Coralline?

[Matt Bravo]

Does this look like coralline algae to you guys? Tank is 10 months old and has been struggling with nuisance algae but recently I bought a ton of snails and they have worked like crazy on that rock. There is a snail shell my LFS gave me with coralline on it in the system as well.

 

[Michaelrisucci]

Looks like Cyanobacteria, can it be rubbed off of the rocks?

 

[Cichlid Dad]

More info, how old is the tank, what are the water parameters did you introduce Coraline to the tank.

 

[Matt Bravo]

Looks like Cyanobacteria, can it be rubbed off of the rocks?

I came at it with a turkey blaster, did not come off did not try scraping though

 

[Matt Bravo]

More info, how old is the tank, what are the water parameters did you introduce Coraline to the tank.

10 months old,
nitrate >10 constantly
Phos (haven’t tested in a while tbh but last I checked was .09 I think)
Dkh 8
Mag 1320
Calc 420
I introduced a snail with coralline from my LFS about a month ago now

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Sounds about right, as stated earlier, see if it brushes off, if you are keeping temp and parameters steady it just might be.

 

[Matt Bravo]

Thanks for the responses guys. I wasn’t too sure so I wanted to get insights from a few other reefers

 

[Lavey29]

Coraline typically covers plastic parts first like powerheads long before rocks.

 

[Matt Bravo]

The thing is my power head is completely covered in algae right now leaving no space for coralline to grow, I’m going to leave it in vinegar overnight to get the algae off

 

[Big Mistake]

When the magic occurred and Coralline Algae started in my tank, it was like love, there was no doubt.

In my tank it grows most in areas of flow. Likes glass areas where the return is directed, and the overflow slots, and the wave maker.

Red Tuxedo Urchins will literally remove all the Coralline Algae except where flow reduces their grazing.

I dosed two bottles of Coralline Algae in a bottle without result.

I believe it was the addition of All For Reef that made the difference even though I use Tropic Marin Bio Atif salt. I have this suspicion that rampant and visible coralline algae growth is the result of elevated dkh and normal levels won't produce the rampant growth. An artifact of reef keeping.

Might not be dkh - it might be just calcium - I know my calcium levels are REALLY high.

Like plants, CO2 levels have a big determination of plant growth and biology, high plants thrive, low annuals can't complete their life cycle in a season, too low at around 250 ppm, they simply die.

Coralline algae and even snails will grow much faster at elevated levels. The snails were adding shell at a noticeable rate once all for reef was being dosed.

Or coarse acting on a single data point would be a ...

-Big Mistake