2 Part Solution Bleaching Corraline Algae?

lzolnier · 02/12/2010, 02:55 PM

I use Kent's two part. Whenever I add this stuff to supplement daily Kalk, I tend to see patches of my live rock bleach white for a week or two. Is the 2 part responsible for this? Could it be an excess of calcium or alkalinity? Or are there other ingrediants in the Kent's product that could be responsible for the bleaching?

ct103 · 02/12/2010, 04:16 PM

I wouldn't think so. What params are you testing and what are they? I dose daily with the same and have not had any problems.

lzolnier · 02/12/2010, 09:08 PM

What are the possible causes of corraline algae bleaching? All my params are within guildeline. My phospaphates are slightly high at .05.

The Velvet Sea · 02/12/2010, 09:09 PM

How do you go about dosing your 2part?

lzolnier · 02/12/2010, 10:21 PM

Each bottle seperetly, according to directions. So 2 capfuls of each bottle on my 40gal system, roughly once or twice a week. I add 1 gal. of Kalk solution (1 teaspoon of powder) every day w/ vinegar.

bassking16 · 02/13/2010, 12:44 AM

My Coraline Algae bleached out when I upgraded my lights to MH. It still grows and spreads like crazy, but the algae that is exposed to the light is alot lighter in color.
I wouldn't think that dosing two part would cause bleaching unless your Alk is way off the chart and burning the Algae.

lzolnier · 02/13/2010, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassking16

My Coraline Algae bleached out when I upgraded my lights to MH. It still grows and spreads like crazy, but the algae that is exposed to the light is alot lighter in color.
I wouldn't think that dosing two part would cause bleaching unless your Alk is way off the chart and burning the Algae.

Oh yeah i forgot to mention, I did get MH lights recently. They are giesemann 150W and the tank is 29gal. They are about 5 inches above. Should I place them higher or give some time for the rocks to adjust? BTW: has it been shown that Alk can bleach coralline algae? I keep my alk levels in the high range usually about 4 meq/l.

bertoni · 02/13/2010, 02:17 AM

I haven't seen any data that suggest that alkalinity in that range can bleach coralline algae. If the coralline got enough of a blast of a high-pH solution, that might do something.

MH can kill back coralline, IME. You might try moving the bulbs up or you could just wait to see how the coralline responds.

bassking16 · 02/13/2010, 11:06 AM

I'd bet that your coraline is reacting to the MH lighting like mine did. You will notice that the algae that is exposed to the high power lights will lighten in color, but should survive. All my shaded areas in my rocks have either deep purple or deep red color coraline. However, my back glass is a real light pink.

As mentioned above, you could raise your lights a bit, or just wait it out to see what happens. All your other params look good, so the coraline should survive, and will eventually adapt to the new lighting.

02/12/2010, 02:55 PM	#1
lzolnier Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 90	2 Part Solution Bleaching Corraline Algae? I use Kent's two part. Whenever I add this stuff to supplement daily Kalk, I tend to see patches of my live rock bleach white for a week or two. Is the 2 part responsible for this? Could it be an excess of calcium or alkalinity? Or are there other ingrediants in the Kent's product that could be responsible for the bleaching?

02/13/2010, 12:44 AM	#6
bassking16 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 336	My Coraline Algae bleached out when I upgraded my lights to MH. It still grows and spreads like crazy, but the algae that is exposed to the light is alot lighter in color. I wouldn't think that dosing two part would cause bleaching unless your Alk is way off the chart and burning the Algae. __________________ If you don't want to stand behind our troops, then feel free to stand in front of them! Current Tank Info: 150g SPS 55g Sump/Fuge/Frag Tank

02/13/2010, 02:17 AM	#8
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I haven't seen any data that suggest that alkalinity in that range can bleach coralline algae. If the coralline got enough of a blast of a high-pH solution, that might do something. MH can kill back coralline, IME. You might try moving the bulbs up or you could just wait to see how the coralline responds. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

02/13/2010, 11:06 AM	#9
bassking16 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 336	I'd bet that your coraline is reacting to the MH lighting like mine did. You will notice that the algae that is exposed to the high power lights will lighten in color, but should survive. All my shaded areas in my rocks have either deep purple or deep red color coraline. However, my back glass is a real light pink. As mentioned above, you could raise your lights a bit, or just wait it out to see what happens. All your other params look good, so the coraline should survive, and will eventually adapt to the new lighting. __________________ If you don't want to stand behind our troops, then feel free to stand in front of them! Current Tank Info: 150g SPS 55g Sump/Fuge/Frag Tank

02/12/2010, 04:16 PM	#2
ct103 Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Enterprise, AL Posts: 420	I wouldn't think so. What params are you testing and what are they? I dose daily with the same and have not had any problems.

02/12/2010, 09:08 PM	#3
lzolnier Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 90	What are the possible causes of corraline algae bleaching? All my params are within guildeline. My phospaphates are slightly high at .05.

02/12/2010, 09:09 PM	#4
The Velvet Sea Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 450	How do you go about dosing your 2part?

02/12/2010, 10:21 PM	#5
lzolnier Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 90	Each bottle seperetly, according to directions. So 2 capfuls of each bottle on my 40gal system, roughly once or twice a week. I add 1 gal. of Kalk solution (1 teaspoon of powder) every day w/ vinegar.