are diatoms. how old is ur tank and do you use tap or RO/DI water?? by the way WHO DEY!! :cheer: :cheer:

 

[bill109]

look at the FAQ archievs .. its the very lst one a very good ticle in there but check it out.

 

[kayak385]

Originally Posted by WHO DEY
thats not cyanobacteria aka (red slime) those are diatoms. how old is ur tank and do you use tap or RO/DI water?? by the way WHO DEY!! :cheer: :cheer:
My tank is coming on 2 months old.

and WHO DEY! my first game i went to was Cincy vs Ravens...awesome game... anyways, thats how old my tank is! so is that good? :joy:

 

[who dey]

Originally Posted by kayak385
My tank is coming on 2 months old.

and WHO DEY! my first game i went to was Cincy vs Ravens...awesome game... anyways, thats how old my tank is! so is that good? :joy:
what a great 1st game, I'm going monday night :cheer: :cheer: anyway, Diatoms are actually a perfectly normal part of a tank starting to mature. They will eventually die off from using up the nutrients in ur tank that are fueling them. Do you use tap water?? FYI tap water in the nati will ruin ur life in this hobby!!!! trust me. What LFS have you been getting advice from??

 

[renogaw]

Originally Posted by kayak385
will my change in direction of flow disturb my fish?
i currently have no corals in there unless they were on the frags i bought from the lfs. :help: :help: :help:

fish won't mind, since the water currents in the ocean change all the time. it will give them excercise. if you have corals, you should have about 20X total water movement in your tank, if not more.

 

[who dey]

Originally Posted by kayak385
My tank is coming on 2 months old.

and WHO DEY! my first game i went to was Cincy vs Ravens...awesome game... anyways, thats how old my tank is! so is that good? :joy:
give me some info of the filtration ur running on the 75g

 

[kayak385]

Originally Posted by WHO DEY
what a great 1st game, I'm going monday night :cheer: :cheer: anyway, Diatoms are actually a perfectly normal part of a tank starting to mature. They will eventually die off from using up the nutrients in ur tank that are fueling them. Do you use tap water?? FYI tap water in the nati will ruin ur life in this hobby!!!! trust me. What LFS have you been getting advice from??
I've been getting advice mostly from my girlfriend and her book "The Consciencious Marine Aquarist." My lfs isn't that helpful or reliable.
AND
Originally Posted by WHO DEY
give me some info of the filtration ur running on the 75g
have a 75 gallon tank, with a Mega Flow model 3 sump
I have a corallife super skimmer and Single Satellite CF lighting.
I also have 65 lbs of rock, turning live, and 50 lbs of sand, 40 in the tank, 10 in the sump with 5lbs of refugium mud. I also have 4 mangroves in the sump that are 9-11 inches tall.

 

[who dey]

well, ur off to a good start. Don't worry about ur diatoms... Just remember to use Reverse Osmosis water and never buy fish or inverts from House of Tropicals... just hardware!!! and add very slowly to ur tank!!! any change in ur ecosystem should be a slow one to avoid spikes