New to Saltwater Aquarium

[Ronnie Burda]

I’m new to Saltwater Aquarium and have a question about algae? In the pics attached shows my live rock in the DT. What I’m wondering is what kind of algae I have. The thick darker burnt red color algae started out as a reddish maroon color and has to be scraped off and comes off in little sheets. What kind of algae do I have? Is it good or bad? The tank has been up setup and running for about 3-4 months. The first pic is what it looked like after about a month. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[James M]

That’s looks more like a black sponge. Highly invasive

 

[Muttley000]

If you can siphon it off in sheets it might be cyano.

 

[Ronnie Burda]

What I took off so far I had to scrap off. Should I remove all the rocks and clean them off with a soft brush then replace them or add some thing in to take care of it. Only clean up crew I have is 5 hermit crabs, 1 emerald crab, and 5 snails. This is all in a 76 gallon tank.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Welcome to R2R! #reefsquad will be able to help you out.

 

[Jason mack]

Welcome to R2R,happy reefing!

 

[Ronnie Burda]

Welcome to R2R,happy reefing!

Thanks

 

[Ronnie Burda]

Welcome to R2R! #reefsquad will be able to help you out.

Thanks. I was told by a LFS in Florida that everyone here is very helpful when it comes to having questions.

 

[Geebs19]

Welcome to R2R!!

 

[Big G]

5 hermit crabs

Welcome to R2R! Keep an eye on these guys. They can be real terrorists, killing off your snails one by one.

 

[saltyhog]

Welcome to R2R! Glad you're here!

I think that's cyano. If you can increase your flow to the affected areas that would help. Siphon/blow it off as possible. What is you lighting type/schedule/spectrum? Decreasing your lighting schedule might also help.

I would also consider adding some more rock unless you have some biological filter media in your sump

 

[bsn_rn_cen]

Welcome to reef2reef.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[sfin52]

Welcome to Reef2reef

 

[reef lover]

Welcome to r2r!!https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

 

[Ronnie Burda]

Welcome to R2R! Glad you're here!

I think that's cyano. If you can increase your flow to the affected areas that would help. Siphon/blow it off as possible. What is you lighting type/schedule/spectrum? Decreasing your lighting schedule might also help.

I would also consider adding some more rock unless you have some biological filter media in your sump

I just have a dual T5 light fixture that came with the tank used. I dont know how old the bulbs are but Im about to upgrade to a T5/LED Hybrid setup. I am thinking about a Gyre pump since the guy only had one powerhead in the tank. And I have a Eshopps ADV-100 that has some Bioballs in the the media compartment. Would it be wise to remove the rock and take a toothbrush to remover what I can of the algae?

 

[saltyhog]

All of those things should help. I might just blow the rock off every day for a while with a turkey baster instead of removing the rock.

What are your tank parameters? Bioballs are pretty ancient technology in the hobby these days. They are pretty widely known to be detritus traps/nitrate factories. I would remove them slowly over a few weeks.

 

[Ronnie Burda]

All of those things should help. I might just blow the rock off every day for a while with a turkey baster instead of removing the rock.

What are your tank parameters? Bioballs are pretty ancient technology in the hobby these days. They are pretty widely known to be detritus traps/nitrate factories. I would remove them slowly over a few weeks.

My temp when I tested my tank the other day was 76.6, my Salinity was 1.025, my ammonia was 0, my Nitrite was 0, my nitrate was 0, and Ph was 8.2. As far as taking a turkey baster to the rocks wont work. It has to be scrapped off.

 

[saltyhog]

Hmmmm. That doesn't sound like cyano then. Maybe a turf algae? What test kits are you using? Testing phosphate?

 

[Ronnie Burda]

Hmmmm. That doesn't sound like cyano then. Maybe a turf algae? What test kits are you using? Testing phosphate?

All I have is the API Saltwater master test kit. Not testing phosphate. Is that one I should with just fish only and live rock? When I start building my reef (after I fix my lighting, more live rock, and flow addressed) I’m going to get the other test kits that I’ll need for a reef.