What`s on my LR?

[Jaybird]

Some of my lower bits of live rock have coraline on them but nothing on the majority of my rocks.

I've noticed that there is a spongy white covering on my rocks. I can brush most of it away but it tends to cloud the water column. I usually try to do this when I do a water change. Nothing seems to eat it.

I've had my tank up and running for a year now. I wasn't sure when, or if, I would get any heavy coraline growth on the rocks. I get tonnes on the glass of the tank. At least once I week I need to use a razor blade to clear off the growing coraline on the three viewable sides of the tank but nothing ever seems to take on the rocks.

Any ideas as to what I can do to remove that white fuzz so the coraline can reach the actual rock?

Tank params: 1.026 salinity, 0 for nitrate, nitrite and phos. Calcium is usually up in the 400 - 480 range

Tank is 90G with a separate 10G refuge and 30G sump. Livestock: hippo tang, yellow tang, 1 ocellaris, 2 percs, yellow watchman, 1 damsel, 6-line wrasse

CUC: 1 turbo, lots of astrea, not sure how many nassarius, 15 cerith, lots of hermits.

 

[thincat]

How much flow do you hav in the tank?

 

[Jaybird]

I've got two Koralia 4s and a koralia nano. One koralia 4 is on the left side wall of the tank, near the front glass, and provides flow from left to right on the front side. The second koralia 4 is on the right wall near the rear of the tank and provides flow from right to left on that side. The nano is in the middle top portion of the rear wall and pointed on a slightly downward angle towards the front glass. The purpose of the nano is to help break some of the flow from the two koralia 4's and provide buffeting.

I forgot to mention feedings: I usually only feed Rod's Food about two to three times a week. Each feeding is about 1cm x 1cm x 0.3cm. About once per week I will add a little reef roids to one of the feedings.

So, a fair bit of flow

 

[cmor1701d]

Can you post a pic of the white stuff on the rock?
How much LR do you have?
Is all of it coated with this white stuff?
Does if look like spider webs, or is it a solid coating?

Corraline growing on the glass is a good sign. But the scraping is a forever thing.

 

[Jaybird]

It's a fairly solid coating. If I use my finger, or a toothbrush, I can scrape it off in small chunks. It only shows up where the rocks are exposed to light. I would post a picture but I just did a major cleaning so there isn't much left.

It reminds me of a white moss.

Yeah, the coraline scraping on the glass is a never ending job. It's amazing how one small speck can blow up to huge patches

 

[thincat]

Have you changed your lights lately? This can cause your coralline to turn white.

 

[Jaybird]

It's soft and spongy. If it was bleached out coraline it would still be hard.

I forgot cmor1701d's question about how much live rock I have. I've got about 120lbs in the tank

 

[cmor1701d]

OK, so it's NOT bleached coralline (good call TC).

It's spongy to the feel?
Was it covering all the LR exposed to light, but not the sides or undersides?

Please post a pic of what there is to help us ID it.

 

[SnowZz]

Perfect thread to come accross at the moment...since ive upgraded to 55g i noticed alot of my coraline turning white or just dying off my LR while new Coraline has started forming on the glass...i did switch my light from a 24x2 T5 HO Coralife light to some unknown brand 4X54 t5 HO light (odyessa bulbs) while my corals are growing and the big brown polpys have turned from brown to green, ive grown to come very patient and give everything months at a time so im not sure what to expect. So by moving the current LR in my new tank, will the old coraline die and new coraline begin? Im worried cus my rocks are starting to look not so colorful any more

 

[SnowZz]

well after doing some quick research i found out that moving LR from one tank to another can kill it, but it will come back when the tank stabelizes. So i got quite some time to be worried i guess

 

[thincat]

ixis, is correct. your coralline will bleach out with the introduction of stronger lights, it will bounce back and cover your rocks in short order.