purple vs. green coraline

[ntswift]

I bought some LR about two weeks ago with purple coraline algea all over it. Now I've noticed that its been turning more and more green. Is one better than the other or is one stronger than the other? could it be water conditions? TIA

 

[melosu58]

I dont know about your question but I do know that the only color I can grow is purple.

 

[ntswift]

i wish i could get the purple growing strong but for some reason it seems like its just fading away. would lighting be an issue it this? i have JBJ 130W PC lights on the way for my tank (29gal) i just don't want it to all be gone when it gets here.

 

[JG]

I believe that the intensity of the light in your tank can determine the color of coralline .

 

[jasno999]

I have some purple in my tank but alwasy have agale(hair) overgrowth issues. Well I jsut got a turbo that has cleaned a lot of that hair algae away and to my suprise under on of the rocks is this interesting green colored rock that I am guessi nis coraline algae

 

[ntswift]

At first thats what i thought about the light but my friend has a 55gal with two regular flourencent lights that you get with a regular 55gal kit and his purple is thriving in his tank. I took one of his rocks yesturday to see if i can't get it to spread on some more rocks. I'm kinda stuck on what to do now. I guess i'll just wait and see what the new lights do.

 

[Jermz79]

In my 29gallon I have just the 2 NO bulbs. I started growing HUGE circles of coralline on the back wall and they were almost a light green color, after a few months now I have noticed they turned light pink/purple in color and are spreading like crazy!

I don't think lighting plays into as much as your calcium does.

 

[jasno999]

What is your calcium level?

 

[Reese]

Have patience. It can and probably will come back. From what I've read die off can be caused by a number of factors including change in lighting, sudden drop in pH and/or salinity, and excessive phosphates. Get your water quality good and stable and you can supplement with calcium. But check your levels before adding any supplements...

 

[Brenden]

Coralline in my experience starts out sometimes as a light green and then turns purple. What is your CA and Alk levels? This has more impact than your light.

 

[cd5]

i wish i could get the purple growing strong but for some reason it seems like its just fading away. would lighting be an issue it this? i have JBJ 130W PC lights on the way for my tank (29gal) i just don't want it to all be gone when it gets here.

Does your light have actinics?

 

[jasno999]

What is yoru calcium level?

 

[ntswift]

sorry i havent written back in a little bit. works got me tied up. anyway yes my lights do have actinics. i just got them yesturday. wow! what a difference. i dont know my calcium levels yet. i got my water tested about two weeks ago and i got some coral vite and all in one. both made by salifert. i got it to help my rock get up to par i guess. my water levels weren't good at all. i remember my phosphates were at 3 and everything else was low. thats all i remember. i'm going to go get it checked today to see if i've made any progress. i'll get the calcium levels to you too. I'm trying to make this into a small reef tank so any other input or suggestions would be awesome! Thanks for all the input!

 

[jasno999]

As much as it may suck- Like the people on the board always say- if you are addign something to your tank you should be testign for it as well. If you add a product to your tank and you don't test for it how will you ever really know what your levels are at and if you realyl need the addition or not.

In most cases if you do PWC each week/two weeks then your levels are probably fine cause the new salt water brings in all the nutrients required.

You need to get some test kits and start testign for stuff.

 

[ntswift]

thats why i got my water tested before i put anything in it. i have the paper at home with all of the results but i dont have them with me to post. i'm going to get the water tested again today to see if it helped any. i'll post the results when i get them. i do water changes every week and i was before but i just dont think that i'm getting all the nutrients that i should be getting. i use instant ocean salt which i know is good but i'm using tap water with it along with a tap water detoxifier. i know tap water is bad but its too far of a drive to get some RO/DI.

 

[canyon15]

i wish i could get the purple growing strong but for some reason it seems like its just fading away. would lighting be an issue it this? i have JBJ 130W PC lights on the way for my tank (29gal) i just don't want it to all be gone when it gets here.

Check your calcium levels. They should be around 420ppm-440ppm.If it isn't then that could be the reason why it is fading. The lighting is more than enough for coraline.

 

[ntswift]

i got my water results back and my calcium was at 500ppm. i just put the JBJ lighting on a few days ago. so we'll see what happens. i just thought about this the other day, when i do my water changes i pour the water back in on that side. could that be causing it? i should have thought about that before but i just did a PWC and it clicked...i know you can burn things with the salt but i dont know about when its getting poured in like that.

 

[cmor1701d]

You really need to invest in a set of test kits and test your water parameters regularly. pH, ammonia nitrite, nitrate, Ca, Alk, Mg and Phosphate for starters. If you decide to dose anything else, get a test kit first and check the level before you dose. I prefer the Salifert test kits for Ca, Alk, Mg, Nitrate because the colore change is dramatic and I can easily get a true reading. I have a hard time with the test kits that have gradual shades on the color charts. I also use a refractometer (aprox $35-$50) to check specific gravity (SG) and I use a meter for pH now.

Are you mixing your salt 24 hours before doing a PWC?
You can get a RODI unit on eBay for around $100. Another great investment.

 

[ntswift]

I've been looking for a decent all in one test kit rather than buying each test individual test. No luck so far, so i might break down and just buy the individual ones. i would get an RO/DI but i'm living in dorms right now and i can't install one. it kinda sucks because i know that would help me out a lot. i usually mix the water a couple of hours in advance but not 24 hours. i just really mix it well when i mix it in the bucket. is the 24 hours really necessary for disolving everything? in your opinion which is better the instant ocean reef crystals or the oceanic? i'm just using regular instant ocean but i was told i need something with a little more calcium if i want any corals.

 

[cmor1701d]

I attach my RODI unit to my kitchen faucet with a garden hose adapter when I need to make water (like right now). Then I take it off and put the normal aerator back on. It's worth it if you can afford the upfront cost of the unit. The same is true for the test kits. You can get the Seachem multi kit for around $25.00 online though I really prefer the individual Salifert kits at around $15.00 each.

Lots of people use IO. It's decent and cheap. Oceanic is unbalanced but has high Ca levels and mixes quickly. Kent is having problems with low Alk and therefore low pH right now (personal experience and emails with Kent). I just switched to Tropic Marin which tests as a nicely balanced salt after 24 hours of mixing.

I attended a demo by Anthony Calfo last night on coral fragging. He said if someone else was buying he would use nothing but Tropic Marin. Because no one has offered to buy him salt he buys and uses IO.