Red algea on pumps, glass, overflow - not like cyano

[Biff0rz]

Hi all, I have a 4 year old tank (this month, Yay!) and I mainly grow sps. In general, everything is good - growth and colors are good. However, my tank doesn't grow much coraline on the back glass, overflow, or pumps. I mean, it sort of does, but it's taken over by a red algea. I know some people might look at this like a blessing vs a curse but the algea darkens the tank and is not good looking like coraline. It's easier to remove than coraline but I guess there's pros and cons to both sides. Now, I grow a ton of coraline on the rocks and mostly anything plastic in the tank except the pumps (odd, I know). Has anyone else experienced this? I've dealt with the typical cyano outbreaks but this stuff doesn't remove easily like cyano. Added some pics. Thoughts?

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

This looks like red turf algae. There does seem to be more than one type but what you have is similar to what is in my biocube. It is like a red felt covering on a billiards table and clings to my rocks just as well. Wire brush, filter socks, pulling rock out and rinsing with H2O2. There are some posts suggesting turbo snails will eat it along with urchins. MicroBacter7 along with Razor Marine may remove it. It will not go away if you try to starve it of nutrients. It's pretty resilient.

Search results for query: red turf algae

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Biff0rz]

So I did some research / looked at pics of red turf and I'm not sure this is the same. It's a very thin, hard to remove algea but it doesn't carpet like the pics I saw. At night it looks brown.

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

Under a UV light at night mine fluoresces red. (to some extent)

 

[Biff0rz]

Under a UV light at night mine fluoresces red. (to some extent)

K, I'll try that and see. I'd say it's more like the typical thin green algea on glass, but just red. The pics I saw the algea looked a lot thicker than mine.