Starting on Coral

[Fishguy2727]

High water quality will keep nutrients low to starve algae, but tanks will always favor some type of algae. Until your tank matures enough to favor coralline it will favor problematic algaes. This is where light intensity comes in to play. Lots of light means lots of algae. If it was just a matter of spending the money now or later it would just be preference, but you could create problems by having too much light before your tank is ready for it. If you get a four or six bulb fixture try to get one with multiple plugs. This allows for better control over your lighting schedule (two bulbs on and off at a time to simulate dawn and dusk) as well as allow you to only use the bulbs needed until your tank matures.

 

[BayTib13]

what are the noticeable differences between coraline and problematic algaes?

 

[rush]

algae is soft coraline is hard

 

[BayTib13]

ahh, thats what i thought. how long does it usually take for a tank to reach that changing point?

and if i put in rock that already has coraline algae will that speed things up?

 

[rush]

coralline algae take time to take place, usually starts with purple and is cause from calcium and good water quality.

You will start developing purple coralline after about 6 months normally. Putting other coralline rocks will not speed things up but it will look nice until the others catch up.

I am not sure what you mean by changing point?

 

[austinsdad]

Yes.

 

[BayTib13]

thats what i was asking was how lobg it usually takes for the coraline to start growing. all of myrocks right now have coraline on them, some purple, some other dull colors, and my newest rocks are completely pink with a touch of reddish hwre an there, not sure if its all coraline or not

 

[rush]

where did you get the LR from?

Is the red soft or hard? if it moves its algae if its permanent and does not come off its coralline

 

[BayTib13]

i got them from my lfs, im not positive of their origins. the pink is hard, i didnt pay attention to whether the redwas or not, i believe it is though.

 

[rush]

its rare to get LR from LFS with coralline on it, normally it is just barely cured before they sell it, so you are lucky!

I highly doubt it is algae

 

[BayTib13]

it was actually one that had been there awhile, i dug down into the bottom of the tank . haha made sure i got a good one

 

[rush]

lol, well im sure its coralline

the LR at our LFS doesnt stay around long enough to get coralline, barely even has time to cure lol

 

[BayTib13]

lol thats one of the pluses about not livin in a huge town, and the store bein downtown haha, nobody goes to it alot cause most peopledont know about it

 

[BayTib13]

So i checked all my levels today after having done a 5g water change yesterday, and my ammonia is down to ~0, my nitrite is trace, and my nitrates are 0.

But I did have a question, can the API tap water conditioner cause Ph to rise? if not what else can? As my Ph before was ~8. I got 5g of water, used the conditioner on it, let it sit a few minutes, then mixed up the salt into it to the proper SG. But now my Ph seems to be ~8.1 or 8.2, and other than what is stated nothing else was changed.

I'm not worried about the Ph level, as I was going to try to raise it, what I'm worried about is the random rise in it.

 

[mr_X]

gas exchange at the water surface can raise ph. if you moved a power head perhaps, that might be enough to do it.
btw, i vote for getting the best light now. i've always started out with the right lighting, and haven't had any issues with algae. just keep the water clean.

 

[BayTib13]

i did fill my tank a little higher this time, so my HOB filter isnt flowing down and bubbling into the aquarium, instead its hitting the water and sort of rolling out of the filter. maybe thats what caused it

 

[Fishguy2727]

Why are you using water conditioner? Are you using tap water to make saltwater? If so you are probably setting yourself up for serious problems with algae. If you are using RO/DI you don't need the conditioner.

 

[BayTib13]

I'm using tap water yes, my parents used the same water with their aquarium and never had any problems, so hopefuly I wont either, if anything just some extra water changes/cleaning. My local petsmart has a RO but right now I don't have the money for it. May look into it when I get my tax return.

 

[mr_X]

the trouble with tap water is that you are putting in "algae fuel" with every water change. it can be an up hill battle for some.

 

[BayTib13]

ahhh, this would probably explain why the diatoms i got rid of by doin a pwc, came back with a vengeance.

are there any brands that yall would recommend over others? for ro/di? what does di stand for btw?