Red Algae, Please Help

[robnuti]

I have been on here long enough to know about red algae. With all that being said, I am having the time of my life fighting it. I was hoping for a little advice.
I have a shallow sand bed, about 3" deep. I have seen the nitrogen bubbles forming and coming out of the bed. I have added a Goldenhead Goby and he is sand siffting. I have also purchased 5lbs of cured live rock from a LFS (that I trust). I pulled the live rock from the very bottom of the tank from the LFS, looking for smaller pieces I can attach corals to.
So with all that being said, my question is; Could the sand sifting of the Goby be causing the algae bloom? Or could the rock coming from the bottom of the LFS tank be causing me to have a small cycle?

My tank parameters are:
SG 1.25
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 10
Ammonia 0
PH 8.2
ALK 9
Calcium 500
Mag 1400
PHO ?

I do use an RO/Di and my TDS is 0ppm.
I have newer bulbs the T5s are three monthes old, the MHs are one month old.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
:confused:

[bertoni]

Either the goby or the new live rock might be the culprit. If so, the tank should settle down in a few weeks.

[Bygkid]

I have been battling cyano for over 9 months. My sand bed is similar to yours and I have nassarius and cerinth snails, sand sifting gobies and one sand sifting seastar. Things that affect it are over feeding, under flow and less frequent water changes.
I originally used 2 different slime products with varying degrees of success in the beginning. Of course these products are not Cyano specific and thus will kill off anything remotely similar to cyano, including the beneficial ones that help to break down the bad stuff in your 'ocean in a box'.One thing that you must understand about sandbeds is that they are constantly being worked over in the ocean by storms, tides, currents, fish, seastars, crabs, shrimp, microorganisms, etc. With all of these things in play, the build up of waste is broken down and or dispersed often and easily all the time. The cyano serves a purpose when all the other factors are not able to do the job. Cyanobacteria use the same photosynthetic pathway as eukaryotic cells such as algae and higher plants , it requires waste, light and aerobic conditions to survive.
I have drastically cut back on my feeding, increased my flow, increased my water changes and lightly turn the top layer of my sandbed(especially near the glass)when I do water changes. I stopped using DT's as it seemed to make the condition worse. I also did a 24-72 hr blackout of my tank once a month for 4 months or so to help in killing it off while I got the other above mentioned items under control. The corals were a bit unhappy after the blackout, but the cyano was mostly to all gone.

Hope this helps. It took a few months, but all seems well the past couple of months with little to no sign of its return.

Scott

[robnuti]

Thanks for the help. My next question would be, should I just let my tank run its course?

When reading about the cyanobacteria, they say it is easily wiped off. My is encrusted on my glass and I need a credit card to scrape it off. Is this normal and will it eventually die off when my tank returns to normal?

Thanks again for all the help.

Rob

[bertoni]

The encrusted algae might be coralline. Is it rock-like? Does a chunk fizz in vinegar?

[robnuti]

Here is a picture, I think it would be easier than trying to explain it.

Thank you again for all the help everyone

<img src="http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii253/robnuti/DSC_00012.jpg?t=1208146774"

<img src="http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii253/robnuti/DSC_00022.jpg?t=1208146710"

[bertoni]

If the tank is only a few months old, I might just give it some more time.

[robnuti]

OK I think I will, It's about six months old now