coralline algae bleaching?

[Godsmack00]

Can coralline algae bleach under intense lighting? I recently set up a AIO 2.5 pico

with mostly old live rock. I seeded a few pieces of LR with really nice purple

coralline on it. Its been about two months and a few very small spots of coralline have

showed up on the new rock, but the coralline I had placed in the tank has turned very

light purple, almost white. My cal is 460, Alk is 8, Mag unk, and I am using a Par

38 bulb with 12 LEDs (blue, Royal Blue, white) I think, from Rapid LED. Corals are all

growing and no obvious signs that anything is wrong. My par 38 is about 8 inches above

my water line. Do I just need more time for the coralline to grow? thx

[patback]

Ime yes. My plating corraline was fine, but the regular stuff turned white and few outward.

[igotreefermadness]

Coraline has always been a great water parameter indicator for me. I would attribute it more-so to the fact you're in a new tank. Rarely will you hear about coraline encrusted rock being put into a new tank and surviving unphased. Coraline comes in due time to your tank's maturation. A good estimate for healthy coraline growth is 3-4 months into a settled tank. And then it becomes a problem!

 

Good luck with the build, I'm actually in the same boat as you with the 2.5 AIO. I'm going to try an sps dominated tank with an automated 10% daily w/c.

 

I will say you should try to keep calcium below 440 ppm or so if you can help it. Natural seawater doesn't rise above 420 often. Replicating natural conditions will expedite coraline growth. But trust me when I say it can become problematic in a healthy system.

[Godsmack00]

Thx, I figured my cal was a little high. I too am going to try a few SPS such as birdnest and other "easier" ones. I won't add the birdnest for a while though. I don't want to risk it. I am keeping mine a little more simple and do not have a ATO or auto water changer. I may start a thread once the tank is mature and shows some growth. Are you going to start a thread with yours?

 

My 29 Biocube (4 1/2 years old) has a incredible amount of coralline algae and I find its actually helpful because as it slowly encrusts over the rocks and walls, it kills some of the hydroids in the tank. I have some really nice dark red coralline algae that I will scrape and hopefully transfer over to the 2.5 in due time.