What is this type destroying my tank??????HELP

[jvsilax32]

i have what appears to be a redish hair like algea taking over all my live rock,, questions answers before you ask
55 gallong protein skimmer, uv turbo 3x , 3 power heads, water changes every four days to combat this @#$@.. nitrates fine phosphates fine,( may be higher becuase of algea eating looks norm) but not sure. if someone can help identify the type and possible slaughter methods that would be great : )

[ToddTT]

It sounds like you're doing what you need.

How are you testing phosphates? Have you tested more than once?

You say 3 powerheads, which sounds like plenty of flow. Are they powerful? Have they been running for long?

Are you overfeeding your fish?

[tgurn45]

I just finished fighting it. its called red slime. my was in the gravel so i just stirred it up and siphoned it out. i suggest gently getting it off of the rocks and using a shrimp net to get it out of the water. don't suggest instant results, it took me a few weeks to completely get rid of it.

[Parrothead]

Looks like you got a real bad case of cynao, nutrients are outta wack, you state your nitrates are fine, mind posting the actual test results, and what type of protein skimmer are you running on that system, also what type of lighting, how long has the tank been set up, we need an inventory, basically post your equipment list and actual test results, give us something to work with

Thanks

[Chasman]

jvsilax32

I have something similar (or the same) in my tank. I don't think it's cyno. I posted some pics of it a few months ago and Ninong (based on the picture) thought it was not a threat to the aquarium. That being said, what I have isn't taking over the tank. The first rock it was on I was able to easily remove it, wash it off, and put it back. That rock has never had it again. The other rocks it's on are not coming out.

So from that, if you can clean the rock, you might be OK. Otherwise, if you figure it out let me know.

Chasman

[Doodaa]

Looks to me more like Polysiphonia or red hair algae.

[twisted]

with that amount of whatever it is, i dont think tests would be accurate. trates and phos would be undetectable wouldnt they? since they are sucked up by the algae?

[Ninong]

Looks to me more like Polysiphonia or red hair algae.

I didn't want to say anything earlier because my eyesight is so messed up right now that I didn't want to speculate. However, I agree with you, it doesn't look like Cyanobacteria at all. It looks like some sort of red hair algae and that could be a lot bigger problem than dealing with Cyanobacteria.

Maybe I'll ask zhenya to take a look since he's much younger than me and has much better eyesight.

[zhenya]

I didn't want to say anything earlier because my eyesight is so messed up right now that I didn't want to speculate. However, I agree with you, it doesn't look like Cyanobacteria at all. It looks like some sort of red hair algae and that could be a lot bigger problem than dealing with Cyanobacteria.

Maybe I'll ask zhenya to take a look since he's much younger than me and has much better eyesight.

I looked at it earlier as well and am pretty much positive that it isn't Cyanobacteria. Whatever it is, and it could be red hair algae, it will be hell to deal with. I'm certain of that as well.
I don't remember Scott's (Reefland) mystery red algae from hell but it looks like it could give Scott's nightmerish algae run for the money, too.

I couldn't even speculate on what methid would be best to deal with it, aside from taking all of the rock out of the tank and deal with it manually outside the aquarium, of course. That would include scrubbing, rinsing, scrubbing and rinsing again. Several times to be sure you didn't miss any strays and then replacing it into the tank and hope for the best... It could require few treatments, perhaps, so it would definitely6 test anybody's patience...

[gregr]

lol- my first thought was cyano-hair algae hybrid
If you're doing everything right (feeding habits, water flow, etc.) check your water source. I had a horrific hair algae outbreak because of prematurely dead ro and di filters. Found that the chlorine levels in my neighborhood are so high it was killing the filters in two months
One good habit I learned during The Great Algae War of 2009 was to rinse the fish food before adding it to the tank. It's amazing how much it helps.

[mpwolken]

If it's cyano, chemiclean will do the job. Just following the instructions (no skimming, add airstone, 20% water change post treatment), I've never had any issues of it causing problems after treatment. (according to what I've read around the web, it's an oxidizer and not an antibiotic)