Coraline Algae

herefshyfishy

herefshyfishy

Member
I have noticed the last couple of days that my CA was fading..I had really nice greens and reds a little dark purple. But is the past 2 days it looks like the color is going away and getting white.
Is there any specific reason for this..?
Im in the middle of a cycle and my readings as of yesterday are:
Amm-0
Trites-2
Trates-40
SG-1.023
pH-8.2
Temp-81
Does anyone know why this is happening...? :thinking:
 
herefshyfishy

herefshyfishy

Member
I have my lights on from 5pm-9pm..is that bad (just have the LR in the tank) and its just the regular light that came with the tank...
I dont know my calcium...i dont have a test for that..
 
mynameis

mynameis

Member
It is very common for coraline algae to die off when going through your cycle. Once your cycle is complete do a water change and keep an eye on your calcium and alk lvls...check for phosphates as they are a factor in it regenerating (you want 0 phos). As long as you keep all of your levels in range the coraline will grow back. Just give it some time and before you know it you'll be asking how you can stop it from growing all over the glass so fast
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Maintaining Alkalinity is the most important trace element for Calcarious organisms like Coralline and Corals.
 
herefshyfishy

herefshyfishy

Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
Maintaining Alkalinity is the most important trace element for Calcarious organisms like Coralline and Corals.
I never tested for Alk... what should it be?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Natural Sea water is typically 2.0Meq/L. I'd recommend slightly higher because our systems are enclosed. 2.5 - 3.5Meq/L is good. I don't recommend going higher than 3.5Meq/L.
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
the light cycle may be a little ... light.. (pun intended). its an organism that requires light to grow. 4 hrs a day might not be enough.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
closer to 10-12 hours. i would leave it on for at least that with those cheap NO flourescent bulbs that came with the tank.
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
THERE's the rub. this conversation comes up time and time again. some people run actinics then daylights, some run em both (me :).
i think i run mine too long, but i leave the house at 630 am and dont usually get home till 6pm. So my lights are on from 6am to 7ish (i know this is too long, and may start turning them off during the day when the sun is bright in my room). but, if you think of the sun, it's up for quite some time, just in varying intensity as it comes up and goes down. i also want to be able to feed my fish in the morning and see them and work on the tank at night, so thats why i run mine so long.
6-8 hrs seems to be the norm for people though.
 
topfins-mj

topfins-mj

Member
The cycle depends on the type of light fixture.
For stock lights, run an 8 hour shift. I used to have them from 12Pm untill 9PM, and I cut back a little due to some algae growth but 8 hours is pretty safe for new tank cycles.
If you get other Light fxtures with different bulbs, I would run them in cycles of 10, 6 and 6.
10 = Blue Actinics (Dawn, Sunset simulation)
6 = Hallides (Super Bright sun like bulb, mid day simulation)
6 = Moonlights. (night time serene ambience, corals love this blue)
I prefer to keep the strong lighting light per say to avoid problems.
You seem to be just starting off so the 8 hour cycle is ok.
again this is my prefernce based on my system.
Others may chime in.
 
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