What algae is this?

[fish ninja]

Is it bad? If so, what would you advise doing to get rid of it?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

That looks like Cyanobacteria to me. However I've never seen red Cyano in a FW tank.

[MeganL3985]

Is this a fresh or salt water tank?

[fish ninja]

It is freshwater, But I believe cyano can appear in both fresh and salt. I thought it was black beard algae as it looks like tufts of hair. I thought Cyano looked more like slime, Is this correct?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Cyano can appear in both fresh and salt water, but it isn't red in fresh, however in FW it is a thick green mat. The picture makes it hard to tell that it's fuzzy but regardless of what kind it is, there is no such thing as a good algae in a freshwater tank.

[fish ninja]

It is definitely a reddish brown color and look like tufts of hair. My question was that I thought this was an especially bad type to have and wondering if someone could suggest a way to control or eradicate it?

[squirt_12]

How often do you feed your fish and how much??
Also, how often do you do water changes and how much each time??

[fish ninja]

3 small meals a day. I do two 15% water changes a week.

[smaug]

How long has the tank been in operation?Under 6 months and I can say the good news is that it will go away as your tank water ages and your parameters stabilize.What type lights are you running and what are the wattages and spectrum?

[fish ninja]

The tank is about 5 weeks old and has been cycled for 2 1/2 weeks. The light came with the tank and it has one bulb that says eclipse natural daylight F30T8 36" If the stuff will just go away that would be great. A little info on the tank, it is 46 gallons with a emperor 400, air stone and large sponge filter, and recently added advantage 2000 uv sterilizer and rio+ 600 powerhead to push water thru UV sterilizer.

[cocoa_pleco]

yep, thats cyano, it enteres FW usually by a wild plant or rock

[smaug]

It should clear up after some time,but dont leave it all up to should.Manual removal by scrubbing it should help nicely.Dont let any algae get a foothold without intervention.Spot treatment with seachem excel is a good idea as well.

[fish ninja]

I am a little ignorant on seachem excel. I don't have any plants in the aquarium. How does the excel help with the algae?And how much would you add? And do you think it is cyano or black beard algae? I don't think it is Cyano as it is not green and looks like tufts of reddish brown hair.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Diatoms. That tank is a newly cycled tank, there are bound to be diatoms. Diatoms can take on that reddish look if they are on driftwood or some other reddish brown medium.

[fish ninja]

They are on a large piece of reddish colored piece of drift wood. What are Diatoms?

[cocoa_pleco]

diatoms are usually a sign of too little lighting or excess phosphates