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Aimec
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Post subject: Coraline Algae Fading ?  Posted: Apr 07, 2006 - 10:36 PM |
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FishGeek Member
Joined: Mar 01, 2006
Posts: 56
Location: Ft.Worth Tx.
Status: Offline
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| My tank has been up a few months and I cant seem to get any coraline algae to grow. Calcium 440 and Alkalinity 10 DKH , Salinity 1.024 , No detectable trites , trates , amonia . PH maintained at 8.2 . I used Mark Weiss Reef Vital DNA for a month as directions on lable. Said would promote "pigmentation priming" of coraline algae. The rock turned brown with some red spots, then developed a white hair algae that has slowly started to go away. The red spots are gone too. Now what few patches of purple coraline I did have are fading to pink then white. I have three URI 50/50's rated 12000k and 03 actinic. Any thoughts? |
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Greg--75 gal. tank - 330watts VHO - 20 gal. sump w/macro's in miracle mud & 2 -18 watt 7100k PC's/24 Hr. - 85 lbs. live rock - 5" DSB W/plenum - = 50 gal. in system. 600GPM circ. to sump. 1860GPM in tank via 3 pwrheads . 1-sixline wrasse -5 blue leg crabs -5 asst. snails - 1 queen conch -3 hawaiian featherdusters - & some mushrooms. started--Dec. 05
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bronconut2003
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| Post subject: RE: Coraline Algae Fading ? Posted: Apr 07, 2006 - 11:10 PM |
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FishGeek Member
Joined: Dec 08, 2004
Posts: 526
Location: Great Falls, Montana
Status: Offline
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| with that much water movement how do your fish get off the glass to move around? Just joking with you. I have had tanks with plenty of coraline and some with little. Seems like a mystery sometimes why it doesn't want to grow. |
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75 Gallon Reef
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Spuds725
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| Post subject: RE: Coraline Algae Fading ? Posted: Apr 08, 2006 - 06:21 AM |
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Moderator Extraordinaire
Joined: Mar 02, 2005
Posts: 3767
Location: NW Ohio
Status: Offline
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I would get your alk and calcium readings rechecked-- its possible one or both are low but reading fine... I did use a calcium test kit that read low before--- Salifert indicated 50 ppm higher then my previous kit.
Coraline does like good flow-- I had great growth in my overflow box.
Some coraline doesn't like intense lighting and may take a while to build back up-- when/if it comes back I would expect to see it on the sides of the rock first (where it is less intense)...
(are you running 3 Seio 620s for your "1860gph via 3 powerheads"??) |
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Bill -- 125 gallon (almost a) reef
100 gallon sump (50 gallon Refugium), ASM G4X Skimmer
Fish (Date added)
1 Orchid Dottyback (Feb 2004) 3"
1 Bicolor Angelfish (Mar 2004) 4"
1 Blue (Regal) Tang (Mar 2005) 5"
2 Ocellaris clownfish (Oct 2008) 2.5"
1 Yellow Tang (Sep 2009) 3"
Mixed reef
~200 pounds of live rock.
Coming Soon: Mandarin... (maybe)
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bronconut2003
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| Post subject: RE: Coraline Algae Fading ? Posted: Apr 08, 2006 - 06:42 PM |
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FishGeek Member
Joined: Dec 08, 2004
Posts: 526
Location: Great Falls, Montana
Status: Offline
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| spuds you are incredibly smart... Just to figure that out. I didn't even think about the seios but that matches exact gph |
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75 Gallon Reef
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Aimec
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| Post subject: RE: Coraline Algae Fading ? Posted: Apr 09, 2006 - 12:11 AM |
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FishGeek Member
Joined: Mar 01, 2006
Posts: 56
Location: Ft.Worth Tx.
Status: Offline
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| I've used two test kits for calcium- aquarium pharmaceuticals & red sea - both measured 440 back to back. Alk. tested with aq. phar. kit only. Alkalinity used to run much higher when I was using too much super buffer DKH to keep PH at 8.2 . I was doing my readings under flourescent lights which was giving a reading of 8.0 . I had LFS test the water and it was actually 8.2 . This was also before I started using kalkwasser. Now my PH is much more stable and I don't have to buffer at all , partly because I do 3 to 5 gallon water changes a week , and because I do my readings under incandescent lights which gives me a correct reading. ----------------- Yes the 1860 is from the three seio's. They move a lot of water but their output ports are large and you get a high volume low pressure effect that does'nt seem like a lot. The fish love it and swim in the confluence of one of the power heads and one of the return pipes from the refugium. -------------Thanks for the reply's . Was just hopeing someone could solve the mystery. |
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Greg--75 gal. tank - 330watts VHO - 20 gal. sump w/macro's in miracle mud & 2 -18 watt 7100k PC's/24 Hr. - 85 lbs. live rock - 5" DSB W/plenum - = 50 gal. in system. 600GPM circ. to sump. 1860GPM in tank via 3 pwrheads . 1-sixline wrasse -5 blue leg crabs -5 asst. snails - 1 queen conch -3 hawaiian featherdusters - & some mushrooms. started--Dec. 05
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Spuds725
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| Post subject: RE: Coraline Algae Fading ? Posted: Apr 09, 2006 - 06:59 AM |
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Moderator Extraordinaire
Joined: Mar 02, 2005
Posts: 3767
Location: NW Ohio
Status: Offline
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Regarding the 3 Seio 620s-- I think thats about perfect for a 75-- regarding numbers I have a little bit of "Rainman" in me-- sometimes things jump out at me. "I'm an excellent driver." "15 minutes to Wopner"
I'm not absolutely sure, but I seem to think that coraline needs magnesium or iodine too (can't remember which)--- lemme check real quick and see if I can find a reference---
//edit//
http://www.algone.com/coralline_algae.htm
Magnesium-- I've never had to supplement it but that link says 1400 ppm... this should be provided in your salt mix... I've only used instant ocean since I've been in the hobby. I had low coraline growth until I supplemented calcium to get it up over 400 ppm, I rarely have to bump up my alkalinity.
