corraline dying

[thefatman]

well i was so excited a month or two ago when my corraline started spreading to my base rock and glass and powerheads.

now, i'm noticing spots on various rocks, where the corraline is dying. i'm seeing the standard white calcareous patches that are left behind. i have this on about 4-5 rocks, each patch being about the diameter of a dime.

any ideas what could be causing this? the odd thing is that i am still seeing corraline spread to other new spots in the tank.

the only thing i could attribute this too, is the lack of vho light. since the corals are no longer in the tank, and this is essentially a fowlr now, i have not been running the vho super actinic's.

i figured i would cut back on the lighting, since the fish dont need it, and the green algae was flourshing. the green algae is in serious check now, but i'm worried this is also hurting the good stuff.

my lighting schedule for the last month has been NO actinic 03 on at 8:00 am, NO 10k daylight on at 10:00 am, daylight off at 6:00pm, and actinic off at 8:00 pm.
so i'm getting 12 hours of actinic light, and 8 hours of daylight. but they are both Normal output (40w each)

should i start turning on my vho's again? they are two 46.5" 110w URI super actinic white's.

also, i am still adding kents liquid calcium, once a week, one capful. (but i will humbly admit, that i still have not found a calcium test kit, so i dont know what the calcium levels are.) i also buffer with seachem 8.3 marine buffer.

any ideas?

[Mr. Ono]

some one in your clean up crew may have a taste for coralline. Are there spots of coralline on the tank walls where no " hermit crab" could reach? If so, then there is nothing wrong with your tank, the problem is in your crew up crew.

[tierhog]

I tend to agree with Ono, I myself have the same problem. I suspect one of my hermits. Dont be terribly upset about it, It happens in the "wild" all the time. Concerning the lighting, I run 12 hrs of actinic and daylight from pc's. I have'nt suspected my light to be an issue. Come to think about it, I suspect the larger "exotic" hermits that arent red and blue, but boy can they clean.

[grazhopr]

Does coraline need calcium to spread out?
Maybe the calcium content depleted. Some inverts are feasting with what is left of coraline, but no new growth is taking place....just my HO.

[Spanky]

Jay, if you're dosing Ca and Alk without testing your numbers can get skewed real fast. Get a salifert Ca and a Salifert Alk test kit.

That will make it bleach.

[Flatlander]

Coralline is extremely calcium dependent. And once it gets going, it consumes its fair portion. My rock is so encrusted, I cant keep up to just the coralline with kalk alone.

The deeper colours, like purple or red, seem to prefer less light, like vho, {one of the best for nice coralline}, or even several no bulbs. With lower "k" halides it turns more to a green coralline with the deeper colours in lower lit areas of the tank.

I get nice colour from my 20K Radiums, but the 400 Iwasaki,s dont do much for it.

Coralline also spreads better with good current and good seed rock. My snails seem to eat some but have never made a dent and I assume prefer hairier algae. Urchins are definately coralline eaters.

I have also found trace element additions to help its growth but that seems to be taboo now. Another great coralline grower is using one of the 2-part calcium/alk supplements, like C-Balance or ESV B-Ionic.

[mojoreef]

I agree with Spanky, if you dont have a test kit you shouldnt be doseing bud. You really have no idea what you could be doing to your water chemistry.


Mike

[thefatman]

whre can i find ca test kits?

not a single lfs carries them in town. and the one place i found them online, was backorderd

[mojoreef]

Jay you should be able to ordder them from most online guys, I would just keep trying until you find one. I would suggest the saliferts they are a good quality test.


Mike

[Buzz_Hog]

check www.bigalsonline.com

Calcium test kit.... $9.99

Oops... hope I didn't piss off any sponsors....

[thefatman]

cool thanks guys.

yeah i'm planning to buy all salifert tests before the new tank is up and running.

right now i'm using liquid tests from aqaurium pharmaceuticals.

i know the saliferts are more precise and reliable!

guess i'll jsut be buying online, much as i hate to do so

[Flatlander]

Just another option. I have always used Salifert and like them. A friend was using Seachems new calcium kit. It seemed pretty good, more tests and the same price. I purchased one and can say I am impressed with it.

Most readings are near the same as my Salifert. About the same to use, except for mixing ro water with the sample.

[Junkzoo]

Jay,,,,Salifert , Salifert , Salifert!!!!!!
try :
www.premiumaquatics.com if they have in stock
www.aquaticeco.com both do price match,,,,