2 Types of Red Algae Good, Bad or Indifferent

[Luvthekeys]

If bad I will remove otherwise will monitor.

Kind of Pinkish only in this spot almost dead center in photo



The upright ones not the red on the rock. looks like two different variations.

 

[lmforbis]

Those are nice to have. In time you may need to trim them but they will help with your water quality.
You got some nice hitchhikers on your rock. The red macros and the cool urchin.

 

[Kristin1234]

Man your coraline boomed fast.

 

[Kristin1234]

Howd you do that? Lol

 

[Luvthekeys]

Here is the rub! I can not get my calcium levels above 340 to 360 even using a calcium additive. However most of the dry rock has coraline growing on it in three weeks time. I have managed to raise my Magnesium levels with an additive. They were low too, 900 to 940, due to using Instant Ocean at least that is what it appears was causing the low Magnesium. It still it not up to suggested levels but each day it gets closer, today 1200. Carbonate Hardness moves between 7 and 9. I have used Kent buffer but do not want to overdo it. PH tests around 7.8 to 8.0 in the early morning. Why I am getting that growth is beyond me. So the answer to your question is "I have no Idea. Maybe beginners luck." If anyone can figure it out I would love to know.

P.S. What you are seeing in the photos is my live rock. It had good coralline when I got it. However it now has more and brighter too.

 

[lmforbis]

You might try switching to instant ocean reef crystals. They have higher levels of cal all and mag. In the mix because it is intended for reef tanks.

 

[Luvthekeys]

I plan on switching but I am loath to toss out what I have bought already. I bought enough for 200 gallons and I only have a 28 gallon Nano tank. That is a whole lot of water changes. However if I can not get things in order soon I will have to write off the loss and buy another brand. Thank you for your suggestion I will do some research On Instant Ocean Reef Crystals.

 

[pegasus]

The green algae looks like halimeda, and the pink between them looks like gracilaria. If it's halimeda, it is a slow grower, but nothing will eat it due to it's calcareous skelton. Red gracilaria, on the other hand, is a delicacy to many herbivorous and omnivorous fish... especially tangs and angels. If it is indeed halimeda, it won't do as well as gracilaria at removing ammonia, nitrite, nitrates, and phosphates due to it's slow rate of growth. That said, it's nice to get freebies that are beneficial to the system. Not sure what that is in the second picture, but it slightly favors dragon's breath. It'll be easier to identify when and if it grows. Congratulations!!!

Edit: Sorry, just noticed you weren't asking about the green... doh!!!

 

[pegasus]

Here is the rub! I can not get my calcium levels above 340 to 360 even using a calcium additive. However most of the dry rock has coraline growing on it in three weeks time. I have managed to raise my Magnesium levels with an additive. They were low too, 900 to 940, due to using Instant Ocean at least that is what it appears was causing the low Magnesium. It still it not up to suggested levels but each day it gets closer, today 1200. Carbonate Hardness moves between 7 and 9. I have used Kent buffer but do not want to overdo it. PH tests around 7.8 to 8.0 in the early morning. Why I am getting that growth is beyond me. So the answer to your question is "I have no Idea. Maybe beginners luck." If anyone can figure it out I would love to know.

P.S. What you are seeing in the photos is my live rock. It had good coralline when I got it. However it now has more and brighter too.

You're about to hit the target level with Magnesium. Good job! dKH of 7-9 is a good level, so I wouldn't be concerned with that. pH of 7.8-8 in the early morning is fine too, as pH rises through the day. With good coralline algae growth, I'm wondering if your test kit isn't off a bit. What brand is your Calcium test kit? Does it have an expiration date? If you could compare your readings with a different test, it would help confirm or deny your results.

 

[Luvthekeys]

The test kit i use for calcium is part of the API saltwater test kit. The expiration date is sometime in the distant future if I remember sometime in 2018. I am resisting the urge to move the Magnesium levels too fast. The seifert test kit for Magnesium seems kind of convoluted. With it is citing the lower and upper end of the plunger when holding it up to read and when holding it down in the bottle of test solution, I mean to me it the same end of the plunger just how you view it. At least I hope that is what it means. thanks for naming and explaining the two types of algae. However I was wondering about the pinkish algae right in front of the Halimeda. The live rock was covered with Halimeda when I received it. Most of it died during the cycle and I had pruned most of it away. It is coming back albeit slowly.

