Good Or Bad Red (I Think) Algae

[charnelhouse]

Looked on a few ID sites and the Ultimate ID Thread and didn't see anything quite like it. It isn't growing very fast and I can't scrape it off the rock easily this patch is about the size of a quarter.

 

SG - 1.025

PH - 8.2

Am - 0

NO2 - 0

NO3 - 5-10 ppm

Temp - 82-84

 

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mariaface]

Huh. I can't tell from the photo if it's red grape caulerpa or some kind of sponge. Do you have a clearer photo? If not, does it have runners and roots? Or are those buds coming directly from the rock?

[charnelhouse]

Here are a couple more shots, best I can get with cellphone camera. Only camera I have. It looks like it is coming directly from the rock, although there is kind of a fuzzy mat around the whole thing. It is smaller to the naked eye than it looks in the pics.

 

 

[Mariaface]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If it's sponge, it's sponge and it's helping you out by filter feeding. If it's algae (and it might even be branching coralline if those pieces aren't soft, who knows), then keep in mind that the only 'bad' algae is the algae you don't like to look at. And it's also helping you out by sucking up nutrients so other algae, like hair algae or bubble algae, can't get them. It's quite pretty, in my opinion, so I'd let it be.

 

If you really want an ID, look here if you haven't already or try and contact John Maloney over at Reefcleaners, he's awesome with this stuff.

[charnelhouse]

Thanks Mariaface. I'm not worried about it and will definitely leave it there, I like it too. I just have a curious nature and like to know what things are . Closest thing I've been able to find with image searches, and on Reefcleaners is coralline. I'll stick with that until I hear different from somebody who knows.. haha.

[ghostgr]

The first pic looks like red bubble algae. The rest look like red coralline.

[farkwar]

That looks like rock growing gracillaria with the photos you have.That would be a good algae.

 

Some of it looks like red cyano growing on red gracillaria.

 

Hard to tell.

[charnelhouse]

I'm still unsure of what it is, but I noticed today some of it has little pink "buds" growing on it. Still hard to get a good pic with my cell. I might borrow my neighbors DSLR over the weekend and try and get some better pics.

[Builder Anthony]

Bad red algae expands towards a full days light cycle and will be smaller at the start of your light cycle.it tears easily from contact.a strong current will tear it.there's a lot of different kinds of plants as well.if it brows faster then coral then you will most likely have a problem down the road.they can be bennifical in cleaning the water though if you can keep it under control.

[charnelhouse]

A couple of updated pictures of "whatever this is":

 

 

 

It is definitely growing, but not at an out of control rate.

[Mariaface]

It kind of looks like a mix of encrusting and tabling/plating coralline. Nice. :]

[Boggers]

+1 coralline

[charnelhouse]

Cool, thanks guys. I've got it in a few spots, the two in the pics being by far the largest. Both about the size of a quarter.

[Mariaface]

Ooh, you're going to have so much fun with calcium and alkalinity later...

[charnelhouse]

Ooh, you're going to have so much fun with calcium and alkalinity later...

 

Oh yay...

 

I'm probably going to stay away from LPS/SPS for this tank as it is an NC6 and I am already in over my head... haha.

[Mariaface]

Yeah, my rocks are covered in coralline (and it's mostly encrusting!) and it loves to sneak onto the glass. I only have a couple of LPS frags and some softies (zoas, ricordeas) in a nuvo 16 but it seems to be going through 1-2dKH a day. ...Which is a little outrageous.

[charnelhouse]

Wow, I had no idea it could be consumed that fast...