Red Algae Problem!!!

I have a 28gal jbj nano thats been set up for about 4 months. Recently I been having this red algae that looks sorta like velvit. It like carpets over my rock and even my snail shells. It'lls clean up very easy but within two or three days its back. All my parameters are good and livestock are doing very well. Just wondering if this is common and what could be causin it or if there are any potentail cures. Thanks for any help.

 

http://www.3reef.com/forums/algae/ultimate-nuisance-algae-thread-58657.html

Hi Bayouboy

sounds like your describing one of the formsof cyno bacteria , the red film type
check out the thread with pictures pasted here for you for a more definite ID

Steve

 

I'm with Steve,sounds like the dreaded cyno,and welcome to 3reef .

 

ya def cyano, ya need to find the root of the prob and get it fixed quickly or else the cyano will plaqu your for awhile. Me when I had it turned out to be my phosphates were crazy high. You wont know since the cyano eats/abosrbs all of it for testing purposes. Just try 1 thing at a time and see were it gets ya, like try cutting back on feedign for 1 week, feed every other day and see what happens then just keep goign from there. You will eventually get to the bottom of it. Things to keep in mind are old bulbs/overfeeding/not properly maintained skimmer/improperly setup sump/not enough flow/crappy clean up crew/and so on. If these are all good try a phospahte remover (drunk cant remember the name) and carbon reactor. I put these 2 in and my tank never looked so beautiful.

 

Thanks for the information. It more than likely has to do with my feeding regimine. The past few weeks I have increased my feeding for my spotted mandarine. My copode quantity has just about vanished, but noticed my mandarine is eating up frozen mysis, brine, and cyclopes so I have been feeding more than usual for the health of my mandarine. I'll try cutting back some and see if it helps any. How often should I change my halid bulb. I have a spare, but the original is still in use. Whats the average life span of these type of bulbs. Its a 150w, 14,000k double end HQI.

 

Typically a year- I've read where others will swap at about 8 months-me Im not that rich;D So the 1 year rule works for me

 

I noticed that I'll get a little cyno if my TDS is creeping up on my RO/DI unit. Usually means it's time to replace the DI resin.