 

[pegasus]

Test kits can be a bit confusing, that's for sure. I use Red Sea Pro to test Magnesium. I used to use Salifert kits to test for Alkalinity and Magnesium, but now use Hanna Checkers for those. I had what I thought was Briopsis, and was attempting to treat it with Kent Marine Tech-M, and that's when I bought the Red Sea Pro Mag, Nitrate, and Phosphate kits. With the Nitrate and Phosphate kits, once the color change had occured, I simply had to read the amount of reagent left in the syringe. The Magnesium kit was backwards, and I had to read the amount of titrant used. Naturally, when I first started using these kits and was in a hurry to test all three, without refreshing my memory by reading the instructions, I'd mess up on the Mag test. There was a stretch of time when I was baffled because the more Magnesium I added to the tank, the lower my test results were. My target level for Mag was 1500-1600 ppm, but before I realized my error(s), the Mag level in my tank was 2000 ppm. Long story short, it turned out to be hair algae, not briopsis, so the Mag did nothing to it. I burned my mistake into memory, and haven't messed a test up since then. I learned that Mag can be raised rather quickly with no adverse effects, so you don't have to resist the urge to move it up to where you want it...

PS: The bottom flange of the plunger is your indicator when it comes to syringes. When I say bottom, I'm referring to the end of the plunger that faces the "needle". Rubber or plastic, the lowest part that breaks away from the wall of the syringe is what you use to measure with.

The test kit i use for calcium is part of the API saltwater test kit. However I was wondering about the pinkish algae right in front of the Halimeda.

You really should get a better test kit. Just saying...

The pinkish algae in front of the Halimeda... (first sentence, post #8) gracilaria.

 

[Luvthekeys]

Thanks again Pegasus for your informative responses as usual. That calcium problem has me stumped but everything seems to be doing fine, My coralline is spreading, I see shrimp molts floating in my tank. So I know they are doing alright. I have adding more stuff then I should but my ammonia and Nitrites stay at zero and my nitrates are below ten and most of the time below five. Do you have a recommendation for something to work on my sand bed. I had bought some narcissus snails but have not seen hide nor hair of them since I put them in the tank. I read that they should show up when I feed but they never come out of the sand if they are alive.

I have been dealing with saltwaterfish.com with mostly good luck. Only had two problems the first they took care of right away. the other was their mystery coral offer, it lasted only a day but it was a no questions no refund deal which I knew about before I bought it. A crapshoot but I knew that so no complaints. They are just across the state from me so I figured less distance less problems in shipping.

Imforbis I just ordered Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. If it works I will donate the 3 bags of Instant Ocean to someone who could use them. I think I know just the person. He helped me when I first set up the tank. He is also my financial advisor so maybe he will make me a little more money to cover the cost of the Reef Crystals. (LOL)

 

[flower]

Hi,

Your shrimp should not molt very often, how often since you started your tank has/have it/they molted? Shrimp SHOULD only molt when they outgrow their skin, and they don't grow that fast. If they are molting often, something is wrong. Molting when you first put them in the tank is normal, stress I think ... After that, you shouldn't see another molt skin right away.

Nassarius snails are seen mostly at night, how many do you have? If you have moonlights, you can see the night critters emerge, it's a whole new tank at night. You should be able to see their little nose tubes pocking out, they hide under the sand, which also helps to turn the sand and prevent toxin buildups. You could get a sand sifter goby, or a sand sifting star, but they feed on the fauna in the sand and deplete it (not a good thing). The nassarious snails eat wasted food, and turn the sand as they hide in it, maybe you just need to up their numbers.

 

[pegasus]

Nassarius snails usually stay buried in the sand during daylight, so the best time to get a head count on them is about an hour after the tank goes completely dark. I have quite a few of them in both of my tanks, but rarely see them during the day. Occasionally one or two will pop up during feeding, but not always. I also have sand sifting sea stars... but you need a good sized bed so they don't wipe out everything in it. Cerith snails are good for the sand bed, also. They, like Nassarius, bury in the sand during daylight and come out to feed at night. Both are good at keeping the sand sifted.

 

[Luvthekeys]

Flower I have seen three molts and I have three peppermint shrimp. I have not seen any nose tubes sticking out of the sand. I do have two cleaner clams sent to me by mistake. I have not seen them since they buried themselves. I also have a brittle sea star who arms make brief appearances from under my rocks. I believe I purchased ten Nassarius snails. Maybe I do have enough for a tank of my size.

By the way I have a Rainbow Ricordea 1 Poly that arrived Wed. How long before they usually open up. Right now it is kind of curled up. On saltwaterfish.com it says it can take up to eight weeks. That seems kind of long to me.

As for fish I have a Royal Gramma right now. I have a clownfish and a Lawnmower Blenny ordered. I think I that will be the max for a tank my size. I was torn between a goby and a clownfish with an Anemone.