Carpet Algae Saltwater Aquarium

My rocks and back wall grow this thick carpet like algae that can t be scrubbed off.

Carpet algae saltwater aquarium. These algae form thick hair like mats that can carpet your aquarium. 1 however only about half of these organisms are actually blue green in color. Also known as audouinella or black brush algae the black beard algae is a type of red algae that s more prevalent in saltwater but sometimes it may appear even in freshwater tanks. You may want to add some chemiclean red slime remover to your tank will not harm any fish inverts or corals follow manufactures directions shut off skimmer and or filter for 48 hrs then do a 20 water change.

Identifying red slime algae cyanobacteria are often called blue green algae. It doesn t grow on the sand at all. Just as the instruction above clean the algae from the inside of the glass with your algae pad. I tried cleaning some patches to see what happened and it came back.

Add natural algae eating critters. Various forms of green brown and red algae can provide browsing food for many types fish and invertebrates and many macroalgae species are actually cultivated in the aquarium for this purpose. Let it get big enough so you have leverage. An example of caulerpa the most common type of green algae.

You may want to try operating the aquarium light ten hours a day or less and make sure it does not receive direct sunlight. Nitrate is 1. Saltwater aquarium owners are constantly fighting against nitrates building up in their water. I also use a squeeze bottle filled with aquarium water to rinse before and after.

Removing and replacing ten percent of the water will eliminate the nitrates and keep your fish. There are many marine inhabitants that depend on algae as a major part of their diet. Once discovered it should be treated outside of the aquarium perhaps by dipping the affected rock or frag in water treated with an algaecide turf algae that grows with a root mat can be peeled by pushing down on the algae as you scrape your thumb against the rock dislodging it in one swoop. Take the rock out of the tank and scrub the algae off with a tooth brush in a bucket with your aquarium water.

Hair algae are less desirable. My tank doesn t have high nutrients there s an ats running produces about 1 to 2 fist sized balls of algae after 2 to 3 weeks. The fertilizers and carbon dioxide also encourage algae growth as does over feeding. My tank has a type of algae similar to gha or turf from an ats covering all of the live rock.

Growth of red slime algae is a common problem in saltwater aquariums and it should be dealt with to ensure a healthy environment for your aquarium plants and animals. Remove ten percent of the water. Joined jun 21 2016 messages 16 780 reaction score.