I did find this regarding magnesium-- this article compared salts...
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/12 ... bum/mg.gif -- some salt mixes are a little low (at least when they were tested)...
Here is the entire article... http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/12/aafeature1
Here is part I of the above article in case you are interested..
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/11/aafeature1
These are the salt brands tested the abreviations listed in the above graph are shown next to the names below..
NSW is Natural Sea Water.
| Quote: | AquaMedic Sea Salt (AM)
Oceanic Sea Salt (O)
Omega Sea Marine Salt (OS)
Aqua Craft Bio-Sea MarineMix (BSM)
Marine Enterprises Crystal Sea MarineMix (CSM)
Tropic Marin Sea Salt (TM)
Instant Ocean (IO)
Kent Marine Salt (KM)
Marine Enterprises Crystal Sea Bio-Assay Formula (CSB)
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I hate to tell you to buy another test kit... I've never had to test magnesium.. |
_________________
Bill -- 125 gallon (almost a) reef
100 gallon sump (50 gallon Refugium), ASM G4X Skimmer
Fish (Date added)
1 Orchid Dottyback (Feb 2004) 3"
1 Bicolor Angelfish (Mar 2004) 4"
1 Blue (Regal) Tang (Mar 2005) 5"
2 Ocellaris clownfish (Oct 2008) 2.5"
1 Yellow Tang (Sep 2009) 3"
Mixed reef
~200 pounds of live rock.
Coming Soon: Mandarin... (maybe)
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jack-o
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| Post subject: RE: Coraline Algae Fading ? Posted: Apr 09, 2006 - 07:54 AM |
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Moderator Extraordinaire
Joined: Feb 20, 2005
Posts: 3032
Location: Maryland
Status: Offline
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| Patience.....If your tank has only been up for a few months, I would wait a little more before really worrying about the coraline algae. As spuds suggested I would bet it has to do with the intense light you have over your tank. It can take longer than just a few months for the coraline to come back when the light is kept under changes. Besides you'll eventually find the place it grows best is usually right smack on the front viewing glass to the tank, so you in some ways your lucky. |
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Spuds725
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| Post subject: RE: Coraline Algae Fading ? Posted: Apr 09, 2006 - 08:26 AM |
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Moderator Extraordinaire
Joined: Mar 02, 2005
Posts: 3767
Location: NW Ohio
Status: Offline
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In hindsight, Jack-o might be correct in just waiting a bit... it seems like coraline will find your glass first....
I hate scraping it off my glass.... my hand cramps up..
Also on a somewhat related note (regarding coraline fading)... I had a bunch of coraline on the back of my tank-- I recently finally had the time to replace my tank rim-- I bought my tank used and the previous owner had cut the rim cross braces-- took me a bit to find a replacement rim.... and then find time to replace it.... to do this I had to drain out 1/2 my water from my 135 (the glass bowed without the cross braces)-- I moved all my rock so it was low in the tank, drained water to my 72gallon tank which I had just emptied... replaced the rim and refilled.... took me about 2 hours or so... all the coraline on the glass above the level I drained the tank to has faded to white-- guess it didn't like drying out for a couple hours-- some is starting to come back-- I do like having a nice looking (my old one has seen beter days) and functional rim on my tank now.... |
_________________
Bill -- 125 gallon (almost a) reef
100 gallon sump (50 gallon Refugium), ASM G4X Skimmer
Fish (Date added)
1 Orchid Dottyback (Feb 2004) 3"
1 Bicolor Angelfish (Mar 2004) 4"
1 Blue (Regal) Tang (Mar 2005) 5"
2 Ocellaris clownfish (Oct 2008) 2.5"
1 Yellow Tang (Sep 2009) 3"
Mixed reef
~200 pounds of live rock.
Coming Soon: Mandarin... (maybe)
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gallan
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| Post subject: RE: Coraline Algae Fading ? Posted: Apr 09, 2006 - 05:21 PM |
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Moderator Extraordinaire
Joined: Feb 14, 2005
Posts: 3302
Location: carelton michigan
Status: Offline
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spuds have you tried the old credit card trick to remove the coraline from the glass, works well for me,
i use the fake ones they send in the mail. from what i've heard they also work well on acrylic without worring about scratches |
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Spuds725
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| Post subject: RE: Coraline Algae Fading ? Posted: Apr 09, 2006 - 05:24 PM |
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Moderator Extraordinaire
Joined: Mar 02, 2005
Posts: 3767
Location: NW Ohio
Status: Offline
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Actually no... I use a plastic putty knife usually (has a handle)-- still hate doing it..  |
_________________
Bill -- 125 gallon (almost a) reef
100 gallon sump (50 gallon Refugium), ASM G4X Skimmer
Fish (Date added)
1 Orchid Dottyback (Feb 2004) 3"
1 Bicolor Angelfish (Mar 2004) 4"
1 Blue (Regal) Tang (Mar 2005) 5"
2 Ocellaris clownfish (Oct 2008) 2.5"
1 Yellow Tang (Sep 2009) 3"
Mixed reef
~200 pounds of live rock.
Coming Soon: Mandarin... (maybe)
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