Is this coralline algae?

[DavidJTawil]

Is this coralline algae beginning to grow?

 

[aggrofish]

No

 

[J.chemicals]

kinda hard to tell with the pictures you posted. but if you try to blow it and doesnt come off, then yes most likely.

 

[DavidJTawil]

kinda hard to tell with the pictures you posted. but if you try to blow it and doesnt come off, then yes most likely.

Doesn't blow off.

 

[DavidJTawil]

This might help

kinda hard to tell with the pictures you posted. but if you try to blow it and doesnt come off, then yes most likely.

 

[Lavey29]

Coraline algae will first start on your plastic parts like your powerheads long before it appears on rocks. Maybe around 6 month mark you will see it on the plastic if conditions are right.

 

[Chortanator]

Doesn't look like coralline. Do you have any live rock in there? It's hard to get coralline to start if you don't already have a rock with it on

 

[DavidJTawil]

Doesn't look like coralline. Do you have any live rock in there? It's hard to get coralline to start if you don't already have a rock with it on

I added coralline in a bottle a few months ago. Any idea what it is?

 

[Chortanator]

I added coralline in a bottle a few months ago. Any idea what it is?

Thinking back on it, I think I added that to my tank too when I first started. I had a mild cyano bloom at the time while I was also getting coralline, so I wasn't sure what was cyano and what was coralline in the early phases. Like Lavey says, it usually appears on flat smooth surfaces first, so you'd see patches of it on your glass, but it's not impossible that it could have started on your rock first. I know you went over it with a turkey baster, but have you tried a toothbrush? I find the film of cyano flush with the rock usually doesn't come off with flow, but it will come off with a toothbrush. If it's coralline, it won't come off at all.

 

[DavidJTawil]

Thinking back on it, I think I added that to my tank too when I first started. I had a mild cyano bloom at the time while I was also getting coralline, so I wasn't sure what was cyano and what was coralline in the early phases. Like Lavey says, it usually appears on flat smooth surfaces first, so you'd see patches of it on your glass, but it's not impossible that it could have started on your rock first. I know you went over it with a turkey baster, but have you tried a toothbrush? I find the film of cyano flush with the rock usually doesn't come off with flow, but it will come off with a toothbrush. If it's coralline, it won't come off at all.

So I just used a brush and nothing came off. I actually don't have any lights on the tank yet and whatever is growing is from the lights in the ceiling a few feet away from the tank. That could explain why it's only growing on the rocks closest to the light and not on anything plastic yet. If it is coralline algae this early then the bottled stuff is awesome.

 

[Chortanator]

I just looked into the coralline in a bottle and it seems like people are really having good results with it - so I'd say that it's probably coralline. Probably what was throwing people off was how new your tank looks

 

[aggrofish]

Arc has real coralline spores but I’m pretty sure they’re purple or pink. I’ve never seen coralline start growing on white rock. Anything’s possible but generally the rock get brown, then green and after green is the coralline.

 

[Jeffcb]

If it isn't, you will have some soon.

 

[DavidJTawil]

Arc has real coralline spores but I’m pretty sure they’re purple or pink. I’ve never seen coralline start growing on white rock. Anything’s possible but generally the rock get brown, then green and after green is the coralline

I tried scrubbing it off and it wouldn't budge so it's likely not diatoms. I thought it may be Cyanobacteria but it's not slimy. Looks like coralline but it is very strange how it's growing on such white rock. I'm thinking it has something to do with the fact that I don't have lights on yet and have my clear water scrubber running. Likely that the green turf algae is growing in the more optimal scrubber lighting than on the rocks which are getting light from the ceiling lights.