Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK, i am having an issue with Algae. I did a water change about 3 weeks ago and the Tap water (first time this has ever happened) caused a Bloom. Well, I decided i should just buy water from the local Aquarium Shop and the water is great but i am still getting alot of this algae. Instead of discribing it to you, here is a link to a picture of it. Please tell me what this stuff is so i will know what to call it as i am cursing it = P Any help on IDing this stuff would be great and i could start looking for ways to fix the issue.

Water Specs
Nitrates - 10
Nitrites - 0
Alkalinity - 160
pH - 7.2
Salinity - 1.023
Light on from 6am til 11am off til 4pm and on til 9pm

Welcome to the wonderful world of red slime algae. Otherwise known as cyano bacteria. Do not worry, you are far from the only one that has experienced this. Some say that it is a reaction to an overload in phosphates. However, I believe this not to be true, and have never been able to solve it by lowering my phosphate. I believe it can be linked to fish load, ligthing, and the amount of time the tank has been set up. When I get red slime in my fish only tank, I cut the light down dramatically. I take it back to about 5 hours a day. While this is not an immediate fix, it does work over time. I have also heard that trochus snails eat it, but again have had no luck with them. There is a product that does work. It is called chemi-clean. It will work on the red slime, but do not use it in conjunction with other chemicals. Also, this will get rid of it for a while, but it will come back. Maybe add some more live rock, I have had luck with that as well. Good Luck, if you find a true cure..... you'll be a rich man.
Ryan