Cyano "Red Slime" Q's

bur01014

Reefing newb
So I am new to this hobby, tank has been going for 3 months. I have noticed about 3-4 spots throughout my 100lbs of LR that have about dime size spots of cyano. At least I think its cyano....it is more red/maroon than my purple coraline, I can scratch it off, but it takes work and a strong tooth brush. It doesn't look slimy, have bubbles, or anything else, but not sure what else it could be. I lowered my lights down to 9 hours a day, did a good cleaning on my skimmer, and adjusted flow. (2 korailla 3s and 1 korilla 1) Now for my main question- should I be worried about this amount of cyano as described? I google images the stuff and it just shows people's sand and glass covered in it....i just have a few small spots but am worried it will get worse all the sudden. Also will this small amount of cyano harm my corals? I have a mushroom close to some on a rock and it doesn't seem to be doing well....just curious if it may be related. Thanks for help guys!
 
Cyano will come right off your rocks/sand/glass with even just a turkey baster. If you have to work to get it off, it's generally not cyano. If it's more furry than slimy, it's probably just a red turf algae. I have it in my tank and it's a wine color. It grows in low nutrient tanks.

Like any algae it's mostly fine in small quantities but can take over if not maintained. Turbo snails will eat it, and I think Long Spine Urchins will as well. Tangs are hit and miss as far as whether they'll touch it or not. Some people say their yellow tangs LOVE it, others won't even look at it. Lawnmower Blennies are a 50/50 shot as well.

Another downside that I think Biff mentioned in a similar thread, is corals will not grow on it.
 
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If its Cyano It shouldn't be hard to come up.... it literally is like a coat of slime and you should be able to siphon most of it up.

Pics make things much easier to ID :)
 
It's probably just a different color of coraline algae. Cyano is slimy and would be a lot of places in your tank. Pics definately help!
 
If it's cyano then you should be able to blow it of the rock with a turkey baster. Sounds like it's coraline; it comes in different colors.
 
Fix the root of the problem --eliminate nitrates and phosphates. In the mean time try Red Slime Remover. I used it and it worked well.
 
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