Tan Coralline? Do You Have It?

[DT's_Reef]

I get tons of tan coralline algae growing on the walls of my tank. It's definitely not diatom either. This stuff looks like, grows like, and scrapes off my tank walls just like the regular purple/pink coralline.

One thing to note is I use a 2x250w Aquaspacelight with 2x110w supplemental VHO actinic. I've had this light for several months and it always buzzes loudly. I finally got a new Aquaspacelight light that doesn't buzz nearly as loud (it's actually more of a hum; I can still easily hear it, but it's not nearly as loud or annoying as the buzz). Maybe the previous light wasn't driving the bulbs correctly. Just a guess.

Does anyone get a lot of coralline this color?

P.S. I am fighting an invasion of brown wafer algae too. Nothing seems to eat it. I'm finally having success at defeating it by cranking up my calcium reactor a bit and having coralline grow all over it. My CA level isn't outrageous or anything, just around 450.

[kozmo02]

i dont have any coralline like that, mine is all violent and pink colored, i have seen a lot of tanks with a tannish/beige colored coralline before, probably just a reaction to your metal halides, coralline doesnt do as well under intense lighting.

[DT's_Reef]

^

[giantxtc]

I've seen a patch here and there on my rock only.At first I thought it was more of the encrusting Gorgonia coral,but there has never been any polyp extention from it.I have also seen lime green and yellow coraline in my tank as well.

[DT's_Reef]

Although I'm sure the tan coralline is on my rocks, it really is not visible. It's mostly just on my tank walls. I do have a good bit of purple coralline growing on my rocks and I expect this is due to the 2x110 vho actinics coming on a couple hours before the main lights.

[KDodds]

I have the same stuff, only green. The pink and purple seems to grow in circular patches initially, whereas this stuff, which seems far more prolific, grows in small dots that merge into sheets eventually. Not sure if it's coralline or not, but it certainly seems to be calcerous.

[kennerd]

Originally posted by kozmo02
mine is all violent and pink colored, i

Does it snap back at you when you try to scrape it???:lol:

I have various colors in my various tanks. In fact, after moving then upgrading the lighting on my 65, the pink algae on the glass bleached, then fell off, came back as a whitish beige, yellowish a nd minty green and is now growing pink & purple over it.

In my 5 gal mantis tank, I had plating purple under NO lights, upgraded to PC's and the coralline is growing back in bright yellow, beige and mint green, pink.

[photobarry]

I have a friend who is using a small Eclipse tank for his mantis shrimp. The only coralline growing in that tank is the tan variety. I don't know if light intensity correlates well with coralline color. I know that the pink variety will grow under very intense lighting. On one of my tanks I have the bottom of the glass center brace submerged and am getting pink coralline growing 6 inches under a 250w MH.

-Barry

[kennerd]

I personally think folks that keep mantis in their own tanks are usually more concerned with the mantis itself and tend not to pay as much attention to "reef water quality" Guilty myself. important to maintain parameters there as well. I found my dKh was low, and once bringing it up, started seeing the colors return.

[Cnidae]

I have what you took a picture of but it's not Tan Coralline.

[grim]

Any way that might just be calcium? Looks kinda like the stuff that forms on my heaters.. Once you have a little bit down, it tends to spread/grow out from that spot..

jb

[DT's_Reef]

Grim -- I know what you're talking about, re: calcium on the heater, but this is definitely coralline and grows like it, etc.

My best guess is that it simply does well in the high lighting, high calcium/alkalinity environment.

I thought maybe the tan coralline had something to do with my potentially faulty Aquaspacelight (transformers buzzing very loudly, so maybe the bulbs weren't being driven correctly, resulting in a different spectrum).

[Dean812]

I have the same thing. Tons of this stuff. I wish I had this same problem with purple or blue. Interesting enough I have the same lights as you. HMMMM?

[DT's_Reef]

Dean -- Coincidence, I think not! Do you get good purple/blue coloring on your corals? Do they keep this color after you put them in the tank?

The only drawback to tan coralline is that if you get a bunch of it on the back wall of your tank, it gives a more yellow look to the light. Same thing happens when you got tons of brown wafer algae on your rocks. Unfortunately, I have both!

[Dean812]

Absolutely! I have a Colt that got so colorful after I out it in I wondered if it had been dyed. But it just keeps getting darker and more brilliant. But the tan coraline is amazing. If I could get my camera to let me post pictures here I would. It tells me they are too big!

[Bob F]

I have a 2"x4" patch of it on one rock in high light area. I had never seen this before anywhere and am glad to hear of others. My coraline has changed each time I make a major change in lighting, current flow or even calcium/alk chemistry. I have had green, various purples pinks and different textures. I have even had a shelving type but now all I have is this tan stuff and ordinary old pink stuff. :D