Coralline no show

[GillMeister]

My last reef tank started growing coralline immediately and aggressively. And I wasn't exactly attentive with that system. I rarely checked my water, wasn't religious about water changes, and the tank wasn't very clean.

My new system has been running since June and I only have a few spots of coralline on the rock I used to seed the tank. Those spots aren't growing or spreading. What gives? Am I being impatient?

 

[WIReefer]

Just give it more time and keep everything stable and it will grow.

 

[brandon429]

my power compact reef used to require coralline scraping/ quarter inch from all areas with a razor twice a year or the entire glass would blot out. after installing kessil led's I have not seen a spot of new coralline since 2015. i miss the scraping.

 

[SPS2020]

I'd say count your blessings! lol Coralline is a pain to keep off the glass (IMO). I started a new tank in August and am happy to see no coralline growth yet. As WIReefer says, give it time and it will grow.

 

[GillMeister]

my power compact reef used to require coralline scraping/ quarter inch from all areas with a razor twice a year or the entire glass would blot out. after installing kessil led's I have not seen a spot of new coralline since 2015. i miss the scraping.

There might be something to this. I had halides on my old system and I've gone to LEDs on the new one. My few SPS are mostly doing fine with good color, just no coralline.

 

[brandon429]

now I feel reef naked w o it

coralline was like a thick manbeard it justified your ion balance to others especially if the reef weighed only 8 pounds it needed beef signals inherent.

this was before, just about filled up lol

im trying to find my pic of when it was totally opaque I cut out a little viewing window in the front it was neat pic. looked like a pink vase.

 

[PokeFish]

Hm well my tank is 3 months old and its just starting to grow green coralline. It started growing it at about 1 month old, but it just recently started exploding with coralline.

 

[Finnaddict]

Dont think its a light thing. I have had coraline grow under every light source possible. Even grows in my fuge.
I agree with @WIReefer. Proper and stable water chemistry is the key.

 

[brandon429]

Truly there are some LED's still having to scrape, I just can not pinpoint how to get mine back there. maybe I should dose the bottled coralline?

 

[Rjukan]

@GillMeister what salt are you using. What did you use back then?

 

[GillMeister]

@GillMeister what salt are you using. What did you use back then?

I'm using Tropic Marin Pro exclusively now. Back then I used mostly IO Reef Crystals or whatever was on sale.

 

[GillMeister]

Truly there are some LED's still having to scrape, I just can not pinpoint how to get mine back there. maybe I should dose the bottled coralline?

I dosed. No effect whatsoever. Just a little lighter in the wallet.

 

[Jeffcb]

You may want to try Red Sea KH Coralline Grow Supplement.

 

[Nano sapiens]

Restricted coralline algae growth is a common theme with many systems using LEDs (but not all). Usually, aquaria that are a little 'dirty' grow CA more easily, but with the current common types of LED lighting it appears something that CA require may not be present, or in abundance (different wavelengths, or some of the existing wavelengths at higher intensity?).

Like Brandon429, I had CA growing like crazy under power compacts/NO T12 fluorescents back in the day, but today even with a DIY 'complete spectrum' LED and a 12+ year old system it grows very slowly. I can increase growth a bit by increasing nutrients, but nothing like what I had under the older types of lighting.

 

[GillMeister]

Dont think its a light thing. I have had coraline grow under every light source possible. Even grows in my fuge.
I agree with @WIReefer. Proper and stable water chemistry is the key.

My alkalinity has been running high and my pH fluctuates, but every other parameter has been solid.

 

[GillMeister]

Restricted coralline algae growth is a common theme with many systems using LEDs (but not all). Usually, aquaria that are a little 'dirty' grow CA more easily, but with the current common types of LED lighting it appears something that CA require may not be present, or in abundance (different wavelengths, or some of the existing wavelengths at higher intensity?).

Like Brandon429, I had CA growing like crazy under power compacts/NO T12 fluorescents back in the day, but today even with a DIY 'complete spectrum' LED and a 12+ year old system it grows very slowly. I can increase growth a bit by increasing nutrients, but nothing like what I had under the older types of lighting.

Agreed. The biggest difference between now and then for me is the lighting. Halides are a major pain in the posterior but I could not believe how everything grew when using them.

 

[Nano sapiens]

One of the better reads on CCA available on the Internet:

https://reefs.com/2020/02/08/coralline-algae-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-important-in-reef-tanks/

It address lighting, but doesn't specifically address differences in lighting types:


Lighting Requirements
Light levels for Coralline Algae is a contentious topic because there are hundreds of different species. It’s best to seed your aquarium with several varieties; Nature will take its course and the species best adapted to your light levels will flourish.

However, if you’re intentionally looking to nurture Coralline Algae, light levels no more than 5 watts per gallon with a strong blue spectrum (such as blue actinic light) encourages growth in most species.


Many of today's LED equipped reef aquariums run a strong blue spectrum with little CCA growth, so that's not the whole story. Perhaps it's the combination of 'heavy blue' and too high an intensity that the common CCA have difficulty with?

 

[AlgaeBarn]

https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/aquarium-supplies/coralline-algae-bottle/ You can always try this, many people can confirm that it works! Yes, there is also patience and time, however if you have a spare 45$ laying around but no spare patience, this is the way to go! ~Shaun K.

 

[TriggerFinger]

I use viparspectra LEDs and have good coraline growth. It took a while though. I noticed it took off off after I scraped the walls and crushed up coraline from another tank and dumped it in the flow.

 

[92Miata]

There might be something to this. I had halides on my old system and I've gone to LEDs on the new one. My few SPS are mostly doing fine with good color, just no coralline.

Meh - my 40 went up in June with G3 Radions and (90%+ )dry rock and the back acrylic/bottom starboard are solidly covered - rocks are way behind, but are spotty. Its not LEDs.

Coralline loves SPS conditions - lots of flow, clean water, stable relatively high alk.


It also grows like sps - if you start with a tiny piece - it takes forever to get enough mass to start growing quickly. The advice people give that "you'll get it via frag plugs and snail shells" is awful advice - it takes FOREVER to get established like that.


Its a hugely beneficial reef organism - and its lack is a major driver in dry rock issues. Be aggressive in seeding it. I've added both ARC Helix and Fusion, in edition to a couple small covered rocks.