Red algae on Gravel

[adamsfour]

I have a small amount of red algae appearing in one corner of the tank. All of the levels are fine and I have not noticed any algae anywhere else. I do water changes once a week and gravel vacuum every week. After the water change it takes about 3 or 4 days and it back and in the morning it's pretty much gone It gets worse after the lights have been on for a while. My LFS recommended a wave pump in case it was a dead zone. I added it and today has not had any effect. Any recommendation on how to get this problem under control. I would prefer not to use chemical but it may be worth giving it a try. In order to try and stop it from reforming I replace the bulbs, aggressively clean the gravel, and cut back on the lighting. No success. Any ideas I can try.

 

[Eric]

well if it was a dead spot where excess food and waste was laying to feed the algae the pump would fix the problem but not in a day, what are you refering to as gravel?

Is this a reef or a fish only tank?

Cyano bacteria is caused from excess nuetrients are you running any type of chemical media like phosban or carbon, what type of filtration do you have?


Tell us about you setup so we can better help you

 

[adamsfour]

The pump has been running for about two weeks now. It really has had little effect. There is a small bio load of fish (coral beauty and Clown fish). I feed ever other day and i am very careful not to overfeed. I am using phosphate and nitrate removal media both were just recently changed.

 

[catran]

Hope you mean sand and not gravel... The pumps need to be blowing water across the top of your sand, not just up in your tank, and make sure you are doing water changes every week.
I have a problem with cyno from time to time. I don't excessively feed my fish, but I noticed that it will occur when I leave my lights on for extended periods of time and it's probably a combination of nutrients and the light that feeds them and makes them worse. Shorten your light period also and with the water changes that should help.

 

[adamsfour]

I am pretty sure I am not over feeding. I did cut back the lights a bit. Not sure the difference between sand or gravel. I always call it gravel. I do water changes every week, except when I have to go out of town. Most of the time it does happen weekly. Not all of the gravel is having the problem. It only in one corner (hence why I was thinking it was a dead zone). I will try and adjust the wave pump and see if that helps, thanks

 

[jedi82knight]

How long has your system been running? If it's new-ish, it MAY remedy itself as it matures and becomes more stable, if you practice suburb husbandry that is. Have you tested your make-up water for nitrAte and phosphate? What type of filtration is in use? Keeping mechanical media clean?

 

[catran]

Well, gravel is used in freshwater tanks and sand is real sand. Here's a link that can tell you the difference in sands. Choosing the Right Substrate - Factors to Consider When Buying

 

[adamsfour]

Tank has been running for almost 4 years, very mature. As I mentioned I do weekly water change, except on occasion when I get stuck out of town for more than a week. I purchase pre-mixed saltwater from LFS and I am sure they use proper RO water as they are one of the top rated stores on the east coast and have well over 1000 gallons of store tank they maintained. I have a Red Sea max, with the added small Ehiem (clean regularly ) for added filtration ). In terms of Gravel, it uses what was recommended and provided by Red Sea. One thought was to siphon out the bad area and replace with fresh. would be easy to do. Thanks for the help

 

[adamsfour]

Update, Added a wave pump to increase flow, no help. Did an extensive cleaning of the gravel, no help. replaced bulbs, no help. Even removed a layer of gravel and replaced with new clean gravel. Again no help. I added a 100 Micron filter (recommended on another thread) it does not get any worse but also is not get any better. I check the nitrates and phosphate. Both zero. Any ideas

 

[hardy22]

I had a problem with my tank that was very similar. I asked my friend who is an aquatic engineer and has had saltwater fish for a long time now and he recommended adding Mardel. Mardel is normally used for Freshwater illnesses, but he said to add one packet per 10 gallons of water once. I did it and and within 24 hrs my tank was completely rid of the red algae and has been free for over 6 months. Im not exactly sure why it kills it but it worked for me!

 

[adamsfour]

Thanks for the reply. Mardel is a form of copper and it not good in a coral tank. I have heard of people using it in reef tank with some success but it can wipe out a tank as it goes after both good and bad bacteria. I would prefer to try all natural ideas first before I resort to chemicals.

 

[catran]

Since you've increase your flow already, try shortening your lighting period. If not, you can always try what I did, it worked pretty fast too.
Chemiclean Red Slime Algae Remover

 

[adamsfour]

Thanks, Do you have live rock and Coral in your tank?

 

[Edison]

Is there any way you could block the light in that one are where the Cyano is? Maybe get a piece of black acrylic and make a frag rack but without the holes. Put it just above the Cyano so it gets no light for a while.

Once you've solved the Cyano issue, drill some holes in your light baffle and turn it into a frag rack.

 

[georgesreef]

i had the same problemb in my 20 gallon tank when it was set up and i have a 55 now, but it was becase of the high phosphate levels. i bought phosphate remover and the algae stopped growing on my sand and rock

 

[mgraf]

just keep on vacuming it in that corner, hit it good a couple times this week. Remove any possible nutrients, decreased light cycle and see what happens.