red algae

[digitalsteve]

i need some help , i have a 10 g mini reef and i seem to have a massive algae problem all of a sudden , it started pretty much after i added my new lights, its a red algae , its on the glass, the rocks etc... what can i do to fix it , a large water change? ph is 8.2, salinity is 1.027.... so , is there a secret to this , perhaps less ligh durning the day to reduce the photo period?

[dirtyreefer]

Although lighting may be a factor in your algae problem, I wouldn't blame it on that. Your must have excess nutrients in your tank (e.g. phosphates/nitrates etc). Water changes will help, but make sure you are using RO or RO/DI water or else your problems will still remain.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by digitalsteve

i need some help , i have a 10 g mini reef and i seem to have a massive algae problem all of a sudden , it started pretty much after i added my new lights, its a red algae , its on the glass, the rocks etc... what can i do to fix it , a large water change? ph is 8.2, salinity is 1.027.... so , is there a secret to this , perhaps less ligh durning the day to reduce the photo period?

OK you are going to have to describe this algae a bit better be for anyone can help you.

Steve

[Rikko]

Is it a hair algae? Slime? You're familiar with cyanobacteria/diatoms and it's not them? Then it's almost certainly a nutrient issue in the water - likely overfeeding (everybody overfeeds nomatter what they say). Remember that all plant life requires light to grow, but it still needs to EAT physical matter - and that's what's dissolved in your aquarium water. Cutting down the light will probably help, but IMO that's not really treating the problem at the source. You want to lower the level of dissolved nutrients in the water, and for a 10G tank, water changes are the best way to go. A good skimmer will help too, but IMO I wouldn't bother with a skimmer on a 10G. Water changes are so easy to do in that size tank that you can just do extra changes and have better water than a skimmer will leave you with.

That said, this is probably just an algal successive echo. (What did he just say?) Anthony Calfo, author of Reef Invertebrates, has a pretty good chapter in that book on algal succession. In a nutshell, earlier, "simpler" forms of algae will take hold first in a young tank, and successive, more complex algaes will later outcompete them and begin to grow. He cites the beginning as slime algaes and the end as corraline algae and numerous macroalgaes. That principle has certainly held in my tank (and come to think of it, my freshwater planted tanks, too). Since you swapped your lighting you may have created an opening for that red algae to grow out of control, and you're seeing an echo of the algal succession you might have seen the first time around.

[digitalsteve]

problem solved , thanks guys for your help