Is this really cyanos?! Immense fluffy red algae everywhere (red cotton?)

[Chepre01]

Hello guys, getting desparate slowly.
Til now was always assuming this is cyano, tried so many things now, nothing worked so far.
Questioning now if this is really cyanos... Nearly everywhere i see cyanos on the internet, it is more or less a flat "form", like a carpet on rocks/sand.

I did not siphon now my tank for like 2 weeks, got them everywhere and for me it just looks different than regular cyanos. My algae is so extreme fluffy, actually never in a flat form. Was reading about red cotton algae, but dont know.

I ve also the impression the algae on the sand is red stuff from the rocks whichs gets floated to the ground and then turns into whatever on the sand.

 

[Katrina71]

Not cyano, I think you're right about cotton candy

 

[Katrina71]

Salty Underground: Cotton Candy Algae

Cotton candy algae, depending on species, may look like a red or pink cotton puff ball or a red, branching structure.

www.saltyunderground.com

 

[Mikeltee]

That's pretty!

 

[Brazilian Reefer]

Never seen before. Good luck on dealing with it and keep us updated!

 

[Chepre01]

At least, most probably it is not cyanos.. I ll go with cotton candy and try some things what i can find about it on the internet

 

[Katrina71]

At least, most probably it is not cyanos.. I ll go with cotton candy and try some things what i can find about it on the internet

Is it wrong to be jealous of your pretty algae?

 

[Chepre01]

It is, for sure Stuff is taking over everything

 

[spicyshrimp]

I have a limited amount of experience with what I believe to be this algae. It was on a couple of rocks and covered the powerheads and silicone tank edges, and it was extremely hard to pull off. I bought a tuxedo urchin and the algae disappeared within a month; never saw it again. That said, you have quite a lot more than I did, so maybe try manually trimming the tufts down to help it out if you decide to go that route.

Best of luck!

 

[Chepre01]

Thats the way I wanna try. Manually trim down every 2 days, siphon **** out, get a tuxedo urchin/ mexican turbo snails, decrease nitrat/phosphat (was reading they love it).

Owner of my local fish shop said, he wont do an ID of it just by photos, i have to bring him a sample of it to check under microscope to check if it is really not cyano or dino..

 

[ReefStable]

I agree, not cyano.

It looks like Cotton Candy algae to me.

How To Get Rid Of Cotton Candy Algae

Cotton candy algae is rare in the reef aquarium, but should be handled before it gets out of control. This algae is fuzzy and can look pink or redish.

reefstable.com

 

[Chepre01]

So, the guy from my fish shop said, "no cyanos, red algae".
Before I had let them grow I had regular nitrat/phosphat levels. After 2/3 weeks of letting them grow, I have 0 nitrat/phosphate.
Which probably is an indicator to cut off any nitrat and phophat levels after I remove the algae by hand.