too much lighting for coralline algae?

[colorblindpicas]

I’ve got two reef tanks, both showing no signs of trouble as far as bad growth of fish or corals. One has beautiful coralline algae growing on most of the rocks (both red and purple varieties). The other tank had a fantastic start of this growth, but has since lost most of it. This tank is the larger one with a skimmer, 30 gallon refugium, etc. So I’m puzzled as to why it would loose the coralline, and not the smaller one (which has a smaller refugium, and no skimmer. Water changes, chemical supplements, etc are identical on both tanks. Someone told me too much lighting can be a problem for coralline. Both tanks use PC lighting, but the large tank (the one without much growth) his much higher wattage bulbs on it, which leads some credence to this theory. But if that’s the true culprit I want a second opinion.

 

[astride13]

I don't think you can have too much lighting for coralline with PC lighting. I had a similar problem in my nano. The coralline started to recede and nothing had changed, or at least that is what I thought. I decided to order a new PC 50/50 bulb for it and just a few days after putting it in, I noticed the growth again.

My recommendation, which could be way off, is to replace the PC bulbs if they are older than 9 months. Also, although your water changes and supplements are the same, different factors could require more or less in a tank. What are your tests reading in each tank?

 

[colorblindpicas]

I’m testing and dosing for each tank individually. By “the same” I meant I’m using the same brands, types, etc. But you may be right about the age of the bulbs. The smaller tank is all new lighting (within the last month). The large tank has a mix, with some new and some old lighting. So that very well might be the problem. I’m still curious though if anyone has heard the “deep water” coralline rumor.

 

[biotoxin]

normal output fluorescent bulbs are supposed to increase coralline growth substantially. There are a few kinds of coralline also, the darker purple is what you get under high intensity while the pinkish color would be more of what you see under PC lighting. Also make sure you have good strontium and magnesium levels for optimum coralline growth as well as a calcium level around 450-500.

 

[captivereefs]

In my 26 reef with 1 65 watt smart lamp i have a ton of purple coraline. In my 44 reef that is lit by a 250 watt AB metal halide my coraline does not have much color and does not spread very fast at all. I think lighting definatley plays a role in the growth a coraline.