reddish brown velvety type algae

C

Cheech

Global Moderator
Jan 13, 2000
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Montreal, Canada
Ok, I've been having an issue with my tank (which is created the vodka dosing thread, which I'll try soon enough).. Anyway, I don't have pictures, but I'll explain it best I could.

- velvety type algae
- dark red/brown in color
- not cyno (it isn't slimy.. It's stuck on rocks)
- grows mostly in areas of high water flow, including on the Koralia PH).


Anyone have to deal with this stuff? If so, have you had any success getting rid of it?


thank you
 
the red brown is DIatoms, which is common in new tanks, i dont know how old your tank is though but it sounds like diatoms, if its a newer tank (like mine which is getting the same stuff) its very common and will go away with time.. if its an established tank i would say your having a problem with phosphates
 
I have diatom, and then I also have this algae that is a bit more reddish color and is very hard to get off things (unlike diatom). Perhaps you have the same, I still haven't figured out how to get it off other than scrape it with a blade. Mine grows right under the filter output in a high flow area as well.
 
I highly doubt it's cyno... It isn't slmimy... it's almost like a velvety moss stuck on the rocks.

It looks very similar to this:

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f6/velvety-red-algae-at-my-wits-end-136344.html



It isn't a diatom bloom... I had one of those as well, last year when I setup the tank...

thanks for the help


fuzz.jpg
 
Ha! ok, I had the stuff before.. PITA!!! Turbo snails do a great job on it though... as much as I hate Turbos.. they were the only thing that would eat the stuff.
 
Thanks Ace. I have about 10 mexican turbos in there.. . . They're either not hungry, or they can't keep up. . . lol..

It partially is my fault, I hadn't done a water change in 2 months... I finally changed about 30% 2 weeks ago, and I'll be changing another 20% tomorrow. Lastly, I cut down on the lighting by a couple of hours... it helped a little bit.

I'll continue doing so and see what happens.
 
it looks rather cool but good luck with it haha
 
I think there are several types of Turbos and I think each has there own diets. The Mexican Turbos wouldn't do much for me either, it was those Zebra turbos, green shell with black lines that did the job for me. I hated them because they have to be the biggest turbo out there.. and always knock everything over, but like you, I had no choice as I let the algae grow for a couple months thinking it would go aways on its own.. nope, spread like wildfire. I wonder if the new Orange Turbos I have been seeing lately will do anything about that algae, they stay small and are "Halloween" orange shells.

This type ate that algae for me:
zebrastripeturbo3.jpg


This one is cool looking and stays small, but don't know what it will eat.
1906_orangeturbo.jpg
 
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