Trouble growing coraline algae

[duane9]

I could use some advice here. I cannot keep or continue to have my coraline grow. It was doing fine for a while. Ca levels were high, +/- 650, now it will not go above 300. I had trouble getting my Kh up there but it is now at 11. Mg steady at 1550. I have new T5's 4x54watts for 10 hours; blue + and purple.

I have seeded it with coraline from LFS and it was going well, now the purple and green patches are turning white. The tank is seasoned over a year. I want to start adding other soft corals and LPS, I had a bubble tip, but that just did not make it after a 6 week period.

Any help would be appreciated.

[turkeyfish]

I keep my calcium at about 420 and alk at 10-11 with dosing. The steadier you keep it I think the better everything grows.

I have to take my koralia's out every 4-6 months and chip the coraline algae off.

[Reefing Newbie]

You want your calcium levels around 450, alk between 9-10, and mag at 1300. When you get to this point really all that you need to do is add kalk in your top off water. Trust me on this, once you get it growing you will wish it was gone. Looks very nice on the rock work, but it is a PITA to remove from equipment and glass after it is very well established. I have a 46 gallon tank(holding my CUC until my tank is back up and ready for them) with ~50lbs of LR(lots of coriline on it, purple and green mostly with some red) and I have purple coraline algae growing literally every where in the tank. Bottom glass, filter intake, air tubing, powerhead, temp probe cord... etc.

[duane9]

That is pretty good.I wish that would happen to me. I've been using seachem reef calcium and reef complete, adding 40ml of each every day in 80 gallons with no movement of Ca level. Should I try a different product to raise the Ca?

Could you send me some of your chippings?

[DownwardDawg]

Phosphates and nitrates. Test those and see what you got. I say that because I too have trouble growing it in my 29 gal tank but I know I have high phosphates. I don't run a skimmer in that tank and I'm not running any GFO. (no sump and no room for all the extra equipment) I just do 20% water changes every 2 weeks and I blow off all the rocks real good with a powerhead before I siphon the water.

[duane9]

If you have the good coraline growing, doesn't that keep the unwanted stuff away. I have a brown, dusty looking on most of my rock and in the corners of the tanks. I can blow it off right before I do a water change, but it keeps settling back like I didn't do anything. Could this some sort of diatom?

[duane9]

My PO4 @ 0.01 using Hanna Meter and NH3/NH4 @ 0. I'm running GFO and Carbon, plus I have a 20 gallon sump, with cheata that has tripled in size over a two month period.

[DownwardDawg]

Originally Posted by duane9

My PO4 @ 0.01 using Hanna Meter and NH3/NH4 @ 0. I'm running GFO and Carbon, plus I have a 20 gallon sump, with cheata that has tripled in size over a two month period.

Dang. Well, I'm out of ideas.

[Reefing Newbie]

I have no idea how to get your calc up sorry. If you read my name I am not exactly pro at this hobby yet. I just know how to read the tests and know when they are off. I haven't had calcium, magnesium, or alk problems(probably because my 125 DT has been torn down for the past 2 months).

[mussel and hate]

Originally Posted by duane9

I have a brown, dusty looking on most of my rock and in the corners of the tanks. I can blow it off right before I do a water change, but it keeps settling back like I didn't do anything. Could this some sort of diatom?

Sounds to me as though your tank could benefit from some more flow. Perhaps some alternating or random flow.

[bkoo29]

Check to see if u have any small starfish the size if a nailhead. These things eat most of my coralline algae so I got a harlequin shrimp so it could go to work.

[duane9]

This is the part that has me confused. I have been putting in few small frags in the DT, only to have them die. I do not have any Copper readings, plus I have CupriSorb in the refug. That has not changed color since I put it in there. My LFS has run out of ideas also. I use the same RO/DI water that they do.

[reefgeezer]

I think Coraline grows better in higher nutrient/lower light systems. Also, if that brown dust you spoke of is really dino's, the coraline won't grow well at all where they are growing.

I would suggest getting the CA up though. Calcium chloride or a turbo calcium product is best for rapidly raising it. If you add the quantity suggested by the reef calculator on the home page and it doesn't raise, I'd have someone else check the calcium and magnesium level. You might have a bad kit.

[duane9]

Good points, I know there are no starfish, because I did an acid bath on all my rock over a year ago. I did a complete rebuild of the DSB and new mud in the refug. I've been taking my time to get the tank cycled, over a year now.

I just put 2 1300 gallon wave maker pumps in to replace my 750 gh powerheads. It is not set up on alternating current yet. I hope to get that part going in the near future.

I agree with the lighting; I have a 8X54 watt t5 with daylight bulbs set to come on for mid-day, but I only run it for about an hour. My test kits are elos triation and were recently replaced. When I seeded the first coralline I turned off the pumps to get it started.

[duane9]

reefgeezer, what are the nutrients that you refer to? And the Calcium Chloride? is it one of Randy Holmes formula's?

What would cause the white patches where the coralline was nicely starting?

