coraline algae taking over

dustintx

Member
So I posted a while back about green,purple,pink algae and even brown. Now its 2 months later and the brown is gone and the green is being taken over by the pink and purple,more so the purple. Now my peppermint shrimp is carrying eggs which is a good sign but not sure what to do about it.
 

dustintx

Member
Its actually pretty awesome and I was checking it out last night and I have a baby blue algae showing now.
 
S

smallreef

Guest
I would be HAPPY to take your rock off of your hands,lol
It just means you have a good balance of alk/mag/calcium....if you added some sps or lps (if you have the lighting) it may slow the coralline grown down by using all of the elemnts that are helping it be so prolific...but again its a good thing...if you dont want it on your glass get a really good razor :)
 

btldreef

Moderator
Just wanted to throw this out there: there actually is a point where corraline algae can become a problem. I have some rocks that have gotten so covered in coralline algae that the coralline actually inhibits the rocks being able to filter anything. If your coralline is really covering the entire rock and it's a thick layer, you should go ahead and chip some off. This will also help to grow coralline in other places in your tank.
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///t/391807/coraline-algae-taking-over#post_3478748
Just wanted to throw this out there: there actually is a point where corraline algae can become a problem. I have some rocks that have gotten so covered in coralline algae that the coralline actually inhibits the rocks being able to filter anything. If your coralline is really covering the entire rock and it's a thick layer, you should go ahead and chip some off. This will also help to grow coralline in other places in your tank.
What if most of the aerobic respiration by bacteria occurred underneath the rocks and some within the rocks where coralline doesn't grow? What if with mature live rock other higher forms of life such as microdusters and other filter feeders filter excessive food out of the water before it has a chance to break down into ammonia? Isn't most of the bacteria located in high flow areas like through a sump that contains mechanical filtration? Doesn't coralline algae filter water by removing some amount of nitrate and phosphate - (even though they mostly consume calcium and alkalinity... they are algae - and require a fertilizer as well?) I'm just curious - I might have to re-think a few things. :D
 

woody189

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///t/391807/coraline-algae-taking-over#post_3478748
Just wanted to throw this out there: there actually is a point where corraline algae can become a problem. I have some rocks that have gotten so covered in coralline algae that the coralline actually inhibits the rocks being able to filter anything. If your coralline is really covering the entire rock and it's a thick layer, you should go ahead and chip some off. This will also help to grow coralline in other places in your tank.
Never thought about that, but I guess it makes sense. I wouldn't mind having that problem though.
 

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/391807/coraline-algae-taking-over#post_3478756
What if most of the aerobic respiration by bacteria occurred underneath the rocks and some within the rocks where coralline doesn't grow? What if with mature live rock other higher forms of life such as microdusters and other filter feeders filter excessive food out of the water before it has a chance to break down into ammonia? Isn't most of the bacteria located in high flow areas like through a sump that contains mechanical filtration? Doesn't coralline algae filter water by removing some amount of nitrate and phosphate - (even though they mostly consume calcium and alkalinity... they are algae - and require a fertilizer as well?) I'm just curious - I might have to re-think a few things. :D
Without getting crazy technical (because frankly I don't want to and have a 6 week old sitting on my lap while I type, lol), I want the most filtration possible. So when my rocks get really (and I mean fully) clogged up with coralline algae, I chip some off. It allows for seeding of coralline on other rocks throughout the tank as well. The rocks that get the build up the most seem to be the rocks on my base so there is no under side for them to still offer filtation. I also don't think that coralline really consumes that much nitrate or phosphate, not nearly as much as say Chaeto, or similar less calcerous algaes.
 
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