55 gallon algae problem

[Heather]

My dad has a 55 gallon salt tank that has a pretty bad problem with algae. It's kinda weird though because most of it is different colors. Some of it is green and most of it is red, he can clean everything and scrub it down but a few weeks later it comes back just as strong. Is there a treatment or something he could use for the tank? Thanks for any help guys!

[jonah]

He isn't using tap water to mix his salt is he? Phosphates found in most tap water can cause algae blooms. It's also pretty common in new tanks, how old is the set-up now?

[Heather]

His setup is about a year old if not more. He doesn't use tap water. He buys filtered water from the store to do water changes and anything else with the tank.

[jonah]

Is the store water RO/DI? If it's a spring water instead he might still want to try testing the phosphate level. I'm not sure how to solve it, my algae went away when I started using distilled water in my reef.

[MGS]

The red algae, also known as "red slime" is cyno-bacteria and can be harmful and cause sickness and death if left unchecked. You can get some Boyd enterprises "Chemi-clean" at your LFS or order it online
www.boydenterprisesonline.com
Or you can go online and search for "Red Slime":
saltaquarium.about.com/library/weekly/aa092800.htm
Have him try joining some of the saltwater forums out there and ask.
www.reeffreaks.com/
www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/index.php

[fishgills]

Heather said:

My dad has a 55 gallon salt tank that has a pretty bad problem with algae. It's kinda weird though because most of it is different colors. Some of it is green and most of it is red, he can clean everything and scrub it down but a few weeks later it comes back just as strong. Is there a treatment or something he could use for the tank? Thanks for any help guys!

Since you have checked the water and your using ro/di, i would cut down on feeding, it seems everything you feed has phosphates in them, i feed every two days, remember fish don't eat every day in the ocean, the second thing i would check is you lighting if the lighting loses its spectrum it will grow all kinds of stuff like hair algae, i have power compacts that are on 10 hours a day i have many corals, i change my bulbs every eight months, it depends on how many hours your lights are on, you could cut back on your lighting hours. fishgills.