[duane9]

Good points, I know there are no starfish, because I did an acid bath on all my rock over a year ago. I did a complete rebuild of the DSB and new mud in the refug. I've been taking my time to get the tank cycled, over a year now.

I just put 2 1300 gallon wave maker pumps in to replace my 750 gh powerheads. It is not set up on alternating current yet. I hope to get that part going in the near future.

I agree with the lighting; I have a 8X54 watt t5 with daylight bulbs set to come on for mid-day, but I only run it for about an hour. My test kits are elos triation and were recently replaced. When I seeded the first coralline I turned off the pumps to get it started.

[duane9]

reefgeezer, what are the nutrients that you refer to? And the Calcium Chloride? is it one of Randy Holmes formula's?

What would cause the white patches where the coralline was nicely starting?

[mussel and hate]

I suspect the brown dust you see settling on the rocks is detritus. If this is detritus and it is settling on the rockwork then you still could use some more turbulent flow, but in light of your 2600gph wavemakers this probably isn't the cause of your problem.

By white patches I assume you mean the coraline turned white as opposed to is stripped to bare rock. Whenever I've experienced this it is due to some adverse environmental condition. It could be a localized problem or one related to water quality the specific area/s effected often provides a clue as to cause.

What are your phosphate levels? It is my understanding that coraline algae grows poorly in water with high levels of phosphate. I believe it inhibits calcification.

300ppm is a little on the low side for calcium and your alk seems high at 11dKh. I've never used the seachem products that you are dosing but if memory serves 'Seachem Reef Calcium' is mostly calcium gluconate and 'Seachem Reef Complete' is primarily Calcium Chloride with magnesium and strontium. I seem to recall some discussion questioning as to whether Reef Complete was ionically balanced. Should your phosphate levels turn out to be low you might ask about your calcium/alkalinity levels in the chemistry forum where the experts lurk.

If by white spots you mean stripped to the bare rock then you have something grazing your coraline. Look for stars, urchins, crabs,limpets some varieties of all these animals enjoy munching on coraline algaes.

That's about all I can offer, good luck.

[rizon25]

Has anyone used reef accelerator by Instant ocean to increase coralline algae growth?

From their label it says:

"Restore chemical elements important to coral growth with just one bottle. Simple-to-use solution eliminates the need for complicated reactors or multiple bottles that add up in cost. Enjoy single bottle reef supplementation with the all-in-one, Instant Ocean Reef Accelerator. Use regularly to restore and maintain balanced levels of calcium, magnesium, strontium, iodine and trace elements to encourage growth and coloration of coral and coralline algae. 8.45 oz treats 500 gallons and 16.9 oz treats 1,000 gallons. "

[iwishtofish]

I'm having the same issue. I haven't tested for phosphate recently, as I don't have a low-range kit. I do run GFO, have an over-sized skimmer, and can't grow algae other than a dusting on the glass every 4-5 days. My Ca is 420, alk around 7-8dKH, Mg around 1250.

What's your pH?

[whipsaw]

used to have the same problem in one of my tanks.

I accidentally fixed it by changing out half of my crushed coral substrate for sugar oolite, allowing pods and worms that eat cyano and diatoms to flourish. I also gave up on growing coralline in the tank and switched the lighting to much dimmer bulbs of the wrong color spectrum.

as soon as I did those two things the coralline started popping up all over the tank, and the stuff that had previously bleached began getting its color back.

[dnsfpl]

based on my experience

no3 less than 10
ca above 420
kh above 7

[duane9]

The white spots look like bleached out areas, they are on more than one rock. It looks like the color just disappeared.

I think I've done everything that everyone has suggested, My sand bed is made up or both sugar sand and crushed coral, most the sugar sand. I just added about 75 florida ceriths to the CUC. The sand looks pretty clean now. My chemical properties must not be in balance somewhere.

What kind of lighting spectrum did you shift to that started the coralline growth?

[reefgeezer]

Originally Posted by duane9

reefgeezer, what are the nutrients that you refer to? And the Calcium Chloride? is it one of Randy Holmes formula's?

What would cause the white patches where the coralline was nicely starting?

"Nutrients" generally mean nitrate, phosphate, dissolved organics and other interim and end products of biological processes. "Nutrients" are all the things we don't want in our systems. It seems to me that the Coraline grew better in my tank when I had measurable nitrates and phosphates, and lower light levels.

Calcium chloride is included in Randy's two part formulas and is available in many forms. I use Kent Turbo-calcium just because I'm lazy, don't need a lot, and it works. There are plenty of cheaper products including driveway ice melt products. A specific concentration can be attained when mixed with purified water (Part 1 in Randy's formula, I think). This allows you to add it easily and raise levels quickly and maintain them easily. Be advised that you can raise it too high and cause a snow storm in the tank, or get a lot of calcium build-up in pumps and other surfaces. Also... although I really don't understand why... if magnesium levels are low, you may have trouble raising the the calcium levels.

[AlfieReef]

My 2 cents. You might also get some snails to clean up the rocks, if there are algae growing on the rocks already it's hard for coraline to establish.