Coralline algae VOID??? Who really has an answer?
- Thread starter Glenner’sreef
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OP
OP
Glenner’sreef
2500 Club Member
Reefon!!!! Friend.
GARRIGA
2500 Club Member
GHA not an issue in my tank. Popped a few times. Then just disappeared. My nutrients levels seem to be just right. Unless I tinker like I did last and crank the lights up for extended times. That was a disaster but partially expected. It is a test tank.
Aware of the spectrum needed. Not new to me just a new build I’m hoping to establish coralline prior to adding corals. However once the upgraded light gets switched I might not wait and start adding. Plugs also tend to have coralline and that’s another source plus I need to start consuming alk and calcium. Not the typical problem we tend to find but I’ll come to appreciate it when dosing becomes a necessity.
bruno3047
Valuable Member
I see you’re in South Florida. I’m in Palm Bay. About 2 1/2 hours on 95. I got some rocks here with some pretty algae on them I’ll be more than happy to donate if you want to take the ride.
OP
OP
Glenner’sreef
2500 Club Member
That may be a winning idea. A good sized coralline encrusted piece of live rock!!!
GARRIGA
2500 Club Member
Absolutely. Added this but was seeking a larger piece. Just not a fan of Zoas but perhaps some nice shrooms. Replace one of the existing rocks.
GARRIGA
2500 Club Member
If I can make it up that way I’ll definitely take you up on that. Plus we can go grab a beer and have lunch on me. Thanks
ilikebeef
Community Member
I hate to amid it but water change maybe once a year if that ,never tested for anything besides salinity 0.025 and PH 8.3 but my lights over the years were always white and blue balanced.
Started with AI sol blue when they came out and switched a year ago to one 72" Reef Brite 50/50 XHO Led strip. Have coralline algale growing on the glass if not scraping weekly.
I think light has a big impact.
OP
OP
Glenner’sreef
2500 Club Member
You’re not the first one to mention Ph. Nice tank!!!
I hate to amid it but water change maybe once a year if that ,never tested for anything besides salinity 0.025 and PH 8.3 but my lights over the years were always white and blue balanced.
Started with AI sol blue when they came out and switched a year ago to one 72" Reef Brite 50/50 XHO Led strip. Have coralline algale growing on the glass if not scraping weekly.
I think light has a big impact.
damsels are not mean
Valuable Member
The asterina theory is very interesting............
I never had too much of the pink stuff but it sure grew in a few spots. I also have lots of asterina stars from my live rock. Never knew what they eat. Recent experience suggests maybe pink coralline was part of their diet.
My tank went through a period of neglect. No water changes or dosing, minerals depleted, so everything stony died back. When I started getting things back up and running with big water changes the conditions for coral growth returned. I added some new frags as well. Corals are now growing and laying down calcium. But I didn't change nutrient addition at all. Same feeding regimen. Despite this, the asterina starts which I presumed to be only eating bacteria boomed. why would they boom in population at that point unless something they eat was limited by depleted minerals?
Perhaps pink coralline algae is at least one of the things they eat, and the fact that it could once again grow gave another food source to them. Interestingly, I have this slow growing red coralline that does not seem to have trouble, though. Its form is a bit thicker and solid in color compared to the sort of grainy look of the pink stuff. Maybe they don't like the red. Maybe it's just a coincidence.
I never had too much of the pink stuff but it sure grew in a few spots. I also have lots of asterina stars from my live rock. Never knew what they eat. Recent experience suggests maybe pink coralline was part of their diet.
My tank went through a period of neglect. No water changes or dosing, minerals depleted, so everything stony died back. When I started getting things back up and running with big water changes the conditions for coral growth returned. I added some new frags as well. Corals are now growing and laying down calcium. But I didn't change nutrient addition at all. Same feeding regimen. Despite this, the asterina starts which I presumed to be only eating bacteria boomed. why would they boom in population at that point unless something they eat was limited by depleted minerals?
Perhaps pink coralline algae is at least one of the things they eat, and the fact that it could once again grow gave another food source to them. Interestingly, I have this slow growing red coralline that does not seem to have trouble, though. Its form is a bit thicker and solid in color compared to the sort of grainy look of the pink stuff. Maybe they don't like the red. Maybe it's just a coincidence.
trietnguyen000
Active Member
What’s your method for raising pH? Thanks
MaxTremors
2500 Club Member
The best way is to ensure lots of surface agitation (gas exchange), open a window (try to reduce CO2 in your house), running a CO2 scrubber, some people run a hose outside into the intake of their skimmer, dosing kalkwasser, running a refugium on a reverse schedule, there are a lot of ways to get your PH up, but ensuring good gas exchange (surface agitation) and opening a window is the easiest way to get it up a point or two.
revenant
Well-Known Member
this is what I understand as well.. it makes the calcification process difficult and coraline is for sure affected. I'm have a po4 spike right now and my coraline has been affected for sure.
Ben Pedersen
Valuable Member
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Mine went from dry rock I made from dead rock and white cement to completely covered by coralline in 6 months... I used the Pink Fusion and Pink Helix product.. It works! Also, coralline doesn't like super bright light.
Last edited:
malacoda
Valuable Member
My first tank was a 24g that I started up with sand and rock from TBS (e.g. I got "the package"). The only filtration I used was some floss between my sump baffles and Seachem Phosguard and DeNItrate in a low-flow DIY reactor ... which kept my PO4 at ~0.02 and my NO3 at 1-2.
The tank grew coralline on the glass quite easily (especially near the seams ... not sure if it something to do with slightly lower or more turbulent flow).
About 1 year into the hobby I began to read on the forums how ULNS ... or near zero P and N ... were very risky and prone to develop problems.
So, I removed the Phosguard and Denitrate and allowed my levels to rise to ~0.07 PO4 and 5-10 NO3.
My coralline growth slowed substantially. Instead of having to scrape coralline off the glass every 2-3 days, I rarely had to do it more than once a month, if that.
The only other major change to the tank was more/better coverage lighting -- from a Nanobox Duo to a Mitras LX7.
Little else had changed in the tank over that time.
Was it the change in lighting? Or the change in nutrients? Or perhaps both?
Not sure. But these two observations have stuck with me as I try to encourage a little more coralline growth in my recently set up 120g. (Although it can turn into a bit of a 'pest' when it really kicks in, IMO it's still a sign of a very healthy tank in regard to pro-SPS environment.)
The tank grew coralline on the glass quite easily (especially near the seams ... not sure if it something to do with slightly lower or more turbulent flow).
About 1 year into the hobby I began to read on the forums how ULNS ... or near zero P and N ... were very risky and prone to develop problems.
So, I removed the Phosguard and Denitrate and allowed my levels to rise to ~0.07 PO4 and 5-10 NO3.
My coralline growth slowed substantially. Instead of having to scrape coralline off the glass every 2-3 days, I rarely had to do it more than once a month, if that.
The only other major change to the tank was more/better coverage lighting -- from a Nanobox Duo to a Mitras LX7.
Little else had changed in the tank over that time.
Was it the change in lighting? Or the change in nutrients? Or perhaps both?
Not sure. But these two observations have stuck with me as I try to encourage a little more coralline growth in my recently set up 120g. (Although it can turn into a bit of a 'pest' when it really kicks in, IMO it's still a sign of a very healthy tank in regard to pro-SPS environment.)
OP
OP
Glenner’sreef
2500 Club Member
My 2022 focus is without question on my phosphates which are elevated because of my successful elimination of Blue Clove Polyps by dosing 4 grams of Fenbendazole. I started it in February. The phosphate numbers are dropping. I’m hopeful as the numbers go down that the purple magic will start showing up.
