Red Algae ID (grows on and kills coraline)

[Sargeeq]

So my tank is a little over a year old and the past 3 months have been spent fighting Dino’s.

I finally have the dino beaten into a manageable state, but all the time I have noticed this odd red algae growing on everything. It starts out as a bright, almost neon red color, then eventually turns a deep dark red.

it grows on top of coraline algae on the glass, snails, and all the rock work. It’s SUPER hard to scrape off of power heads, and just impossible to get off rocks. It almost resembles red cotton candy, but doesn’t grow any “taller” than you see in the pictures.

It more or less just grows like a red furry film on everything

 

[wculver]

If this is red algae or commonly referred to as "cyano" you could consider feathering off the growth with a turkey baster and you should see some of it release with a little patience.

That said, if this is cyano it's certainly a nutrient challenge and likely something that contributes to your dynos. This would be a combination of Phosphates and Nitrates mostly. If you have a reliable test, I suggest either Hanna or Red Sea test as I have been misled by Salifert on both accounts. You should target 3PPM for Nitrate and 0.03 for Phosphates. You can vary from these numbers, just remember that if say your phosphates are at 0.12 you are 4X higher than the goal and will contribute to negative growth.

 

[Sargeeq]

I wish it was cyno.

Phosphates are between .02 and .04
Nitrates are at 2.45


My Dino problem is almost completely gone, I get a small spot of dusting each evening but it’s getting smaller by the day.

this red fungus is growing on everything, but it’s certainly not cyno, and has me completely baffled.

 

[Dan_P]

Looks like a red algae that I have. The Mexican turbos keep it mowed but never goes away.

 

[epicfatigue]

I found this was just a stage of development. It quickly spread and faded away. My CUC seems to eat it aswell.

 

[Sargeeq]

At this point a lot of it has faded away, I get “spots” on my wave maker and have one patch on the side of the rocks.

Mexican Turbos seem to be keeping it at bay, but man is it hard to scrub off things. I soak my wave maker in vinegar and it removes al the coraline, but I have to scrub this red stuff off everything with a hard bristle brush.

doesn’t seam to be hurting anything, but man is it annoying.