Coraline bleached from too much light

[kelly_and_brian]

I upgraded my lights with only LR in the tank and didn't think about the coraline bleaching, so the coraline closer to the top of the tank has bleached.

I have since reduced my light duration, will the coraline color up again, or is it dead?

 

[Pandora]

coralline is pretty hardy, and in fact, I've had LR, which was formally very purple, kept out of light in a circulating holding tank for >1month, which colored up nicely under the right conditions. I believe that the spores of this algae are pretty resilient.

 

[Fast Fred]

Most likely, over time, you'll find that there are different colors of coraline that will live in your tank, depending on available light. I've seen bright lime green, red, maroon, and different shades of purple. Don't worry too much about it. When your tank ages, you'll see what grows where.

 

[MOX]

wow neat mines just purple but i am happy with purple

 

[Paintbug]

Re: Coraline bleached from too much light

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6528304#post6528304 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kelly_and_brian
I upgraded my lights with only LR in the tank and didn't think about the coraline bleaching, so the coraline closer to the top of the tank has bleached.

I have since reduced my light duration, will the coraline color up again, or is it dead?

this is a normal reaction to any type of light change. it should regain its color and or re-grow new coralline over the next few weeks.

 

[nightOwl]

kelly_and_brian,
I had the same issue with my light fixture so I hung the lights and I do weekly coraline scraps with a razor. This helps speed up the process IMO. I had some that was went from a nice color purple to a faded off white. It has however in the last couple of weeks shown signs that the color is coming back with new purple spots starting to cover the bleached area. No need to worry. If possible raise you light or move the live rock further into the water and you should be fine. I have about 3 shades of purple, some maroon, and some ugly green.

Hope that helps,

Henry

 

[nightOwl]

kelly_and_brian,
I had the same issue with my light fixture so I hung the lights and I do weekly coraline scraps with a razor. This helps speed up the process IMO. I had some that was went from a nice color purple to a faded off white. It has however in the last couple of weeks shown signs that the color is coming back with new purple spots starting to cover the bleached area. No need to worry. If possible raise you light or move the live rock further into the water and you should be fine. I have about 3 shades of purple, some maroon, and some ugly green.

Hope that helps,

Henry

 

[kelly_and_brian]

I appreciate the responses. This is my first SW tank, and it is only 10 gallons (not much room to move the rock down). It has been cycling since 12/30/05, and I think we are nearing the end. There is some really dark purple down deeper that seems to like the light, it is definitly bigger than when I put the rock in.

I am really excited about getting into this, but I know that the more patience I have the more likely I will be successful. I still feel stupid for not researching upgrading lights before I did it. I figured there was nothing in the tank that would be harmed. OOPS.

 

[dead beat reef]

you got step 1 patience. lighiting change will take time for the
tank to adj. the coraline wiil come back. blog on. are you
G.F.I.?