Red hair algae??

[Garen]

Hi i think ive got red hair algae. Its mainly on back of tank. Can i scrape this off or will it make it spread?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Is it like slime? Does it get blown off easily?

Hi i think ive got red hair algae. Its mainly on back of tank. Can i scrape this off or will it make it spread?

 

[Auquanut]

Doesn't really look like red hair algae to me. #reefsquad?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Doesn't really look like red hair algae to me. #reefsqaud?

+1 it almost looks like some form of macro algae. Maybe even cyano...

 

[Auquanut]

Did it seem to spread from one or two spots, or pop up everywhere?

 

[Garen]

Just spread across back of tank and now on the temp cable thats in tank. I dont mind it as actually looks quite nice but not sure if i should get rid??

 

[Auquanut]

I'm thinking that if it's spreading that fast, you should probably try to get rid of it. It really does look nice though. Lets wait and see what the bigger brains recommend.

 

[Garen]

Thanks for ur help

 

[Garen]

Is it like slime? Does it get blown off easily?

Hi sorry missed this. No its a load of hair/fluff. Just sways about in waterflow stuck 2 back of tank

 

[Auquanut]

Bump?

 

[Garen]

Bump? What is bump? Im new 2 all this sorry

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Bump? What is bump? Im new 2 all this sorry

it’s just to get the thread back onto the most recents so more people see it

 

[vetteguy53081]

Take an old credit card and shave it off in sheets and siphon up right away or send it to overflow and let it land in filter socks or floss for easy entrapment.
What is your Phos level ?

 

[Garen]

it’s just to get the thread back onto the most recents so more people see it

Oh right thanks lol

 

[Garen]

Take an old credit card and shave it off in sheets and siphon up right away or send it to overflow and let it land in filter socks or floss for easy entrapment.
What is your Phos level ?

To be honest this is 1st time ive heard of phos levels.. ive tested ph. Salinity. Ammonia. Nitrate. Nitrite. And calcium all pretty much spot on.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

To be honest this is 1st time ive heard of phos levels.. ive tested ph. Salinity. Ammonia. Nitrate. Nitrite. And calcium all pretty much spot on.

What about alk and mg? Phosphate is also another measure of waste in the water. You can have a low nitrate and high phosphate which will cause bad algae growth.

 

[lapin]

Rhodophyta or Red Algae.... 7000 species.

Can be good:

Some fish do actually like to eat this type of algae, even as a primary food source. The red algae can absorb excess nutrients from the water, nutrients which your fish may be able to thrive off of once eaten.

Since red algae absorbs other nutrients in the water, it can actually help to slow down the growth of other types of algae. Now, this may seem like kind of a useless feature, exchanging one type of algae for another, but red algae is a lot less harmful than some other types of algae can be.
Red algae does a fantastic job at absorbing excess nutrients, chemicals, and unwanted pollutants that may harm your fish.

Can be bad:

If it overtakes everything.

It can also release chemicals into the water. This can make the water less friendly to coral thus benefiting the algae.

A lot of red algae love low light. You might think about lighting the back panel to see if that makes a difference

 

[Garen]

What about alk and mg? Phosphate is also another measure of waste in the water. You can have a low nitrate and high phosphate which will cause bad algae growth.

Every test ive done has come back fine.. think i need 2 get a friend i know (who knows his stuff) up 2 have a look in person. Check i got all test kits i need. Thanks

 

[Garen]

Thanks for all ur advice guys but since this ive found out that it is red hair algae and had all my water parameters tested by my local aquarium and besides for my kh bit low everything else ok.