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Red Turf Algae in my overflow box…acting as a nutrient scrubber?

April 26, 2017algae nutrient overflow red scrubber Turf

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Red Turf Algae in my overflow box…acting as a nutrient scrubber?

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Dear Crew, Yet another red turf algae question… A few weeks ago I noticed a thick carpet of red turf algae (after searching your website, possibly Polysiphonia) growing in my overflow box, but barely any in my tank. I thought to myself, “Hey…I have the answer to this!” So I covered the overflow box with a piece of dark Tupperware (high tech) and sure enough, in a week or so it was dead. Then, to my surprise, it started popping out all over my tank in tight little bunches. Great stuff this algae. Not so much an invasion, but just numerous little tufts on the sharp edges of rock. I’ve tried not to take it personally. My tank parameters are pristine, although I suppose dKH is a little low at 7-8… but I’ve recently backed off dosing 2-part additive. I was going crazy with B-Ionic and the like, chasing numbers and turning my sump into a pile of concrete. Now, I’m just going for water changes instead, 10% per week. My skimmer is doin