10 Months = NO Coralline?!

NanaReefer · Mar 31, 2015

My tank is just a couple days shy of 10 months old. I have a bit of Coralline algae on the temp sensor and over flow box. But no where else! Not on the glass and zero on the rock. What gives?
My last tank (running T5) my rock was completely covered as was everything else.
Oh and I've no green algae anywhere either. Which I find even stranger-lol.
Could it be my LED's?
Parameters are stable. ALK 9.1, Ca 420, Mag 1360

Tank is doing fantastic! Great coral growth and colors. Happy healthy fish.

diablomaster9045 · Mar 31, 2015

IMO be glad, coralline algae is a waste of alkalinity.

sureal00 · Mar 31, 2015

any frag plugs or snails covered with coralline algae.I would agitated the surfaces with coralline to get the spore spread out throughout the tank.

jent · Mar 31, 2015

Do you have an urchin? They can eat lots of it!

Pete polyp · Mar 31, 2015

diablomaster9045 said:
IMO be glad, coralline algae is a waste of alkalinity. [emoji14]

+1!

I noticed my tank grew coralline like crazy when I was using some 10k bulbs compared to when I swapped them for other bulbs (coral plus, purple plus)

with 10k

without 10k

jedimasterben · Mar 31, 2015

My tank has never grown coralline. Right at a year after moving it and doing a 'reboot' with fresh live rock from the Keys, but even for the couple of years before the move I can't ever remember growing coralline anywhere except a skimmer cup.

hart24601 · Mar 31, 2015

How strong are your lights? For my systems I have noticed that coraline doesn't like high light, just a few spots in the shade with my LEDs. I also noticed the little bit there was grew faster when alk was higher, around 10 or 11dkh.

NanaReefer · Mar 31, 2015

Ok cool. I'm not gonna worry about it then. Guess I should knock on wood seeing as how much I love the clean look-lol.

Pete polyp · Mar 31, 2015

I like the look of not having coralline on the rocks. I also have my own belief that coralline covers the rock and doesn't allow for as much filtration from the rock. It seems like it would close the pores of the rock and keep the water from flowing through the rock. That's a personal belief, not a fact backed up with any evidence.... so please don't flame me if you have a different opinion.

diablomaster9045 · Apr 1, 2015

Pete polyp said:
I like the look of not having coralline on the rocks. I also have my own belief that coralline covers the rock and doesn't allow for as much filtration from the rock. It seems like it would close the pores of the rock and keep the water from flowing through the rock. That's a personal belief, not a fact backed up with any evidence.... so please don't flame me if you have a different opinion.

I think that sounds like a reasonable assumption.

NanaReefer · Apr 1, 2015

Makes total sense to me! Lol

3Twinklets · Apr 1, 2015

hart24601 said:
How strong are your lights? For my systems I have noticed that coraline doesn't like high light, just a few spots in the shade with my LEDs. I also noticed the little bit there was grew faster when alk was higher, around 10 or 11dkh.

I agree with you!

Cleverbs · Apr 1, 2015

I used to run LEDs and had lots of Coraline on the rocks but Non on glass or powerheads or anything else. Then I switched to MH/t5ho's Now I have Coraline growing on my glass. Tank was up for 18months with LEDs and no Coraline on glass. Tank has been up for 1 month with MH and its got more then ever.

VicD81 · Apr 1, 2015

I quadruple that notion! :nod:

GreatWhiteTang · Apr 1, 2015

Pete polyp said:
I like the look of not having coralline on the rocks. I also have my own belief that coralline covers the rock and doesn't allow for as much filtration from the rock. It seems like it would close the pores of the rock and keep the water from flowing through the rock. That's a personal belief, not a fact backed up with any evidence.... so please don't flame me if you have a different opinion.

Agree.. I like small patches here and there but feel. The same, I do recall reading some facts backing this up in a tropic fish magazine sw q and a section

CarolinaReefs · Apr 1, 2015

hart24601 said:
How strong are your lights? For my systems I have noticed that coraline doesn't like high light, just a few spots in the shade with my LEDs. I also noticed the little bit there was grew faster when alk was higher, around 10 or 11dkh.

+1 on this as I have observed the same in my tanks also. Keep the ALK high (10+ and consistant with no low swings) and lower lighting conditions and you should see some growth in the shaded areas. Way back in the day I had a softie tank with PC's and had really good coraline growth on everything.

I have also heard that there are some species of coraline that do well in bright light. I just starting keeping some acros and a couple of the frags I got came with some coraline on them that seem to tolerate the output of my Kessils high up in the tank and have shown some growth although I have been struggling to keep my ALK consistently high.

kacrocorals581 · Apr 1, 2015

I wish I didn't have any won't my corals to have everything not a algea grows a lot in my tank when I was running 10k mh it was growing like wild fire but now I'm using 20k with reef brights it slowed down I'd say 4x what it was

moulton712 · Apr 1, 2015

I noticed mine likes flow. Where flow hits I have it. Even in the fuge in the sump. It's on the baffles where the water overflows.

Phishy McGee · Apr 1, 2015

I have a 125 with LED's and have almost zero coraline. I think it doesn't grow under bright LED. Under ledges and stuff I can see some but my glass hasn't had one single drop since I set up the tank in July.