coraline algae

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skiflyer

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May 27, 2004
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Hi,

How long does coraline algae take to develop in a new set up tank. I know every tank is different, but a rough estimate would be good.
Also, will the green algae that develops on the glass eventually become coraline algae or the pretty pink algae???
Thanks
 
Do you have live rock in there? Coralline has to be introduced into a tank--it will spread from there. How quickly depends on your lighting, and nutrients--including calcium levles. 2-3 months for some growth is common in medium light setups.

The green algae may be a type of coralline (it's not all purple, there are many colors and textures), or it could just be the beginning of hair algae or some other pest algae. Touch it--if it's stony, and you've introduced live rock with a variety of algaes on it, it could be--but I wouldn't bet on it too much.
 
i got about 40lbs of vanuatu live roch in there, and 220 watts power compacts, its a 55gal.
I just got my hagen master test in the mail and tested the water....everything seemed fine but the PH and Calcium.
The ph was about 7.8, and i already added some buffer. However, the calcium reading was 0-20. Is this normal?? I mean i know its not normal but could this even be this low??? If so, what should i do?
 
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What is your salinity? Has the tank cycled? The low pH suggests the tank may still be cycling, meaning aciods are burning through more buffer than you have available. Not a big deal, as a water change will usually remedy this.

For calcium--it's possible, but not with most common salt mixes. Test again--I know I've goofed up on reading the instructions and gotten wild results!
 
The tank has definetely cycled...it has been established for about 4 month now. saltinity is 1.0215.......i retested and got the same results.
I don't know if you are familiar with the hagen test (liquid) but u put three different reagents in the test tube....7 drops of the first one.....the 3 drops of the 2nd one.....and then it says to count the drops of the 3rd one until pink changes to violet. Well, here is my problem...the test is already violet after the second reagent.....i have tried to add some drops of the 3rd one but no change of color takes place.
 
Salinity is low--especially if you're planning a reef.

Test your alkalinity--I'll guess that it's going to be low as well. You're probably going to need to boost both--kalkwasser drip, or something similar. This will also bring up your pH, and enable it to stabilize (if you alk is as low as I suspect). I'm not the best on supplements, but there are several threads on raising alk and calcium if you search here, or in the Reef Chemistry forum of ReefCentral.
 
most people would keep it at 1.025-1.026. i think most lfs keep theirs lower because the lower it is, the harder it is for parasites to live. i have seen people keep fowlr tanks at 1.018 before. but from what i have read the best for a reef tank is about 1.025.
 
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