question on live rock

[maxman424]

hi everyone. need some understanding. Just replace all my live rock with new rock. premium fully cured figi rock from aquarium arts. the rock look great. however, its been in the tank for about a month. I am having a problem with a burgendy film like algea covering my sand and some of the rock. air bubbles are on the algea as well. he said that the rock was fully cured, I question that. but i am starting to see a good amount of purple corraline as well. im quessing the rock is still settling and this algea should go away once the rock is completely cured. i do have snails and crabs in the tank to eat this algea. my nitrate level is low, i have a corelife protein skimmer and a current light system with 3-150 watt halides with the blue tubes and led moon lights. is here anything else i need to do here? also getting algea growning on my glass at a quick pace. Its green. thanks for any help. Joe

[kaybee]

The burgundy film-like stuff is actually a type of photosynthetic bacteria (cyanobacteria), and is an indication of high levels of nutrients in the system (fairly common in young tanks, as is green film algae on the glass, but can persist as long as the conditions which permit it to thrive exist). So cured rock doesn't eliminate the possibility of it developing in the tank. The air bubbles is oxygen that the bacteria is producing.

Almost nothing eats or consume cyanobacteria, it has to be starved out (via water quality improvement which can occur naturally as the tank matures. Phosphate, nitrate and excessive dissolved organics fuel it.

Why did you replace your other live rock?

[rageybug]

Too much light may be spreading the bacteria too. You can scrape it off or just point your powerhead at it to blow it off the rocks. Grab it in a net from the water column and try to limit the nutrients in the tank if possible.

[snapdragon9]

Red slime or cyanobacteria to my knowlege is indicative of the nutirent levels, primarilly dealing with phosphates. When I first got red slime I used a product called red slime remover, I belive the manufacture of that product was ocean nutrition but not sure. It worked fine but it contains iron, (got rid of the red slime) but also caused some die-off with my coraline algae. I have also heard that iron can be harmful to corals. It would be best to get it at the source: adjusting the phosphate levels. Phos-lok is a good product to use, weekly water changes and other maintenance schedules as well will reduce this.