is this coraline?

[Sarahbell430]

Hi all...about two months in after my cycle and i noticed this today one one of my "dead" rocks. it is a mauve/pink color...is it coraline algae starting to grow?

 

[thegrun]

looks like it.

 

[AlSimmons]

It might be Coralline Algae, but a spot like that doesn't just show up out of the blue. It usually starts off as a small spec and then progressively gets bigger & bigger over time. Cyanobacteria on the other hand can show up much faster and in larger quantities. Does it come off easily if you rub it with your finger? If so, it's not Coralline algae.

 

[Rishsd]

It might be Coralline Algae, but a spot like that doesn't just show up out of the blue. It usually starts off as a small spec and then progressively gets bigger & bigger over time. Cyanobacteria on the other hand can show up much faster and in larger quantities. Does it come off easily if you rub it with your finger? If so, it's not Coralline algae.

I agree with this. I was fooled by Cyanobacteria. I am 5 months in and coraline is just starting in my tank and I introduced it from another tank.

 

[Sarahbell430]

You're right - i rubbed right off. Thankfully there are no other spots. I do have a bloom of what I think id lime green coraline - that doesn't scrub off

 

[Sarahbell430]

so there are two more small spots of the pink cyanobacteria near where the last one was ...do i just scrub them off?

 

[neoh74]

i would wipe it off. Do you have any astrea snails? They can keep it stirred up for you. I dont think they actually eat it.

 

[Sarahbell430]

i scrubbed the other spots, and yes i have 2 aster snails...i see 4 os so new small spots and one small spot os far from where the initial spot was...do I scrub where I see the spots??

 

[Tcox]

Sounds like to me you may be fixing to have a cyano bloom. Personally I would be a little more aggressive with your nutrient export. With cyano, a good way to think of it is to eliminate, export, and outcompete. Try lights off or reduce your lighting. Then step up your water changes a little. Lastly, you would be shocked how well chaeto and or GFO would work.

 

[Sarahbell430]

you were right Tcox - I got a cyan bloom for sure ...i upped my Ph it was 7.8 so i raised it to 8 and just dosed some chemi clean tonight - will do a 20% water change saturday morning and cross my fingers.

I got a reef test kit as apposed to a saltwater kit and these are what i think my parameters are:

Ph 7.9
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
phosphate 0.25
kh 179
calcium 520

 

[Sarahbell430]

chaeto needs to be in a refugium, correct? I only have a 10 gallon sump - can i do a tiny refugium?...what is GFO?