curious about coralline colors

[Grynox]

So I have had my tank going for about 3 months now and the rockwork is really starting to look nice with coralline coming back and spreading rapidly.

I have a good assortment of colors. I have lots of:
- purple
- maroon
- light green
- dark green

And I have a little bit of:
pink
orange

I guess what I am curious about is whether certain water parameters dictate which colors of coralline propagate best within a given system. Is there an online resource that goes into this matter with any detail? For instance, I have a ton of purple and want to know if I can work towards changing my water's chemical make-up in some way to lessen purple's foothold and allow, for example, pink to establish itself a bit more in the system.

Is this all just a crazy idea on my part...hehe (very possible)? Or is there any science or methodology behind the various "strains" of coralline growth and the reasons for a certain color taking hold more strongly based on its coloration?

 

[cliftonsinclair]

I think most of it has to do with the lighting.

 

[nycsicktank]

if you dont have enough calcium, your coralline will turn in white(die), well atleast mine is cause i dont need calcium and because its a FOWLR

 

[cliftonsinclair]

Yeah that will supplement its growth. But if you don't have good lighting you are not going to get very good coloring.

 

[TropicalNorth]

In the beginning I think it has more to do with what was on the live rock originally, there may have been more of some types than others. I've also found that whatever type is most suited to the tank, hardiest/quickest growing will win out in the end (so to speak). My tank has mostly the standard pink coralline now, 1 year old system, but it went through cycles of different types at different times. My theory is as the tank ages the pink coralline will become the dominant type in the tank because it is more suited to the conditions and faster growing. Just my theory anyway.

 

[leocom2000]

In the beginning I think it has more to do with what was on the live rock originally, there may have been more of some types than others. I've also found that whatever type is most suited to the tank, hardiest/quickest growing will win out in the end (so to speak). My tank has mostly the standard pink coralline now, 1 year old system, but it went through cycles of different types at different times. My theory is as the tank ages the pink coralline will become the dominant type in the tank because it is more suited to the conditions and faster growing. Just my theory anyway.

...it makes sense....

 

[Grynox]

Thanks for all the responses.

Yes, I was aware that lack of calcium and/or lighting would bleach the coralline white and kill it off. I had some initial die off like this when I first got my live rock but it has all been coming back nicely now.

Interesting about the pinks being dominant as tanks mature. I guess that makes sense since most well-established reefs I see have full coverage of the pink and purple corallines and not much of any other colors. I wonder what feature in reef tanks causes these very specific coralline colors to dominate and if that feature could be changed to make other colors flourish instead...