Is algae a problem or normal?

[Swampgoat]

My tank is 5 weeks old with live rock and live sand. All chemistry seems balanced with zero ammonia, etc.

What has developed on the live rock are patches of red/maroon algae with strands of filaments flowing with the current. Is this a good thing, a bad thing or a neutral thing?

If it's bad, what should I do?

Thanks for any insight, SG.

[chimmike]

sounds like cyano. Usually from both excess nutrients and low flow.

[AZRippster]

Excess nutrients as stated and a very new tank. In time things will settle out much better. During water changes, suck that stuff out if you can. If it is cyano, time cures that to a large degree, but keep it in check by removing it when/where possible, i.e. water changes.

[Vorog]

sounds like cyano. Usually from both excess nutrients and low flow.


+1 the tank is new and will go through all kinds of algae blooms.

[jsnrho82]

I agree with all the above. It will settle in time, don't rush adding anything to the tank and you will see it subside.

[Swampgoat]

Thank you all for easing my mind. I realized some days ago that I have been slightly overfeeding, hence the extra nutrients. I've already put those brakes on. Now I will try to suck out as much of the slime as I can. I wish there was an electric vacuum wand with a narrow straw for precision accuracy. So far, I will continue to avoid adding a cyano fighting chemical to the tank and hope that time and better attention will solve the problem.

As a footnote, it's a "problem" only in a relative sense. That is, I have read up on cyanobacteria and now I realize that it is yet another amazing life form in my tank. Of course, I will try to control it but it's an interesting lifeforms nonetheless.

Thanks all!

[Dkuhlmann]

Here is how I got rid of mine and all you can do is wait it out and follow exactly what I did.

The big thing about cyano is it will run it's cycle no matter what you do. In most cases it's going to last about 6 weeks as it did in my tank. What I did was weekly I would gather the mats off of the sand using a plastic fork and just rolled it up then took it out of the tank. I would then vacuum as much as I could and then do a 20% water change. Tank looked better for all of one day then it would be back. So I'd leave it for the week then do the above. Then one day when I did my collection and WC it vanished after. It left as fast as it began. I didn't change lighting and had decent flow to the areas where the red slime was but nothing helped until it was finished it's cycle. So sit back do some weekly cleaning and wc's but in the meantime enjoy the pretty (yeah right) red show of nature at one of it's not so beautiful moments.

[Pet Detective]

Yes to both questions, it is normal & it is a problem if it is allowed to take over.