[Mini_Reef]

Today I noticed red hairy algae on my powerhead, and it was holding bubbles. I scrapped it off, and tried to remove what I'd cleaned, but I think just as much of it got swept away in the current. I also noticed small patches of it on the tops of my Rock....

My question is, since I can't afford to buy the rock treatment, would it be ok
if I moved the rock to a bucket of salt water and scrubbed it, and then put it back? Aside from possibly losing a few starfish, would it hurt the rock at all?

[pdfb55]

it will probably go away on its own as long as there is no source of nutrients for the algae. I had the same thing, after about 2 months it was all over my tank but 2 weeks later it was completely gone. Mine went away when i made my refugium. I don't know if the reason it went away was just because of the algae competition but i think it definitly helped alot. Yours will probably just go away eventually.

[kevinpo]

Scrubbing rock in a bucket will not hurt the rock but the source of nutrients needs to be controlled or the algae will come back.

HTH,
Kevin

[Mini_Reef]

I have since done a very thorough water change....my normal 5 gallons....and while I was in there, I cleaned off the rocks and various slimey surfaces. I have cut down my feeding to one smallish pinch of flakes in the morning. Now, I'm wondering if I should really cut down on the supplements I put in my fresh water? I've been advised to put a little more calcium in my water to help with coraline algae growth, and I also put in Iodine, Prime, Phytoplex and Reef Carbonate. Should I cut back on those? or dose as normal?