Algae

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Hello all,

Just a quick one. I have a red algae growing in my tank, not much, but red. Is this any sign of if there is anything wrong with the water?

Thanks
 
What sort of algae is it, is it sort of thin sheets and covering the rocks and substrate, or does it look like a plant?
 
It has got to be cyano, post a pic if u can.
 
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no, its on the glass and is very difficult to get off. Not like a plant - like a film of red something on my glass.
 
That would be cyano bru !!!
 
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no, its on the glass and is very difficult to get off. Not like a plant - like a film of red something on my glass.
if it is tuff sounds like coralline.post a pic mart!
 
Is it growing in round spots (coralline) or in sheets (cyano).

If you touch it with your finger is it hard (coralline) or slimy (cyano).

If it turns out to be coralline this is desirable (except not on glass you wish to view through) just scrape it off with an algae scraper or credit card.

If it is cyanobacteria / blue-green algae thsi is not desirable. Usually shows up when tank is cyclign (i.e. in new set-ups) and is usually associated with high levels of dissolved organci carbon (DOC).

There are a few things u can try to get rid of it.

1) Manually siphon it out
2) Run activated carbon to remove DOC's
3) perform regular water changes (10%/week)
4) Increase aeration. This increases the dissolved oxygen concentration which helps to oxidise DOC's.

HTH,
Clinton
 
Thanks, It is hard so it must be coralline.... but its red.
 
Mart:

Coraline:


Sorry can't find a pic of cyanobacteria.
 
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Cyano :

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no, its on the glass and is very difficult to get off. Not like a plant - like a film of red something on my glass.
If it is difficult to remove then I would say it is not cyno. More than likely coraline although there are plenty other types of algae.
 
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