Help an algae newbie! Please. :)

[rsigler]

Hey Gang,

My 28g tank is around 5 months old and I'm starting to see some algae on the rock that has been in there since day 1. Also I'm finding I have to scrape the glass every day. Is this bad? The algae seems to be green and maroon...and it blows in the current.

Any advice? Is this bad? Thanks for helping an algae newbie!

Rob

 

[danka-cedium]

The red looks like cynobacteria, and the green is hair algea. Siphon the cynical out on your next water change and get a old tooth brush and scrub the hair algae off the rock. Yes, you should have to clean your glass every few days. What is your nitrates and phosphates at? Depending you might need to add some g.a.c. (carbon) and gfo for phosphates.

 

[TheEngineer]

The red stuff is definitely cyano. Green stuff could be hair algae, I can't tell from the pic. Siphon out the cyano with your water changes. Pull out as much hair algae too but by hand. These outbreaks are normal, but they are a result of mismatched nutrient import/export. You can remove nutrients through water changes, bacteria, skimmer, etc and you need to remove as much as you put in or you get nuisance algae.

You'll never beat either if you don't stop feeding it. How heavily stocked is the tank? What do you feed and how often?