Coraline algae regression

W Churchill

Member
My tank is now around 8 months old.

I noticed today that some of the brown algae was growing over the Coraline algae in some places, previously the Coraline algae tended to maintain a few millimetres of clear space around itself, presumably because of anti-whatevers (yes I'm not particularly well up on it all yet). So I'm sort of worried my Coraline is going into regression, but I'm not sure why as my readings seem OK.
 

dmatt88

Has been struck by the ban stick
Are u using ro/di water? I never see mine regress tho

Do u have an urchin Or anything that's eating it?

Old lights?

Woohoo Matt has tapatalk back
 

dmatt88

Has been struck by the ban stick
Phosphate sounds high. Big ol water change.

Woohoo Matt has tapatalk back
 

W Churchill

Member
I didn't mention my phosphate reading. It's zero, or as close to zero as is possible to tell.

I appreciate phosphate test kits don't test for all types of phosphate and are often a best guess, but I use the salifert kit, I use the double sensitive test and after zero the next reading on the scale is 0.03 ppm and it's definitely not that. I change my phosphate remover every 7 days.
 

W Churchill

Member
My worst reading is nitrite which is not zero but somewhere between zero and 0.02 ppm. This is likely due to recent introduction of more livestock to try to increase my nitrate levels which are somewhere between zero and 2 ppm (I want to introduce a clam and understand you need a bit of nitrate to keep them)

Other levels are:

Ph 8.2 (and doesn't vary throughout the day - I was told to expect it would)
Alkalinity 12KH
Ammonia zero
Phosphate zero
Calcium 450
Magnesium 1350
Strontium 16
Salinity 32
 

steved13

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
Looks good. If your pH never moves from 8.2 you might want to check the measurement device (bad kit, bad probe, etc), it almost has to move some.

When you feed anything you will introduce nitrates, IMO you don't need to raise the level of nitrates in your tank, to have a clam.

Your attempt at raising the nitrate (I'm not sure how you're doing it) could be giving the competitive algae some extra growth and why it's overgrowing your coralline. Just a guess.
 

W Churchill

Member
I'm reasonably confident with my Ph reading, it fluctuates (colour) a little, but never enough to call it the next one along on the scale (which are 8.0 and 8.4), if I had to estimate I'd say it fluctuates between 8.15 and 8.22. I can also see it reads all ranges when I wash the vile out with tap water, I will try another kit though.

I understood that clams need a little nitrate (as opposed to just that they will filter out nitrate), as my nitrate was low I assumed a few more fish and hence more food being turned into nitrite and then nitrate (I haven't done any water changes yet).

I don't have any turbo snails yet (I have 25 on order now). I thought my brown algae stage would have come to an end now but it hasn't (in fact I missed a clean because my clean night fell on new years eve and was a bit surprised at how much there was the next clean night), I'm hoping the snails will remove some silica. So perhaps the extra nitrate, the missed clean etc etc have just overwhelmed the Coraline algae at this time as you say.

Interestingly, I do have a small area of Coraline algae that has gone white. I wasn't worried about it and thought it was unrelated. It's only a small patch about 1 cm x 1.5 cm. I have quite good current (400 ltr tank with 3 x 55W pumps and 2 other smaller power heads) sometimes when I clean the pumps they go back at a slightly different angle and sometimes cause a vortex in a certain spot. That spot happens to be where the Coraline algae has gone white, I assumed it was because it was exposed to air, actually I think it is, but I still thought I'd mention it.

One thing I had wondered about and it goes against what everyone tells me I know, but I wondered if it was possible to have too low a phosphate and nitrate level. I have noticed that when I clean the glass and disturb the sand (I can see a change in phosphate levels for a few hours), how well everything does for a few hours (that's not to say it doesn't do well anyway, it just seems to do super well after I have cleaned).
 

sasquatch

Brunt of all Jokes~
PREMIUM
One thing I had wondered about and it goes against what everyone tells me I know, but I wondered if it was possible to have too low a phosphate and nitrate level. I have noticed that when I clean the glass and disturb the sand (I can see a change in phosphate levels for a few hours), how well everything does for a few hours (that's not to say it doesn't do well anyway, it just seems to do super well after I have cleaned).
Subjective, our kits cannot read what is in use/going to be/or bound, the fact you see elevated reading when cleaning glass and disturbing substrates, the "doing better" could simple be the increase in reflected light that was lost to the film.
Your white coraline is death by exposure, the brown algae is just another phase and will pass.
Not sure how accurate your strontium test kit is but you are above the maximum recommended level, strontium is a heavy metal and can be toxic at elevated levels, if your adding it think about not
 

W Churchill

Member
All makes sense to me, except the strontium matter. My test kit tells me to maintain a level of 10-16, are you saying this advice is incorrect. (you have me worrying now), yes I'm adding it according to the instructions on the bottle, but also monitoring it with a salifert test kit)
 

sasquatch

Brunt of all Jokes~
PREMIUM
All makes sense to me, except the strontium matter. My test kit tells me to maintain a level of 10-16, are you saying this advice is incorrect. (you have me worrying now), yes I'm adding it according to the instructions on the bottle, but also monitoring it with a salifert test kit)

seawater is about 8, recommendations for reef tanks not below 5 not above 15, concern to me is does the test kit read low? its just not something to be concerned with unless you have maybe a full blown sps tank (if you did your water changes would handle it anyway) I personally am very distrustful of any additives not directly related to alk/cal/mag most of that stuff is snakeoil and for the most part causes nothing but trouble
 

W Churchill

Member
Point taken, the test kit is actually the most difficult to use of all the kits I use and probably the one I'd classify as the least reliable, I guess I'd be safer to aim for 10.
 

sasquatch

Brunt of all Jokes~
PREMIUM
sometimes finding a way to kill corraline is a good thing, specially the pink stuff, I hate the pink
 

Built347

Has been struck by the ban stick
sometimes finding a way to kill corraline is a good thing, specially the pink stuff, I hate the pink

the same way you hate reefing like you said in the beginning of your thread?.. or do you really not like the pink?

Sent from my BatPhone using Tapatalk
 

sasquatch

Brunt of all Jokes~
PREMIUM
the same way you hate reefing like you said in the beginning of your thread?.. or do you really not like the pink?

Sent from my BatPhone using Tapatalk
lets say that I will only have black backgounds just for the tiny enhancement of pink to reddish lol
 
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