Promoting corraline algae on my LR

[peterac]

I have a tank with 380 lbs. of LR. When I first got this rock the colors were much nicer (purple, pink) and as the tank cycled the colors faded. Several of you said that this would be expected and the nicer corraline algae would flourish in time. Well it seems the nuisance algae and hair algae are winning the battle as they are beggining to cover the LR. I still have to add my better lighting to this tank which will have more wattage per gallon. I am afraid this will just promote further nuisance algae growth?? I am wrong about this? How can I get the corraline algae to win the battle? If I add Strontium or some other additive will this help?

Thanks!
Pete R.

 

[nickthapainter]

What sort of clean-up crew do you have in the tank?

 

[SoylentGrundy]

Kent makes products with Calcium and "Corraline Accelerator". Seems to work with my tank. Like your avatar nick....

 

[peterac]

No clean up crew yet. Any suggestions?

 

[sirfishmaster]

about a couple hundred astrea snails will do the trick...add 50 or more blue legged crabs...



doug

 

[ZoozFishMaster]

If you are getting nuisance algae, get to the source of the problem instead of trying to cover it up with a "clean up crew." Yes, the cleanup crew will help with algae issues, however, they will not be a cure to the problem.

Excess nutrients in the water column encourage unwanted algae growth. If your tank is still cycling, I wouldn't do a thing (besides turn off the lights) because algal blooms are normal during the cycle. They will eventually burn themselves out.

However, if your tank is finished the cycle, I would test for phosphates. Chances are the phosphates are high (because of a lot of die-off from the rock). You can decrease the phosphates by doing water changes with RO/DI water and using RO/DI water for top off. You may also want to consider using a phospate adsorbing product such as RowaPhos.

Eventually (given proper conditions), coralline algae will begin to develop. With time, it should cover almost everything in the tank. Just be sure to maintain proper calcium and alkalinity levels because coralline is a calcerous algae and lays down calcium carbonate to grow. Also, keep phosphates low as phosphates will inhibit the growth of coralline (as well as corals). Good luck!