Is this coralline algae?

[Nem0]

Still new to the salt water hobby !!

i noticed green dots/algae growing on my live and baserock. I don't think its hair algae because I could not scrape it off with my fingers...not sure if its coralline either lol!

The tank is about 3 weeks old and completely cycled (used live rock, live sand, biospira). I added a single firefish and one skunk cleaner in a week ago. I have about 8 pounds of rock in the tank, the green stuff is growing primarily on the live rock (about 3 pounds), not too sure if it came with some of it on the rock. pics are of the live rock.

let me know what you guys think it is or need any more info!

 

[Justfebreezeit]

Probably not.

You will see plenty of various algaes as your tank matures

 

[jpas]

Are you sure that’s live rock? It looks very clean to be live, it might be cured

 

[Nem0]

Are you sure that’s live rock? It looks very clean to be live, it might be cured

pretty sure! LFS guy said it was and he's trustworthy. It seems to be base rock thats seeded.

 

[Dpate]

Haha “ the LFS guy said it is and he’s trustworthy”

 

[mikenestle]

It looks like some sort of algae growth. I agree the rocks look pretty clean. Keep an eye on your ammonia.

 

[ilyad]

It's probably way to early for your tank to get coralline algae. In fact, it may not be fully cycled at only 3 weeks. Be careful adding fish as its still young and doing it too fast can spike the ammonia levels fast. That being said, while your tank goes through its various stages in the first few months, you'll see all sorts of green, brown, and possibly red algae's. You can add some cleanup crew (snails, hermits) that'll help keep the that algae down as your tank goes through its uglies.

 

[Matt Carden]

This is what coraline growth looks like in my tank from "true ocean live rock"

 

[Dpate]

This is what coraline growth looks like in my tank from "true ocean live rock"

Can’t see it!

 

[lapin]

Im going to say no to the "is this coralline". In my tanks, a lot of algae and cyano start off as a discoloring on the rock. After a few weeks they bloom out and can be identified. For me coralline starts out as a tiny spot on the rock and nothing else grows on it. It is also something that I can scrape off. Sort of like a drop of paint. I have white, green and purple. They might all be the same strain but in different stages of growth. I only notice the white and green on the sides of my tank and in the overflow box. With the white new rock I have never seen it grow on the surfaces until 9 months to a year.
I am not a coralline expert. These are just my observations.

 

[jpas]

Once you have stabile parameters, get a piece of live rock that is covered in coralline, be carful not to get a piece that is man made and painted purple, make sure it flakes off. Add that to your tank and it will grow like crazy if you have proper lighting and water.

 

[jpas]

I also agree with lapin, you usually don’t get good growth for several months after start up, but anything is possible.

 

[jpas]

Also the term live rock is often used for dry rock, I’m not sure why, but many popular resellers list it as dry live rock, when in fact there is zero living organisms in it

 

[Nem0]

Haha “ the LFS guy said it is and he’s trustworthy”

to my knowledge! he's aa genuine guy and i doubt he would tell me it is when it wasn't. plus it looks like live rock and there are some growths on it

 

[Nem0]

Im going to say no to the "is this coralline". In my tanks, a lot of algae and cyano start off as a discoloring on the rock. After a few weeks they bloom out and can be identified. For me coralline starts out as a tiny spot on the rock and nothing else grows on it. It is also something that I can scrape off. Sort of like a drop of paint. I have white, green and purple. They might all be the same strain but in different stages of growth. I only notice the white and green on the sides of my tank and in the overflow box. With the white new rock I have never seen it grow on the surfaces until 9 months to a year.
I am not a coralline expert. These are just my observations.

Okay thank you. I wasn't sure. I did some googling and most other sources said they couldnt really scrape off their coralline but they could normal algae. I'll get a better CUC this weekend

 

[Matt Carden]

This is what live rock looks like after a week in tank

 

[ilyad]

Here’s some more coralline algae pics. The snail is covered in it too. You can tell coralline purple very well. Even a tiny speck will be very solid and bright purple.

 

[Nem0]

This is what live rock looks like after a week in tank

haha dang...well mine does not look remotely like that...