Red Algae... help

[awesomeagle]

Sigh ... since i gotten additional T5 lights now a total of 6T5s... my tank is swamped with red algae...

Noticed that some of these algae is covering one of my coral... alittle has started on my zoas...

Are these harmful? how do i get rid of them?? do i buy snails?? fishes that will eat them???

Pls help

[albinosage]

Rather than to buy livestock that feed on the algae, isn't it easier to fix the problem at the source?

Manage your NO3 and PO4 levels, high concentration of those will contribute to algae bloom, the lights are not to blame, they are more like accessories to the crime

Oh yah, higher temperatures also expedite algae bloom, it has been rather warm these days, my office tank which is beside the window had a massive bloom of red algae on the sand bed too.

If all else fails, and you need a temporary fix, there are off the shelf chemical solutions for the removal of the algae, haven't personally tried them so I'm not in a position to recommend. Anyway, good water parameters is the first line of defense you should adopt against algae.

[MbmC]

Red slime algae? Nothing eats that.

Water parameters and good flow, not allowing too much detritus to settle and dissolve into the sand and the rocks would probably do the trick.

I've personally used Aquamedic/AP solutions for red slime, these are but temporary solutions. I've found that the algae grew less after I increased flow in the tank, and I reduced the amount of feeding.