purple algae In Saltwater Tank

[TEXASFIST210]

Well I Have A 10 Gallon Fish tank And I Have A Light With X2 65 watt each (Blue and white).
But I Dont put on both at the same time. when i leave the light on for a long time all that purple algae start building up fast. What should i do?

[ErikH]

hey dude it's no big deal. That sounds like coraline algae. It's a pain, but it shows your tank is doing well. People like purple rocks!

I'll add you to my xbl so we can play.

[Mr Cob]

Sounds like coralline algae to me. The best kind!

If your lights are not on a timer you should definitely put them on one.

An example:

Moonlights (you may not have these): 14 hours
Actinics (the blue lights): 10 hours
Daylights (the white lights): 6 hours

[Roo&Lis]

Is the algae hard or soft? When you say purple do you mean purple purple or borderline maroon purple? Could be talking about cyanobacteria.

[Mr Cob]

Good point.

Here...

Purple Coralline Algae (good stuff)
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Q4grSlg5U6ViXM:http://coralline-algae.com/coralline-algae.jpg (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://coralline-algae.com/coralline-algae.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.coralline-algae.com/&usg=__LiM9-IHJGuixCgL_sKNbIwHLfJk=&h=375&w=500&sz=53&hl=en&start=2&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=Q4grSlg5U6ViXM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpurple%2Bcoralline%2Balgae%26hl%3Den% 26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1)

Cyano (bad stuff):
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:CGUhSL2PE8uGaM:http://www.reefland.com/forum/attachments/reef-aquariums/12231d1255537506-red-algae-cyano-bacteria.jpg (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.reefland.com/forum/attachments/reef-aquariums/12231d1255537506-red-algae-cyano-bacteria.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.reefland.com/forum/reef-aquariums/28017-red-algae.html&usg=__DEcvDlglCEc4hJAvoPoYSaUXm1c=&h=600&w=800&sz=133&hl=en&start=3&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=CGUhSL2PE8uGaM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcyano%2Balgae%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dacti ve%26um%3D1)

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:xQj8bBXBNfUYUM:http://reef.geddis.org/55g/p/1392b-red-slime-algae.jpg (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://reef.geddis.org/55g/p/1392b-red-slime-algae.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/just-starting-out-sw-beginners/51493-dark-red-algae-what-how-do-i-get-rif.html&usg=__054u6LcarpSCTN7zhOrbIrWWKwY=&h=405&w=837&sz=48&hl=en&start=5&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=xQj8bBXBNfUYUM:&tbnh=70&tbnw=144&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcyano%2Balgae%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dacti ve%26um%3D1)

[TEXASFIST210]

Its Cyano Yes its bad it has bubbles in there just like the bottom pic:at_wits_end:

[hobogato]

how long has the tank been up and running? if less than 6 months, it is likely part of the natural algae cycle. just keep syphoning it out with small water changes and it will likely go away on its own as long as you arent overfeeding the tank.

[TEXASFIST210]

Well I Been Having it for A year and a half and i dont feed to much.
It has to be my light im going to buy a timer for my light.
this stuff look really nasty:sick: and tired of having it

[hobogato]

hmmm... how deep is your sand bed?

[cbianco]

...and i dont feed to much...


How much is, not much?


...It has to be my light im going to buy a timer for my light...

What type of light? How old are the bulbs?


...this stuff look really nasty:sick: and tired of having it...

Yep, agree, cyano is nasty stuff.

Christopher

[Europhyllia]

cyano happens! I don't have much but I think most of mine disappeared when I got new lights. Cyano likes a certain spectrum. Perhaps it's time to replace your bulbs?

Cyano can live when nutrients would be insufficient for other algae so the amount you feed may have not much to do with it (I don't think anybody could feed more than I do. If feeding caused it my tank would be covered in it ;) )

[Shawn]

I looked up cyanobacteria on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria

What they describe and picture is totally different.

I had what you are calling cyano. I have had it in differing degrees in all of my tanks (25, 45, 72, and 125) and it has gone away. The first one to get it was my 125. I freaked and got the Red Slime treatment. Didn't do any good. It went away in all of my tanks on its own.

My last tank to get it was the 45. It coverd everything in there for about 2 weeks then started going away. Now all tanks are clear of it.

I don't freak about it anymore.:wub:

[corruption]

They're calling it cyanobacteria because thats exacrtly what it is... the color shift can be anywhere from green to nearly black, and just about anything in between -- its also one of the oldest, most adaptable, and most invasive bacterial species in existence... your chances of ever completely being rid of it or avoiding it are pretty much next-to-nil -- the spores are quite literally everywhere.

Everyone's right on here -- the biggest enemies of cyano are a properly maintained environment -- good flowing currents, proper spectrum lights and clean water :)

-Corruption

[1fstlightning]

When I had that, it was I was told because I left my lights on to long, but it could also be the spectrum of the light lso causing it