tank getting red algea?

Question
Glenn,  We have a 29 gal. BioQube that has been set up almost a year now.  Lately we have seen a red 'velvety' growth and it appears to be taking over the tank.  It's on everything.  We've done water changes to no avail.  PH, Salinety, Ammonia and Nitrates are where they should be.  Can you suggest something that would help get rid of this growth?  

Thanks for your time

Terry

Answer
Hi Terry,
The red algae you describe probably isnt algae at all, I'd be betting my money on Cyanobacteria. A 3.8 million year old bacteria that thrives in nutrient, phosphate rich, water environments. If all water parameters are good(ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0, pH, alkalinity, sg) I would take a look at the lighting. How long do you run your lighting? How often do you change the bulbs? Inadequate lighting, weak or old tubes and bulbs, is a HUGE reason people see cyano outbreaks. Probably time to replace some bulbs. Over extended lighting periods and over feeding or having detritus material in the system compounds the problem. Manually removing as much as you can is the first step towards fixing the problem. Next you need to adjust your photo period, reduce it to no more than 8 hours a day for a couple of weeks and also reduce the amount of food at feedings(not the frequency or number of feedings each day, just the amount each feeding.) You'll get it under control fairly quickly. Then just keep your photo periods to no more than 12 hours a day after you get the nuisance eradicated(be prepared to do it all again, it usually comes back) monitor feeding regimens and keep up on  maintenance to keep it from recurring. Let me know if I can help further.