live rock turning white

cubuffs

Member
I have live rock that is covered with purple coraline algae. However, in the past few hours, the purple color is now turning white in many spots. What is causing my coraline to turn white?

Thanks in advance!
 
Check your temperature with a second thermometer. It should not get above 84 degrees. 85 is danger territory for coral bleaching. Also check chemistry, but temperature is more likely. Feel the glass. If it feels warm, it's not good.
 
Check your temps and water chemistry first an make sure you are OK there. Have you changed anything recently that could have an impact on the coraline, like lights? When I changed my lights from PCs to MHs about 30% of my colaline turned snow white. I asked the same questions on here that you did and go 2 different answers. The first was it was dieing due to the light change but not to worry, it will come back. The 2nd was that the coraline turns white as part of a growing cycle and not to worry, it was fine. As long as your water an temps are OK I believe your coraline will rebound as well. Now, mine is a deep purple and looks great.
 
I noticed that my tank was at 74 degrees in the morning, so I turned on my heater and the tank rose 7 degrees by the afternoon. The temperature swing, in my opinion, caused the coraline to bleach. Thanks for the help!
 
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