Coralline algae NEVER grows in my tank

[mattgumaer]

You sure you don't have something that consumes it, like an urchin or something? In my tanks, it just seems to show up, even in a relatively new tank started with all dry rock where I've been very careful about introductions.

Matt

 

[brian3]

Mine was not growing until I lowered my LED light intensity dramatically from 50% to 30%. Hard corals have more color and are growing great now at the lower lighting as well.

 

[murphreef]

Coraline all depends on the systems age and overall health (water chemistry). Older the system the more coraline you should have.

If your tank is not doing well you won't have coraline.

How are your corals and what do you have in the tank currently. I have a small 25g cube that i set back up in September and my back panel all rock and power heads are covered in coraline....

 

[blasterman789]

After years of having bigger tanks that grew all colors of coraline like crazy I was forced to downsize to smaller tanks after moving for practicality sake. First problem I ran into was not being able to coraline. I've always considered tanks that grow healthy coraline to be stable and healthy and found tanks that didn't to have other issues. Then again I know plenty of reefers who have healthy SPS tanks without coraline, so it's just my personal experience. There are healthy tanks that don't grow coraline, but I've never had a tank that grew healthy coraline that wasn't also a good over all tank in general.

I spent a summer setting up different small tanks and setting up various water params to try and resolve the issue along with taking notes on friends tanks that grew strong coraline. I didn't come up with a smoking gun, but I did find some variables with water quality that added up and I'm 90% certain they have something to do with it.

First, Coraline seems to require high solution amounts of calcium carbonate availability in the water column. Calcium takes many forms in a reef tank, but calcium carbonate is the one that keys coraline growth the most. Most of the calcium we add is in the form of calcium chloride (basically sidewalk de-icer) and this does not seem to help coraline growth. Note how tanks that run calcium reactors, use crappy well or tap water, have deep and established crushed coral beds etc all seem to have less problems with coraline growth. I found I could get a coraline to explode in a small tank by throwing a couple cups of dry crushed coral in it to the point the water was milky. I could run calcium levels in that same tank via test kits below 300, and yet coraline exploded.

High mag levels seem to help, likely keeping calcium carbonate molecules more soluble just like ionic calcium (theory)

Coraline also seems sensitive to low pH. Using kalk topoffs combined with not obsessing with calcium chloride levels caused coraline to take off.

Strong directional lighting like high powered LED fixtures seems to discourage coraline growth.

Coraline likes strong water flow. High water flows over crushed coral beds is a bonus along with some nitrate.

 

[Fourstars]

You need not to "hoover" but keep the perimeters stable. Also need nutrients to grow like any algae, Likes blue lower light levels of course that statement is relative. Find a nice rock at the LFS that is cover with it and use it to seed. Growing healthy coraline is the first step to growing healthy SPS.

 

[clevername]

is no one going to point out his post "Alk prwtty stable at 8-10"

Thats NOT stable! not even close!

 

[murphreef]

is no one going to point out his post "Alk prwtty stable at 8-10"

Thats NOT stable! not even close!

Agreed I always keep my alk between 8.0 - 8.4 dkh in my tank if my alk swung between 8 and 10 my corals would not be happy at all.

 

[Boochika]

Mine was not growing until I lowered my LED light intensity dramatically from 50% to 30%. Hard corals have more color and are growing great now at the lower lighting as well.

I suspect this is my issue as well. The small amount of coralline in my tank is almost white.

What kind of light do you have?

 

[murphreef]

I suspect this is my issue as well. The small amount of coralline in my tank is almost white.

What kind of light do you have?

I know this was not in regards to me but I dont think light is your issue.

On my small tank I run a Radion XR15 G4 PRO @ 100% 12" above my tank and my coraline grows like crazy..... I used to run a 250W Halide before switching to LED and coraline was fine too.

It all comes down to water chemistry and stability

 

[Boochika]

I know this was not in regards to me but I dont think light is your issue.



On my small tank I run a Radion XR15 G4 PRO @ 100% 12" above my tank and my coraline grows like crazy..... I used to run a 250W Halide before switching to LED and coraline was fine too.



It all comes down to water chemistry and stability

Thanks Murph for the input. I'm trying to still get it dialed in so I'm sure you're right. What is the definition of stability for each parameter?

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[murphreef]

Thanks Murph for the input. I'm trying to still get it dialed in so I'm sure you're right. What is the definition of stability for each parameter?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Man that's a tough one to be honest....

I feel like alk swings are huge and if you have excessive nutrients that really hampers coraline growth as well.

Try to keep you alk in control.... Like I said I have a doser for my tank and it stays in the low 8's.... I check my alk every other day to adjust dosing as needed (if needed).

Keeping things stable is really key in this hobby. Each tank is slightly different in terms of what is stable. For me I aim for Alk in the 8's, Calcium in the low 400s, Mag anything over 1300 and salinity of 1.025

To maintain stability I use an auto top off and a dosing system.... That way my doser doses my tank 4X's daily (every 8 hours) keeps things very stable and corals love stability.

Hows your nutrients? Do you have any nuisance algae?

 

[Boochika]

I had some really bad algae a while back but it's all gone now. My nutrients are super low. No trave of nitrate and .034 phosphate.

I have ATO and my alk is always 8.2-8.8.

I think my rocks just need to be cleaned.

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[murphreef]

Yea it seems tanks that are started with really healthy live rock get the best algae results the fastest.... but along with live rock comes hitch hickers and other nuisance things

Do your rocks have slime on them

 

[Boochika]

Ya a little bit of gunk all over them. Clean up crew slowly taking it off. It's clear and just a film but left over from algae outbreak I think.

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[brian3]

I use the 32" reefbreeders photon gen 1 now. Never had any luck growing coralline with 250W 10k or 14k MH lighting either, only thing that helped for me was lowering the intensity of the LED lighting and it colored up my hard corals and accelerated growth as well. I have an automatic water changer that does change about 2% of the water per day and that has not changed and I have always used the same salt, IO.

I suspect this is my issue as well. The small amount of coralline in my tank is almost white.

What kind of light do you have?

 

[fernalfer]

I'm growing corraline in a 20 gallon with a HOB filter and a $60 led light from my local fish store

 

[sde1500]

is no one going to point out his post "Alk prwtty stable at 8-10"

Thats NOT stable! not even close!

We could, but this user flamed out in a heap of drama some months back, so providing any advice to them would be quite pointless lol

 

[Fourstars]

I pointed that out for the record. Got to watch out for these dead zombie posts this ones almost a year old!:hmm4: