Reboot. Reset. Nuclear War. Let's Begin.

[Nighthawk26]

Regardless of what it is...and this may not be the popular direction....but is it harming your corals? Is it overgrowing and smothering them or preventing them from encrusting? If not why worry about it?

BTW I used to have beautiful dark red coralline as well as teal and deep blue but the regular pale purple stuff always ends up taking over...I will probably be going down to see BigShow on the weekend. If you're going to be around maybe I'll stop in...

I MAY be headed there Sunday. If you are going, let me know and I can bring that stuff.

 

[reef keeper]

I'm still in California till Sunday late. Then back to the grind.

It's does look exactly like

Peyssonnelia Sp

 

[Skim]

Peyssonnelia sp.(Decaisne)

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species
Rhodophyta Florideophyceae Gigartinales Peyssonneliaceae Peyssonnelia sp.
Habitat
On hard substrata at a variety of depths.
Distribution
Representatives of the genus are widely distributed throughout the world’s oceans in both hemispheres at a variety of depths from the intertidal to the lowest photic zone.
Characteristics
This Peyssonnelia sp. is a fleshy dark red to maroon crust that is only lightly calcified on the lower surface. It grows firmly attached to the hard substratum. Surface cells uniform and evenly spaced. Perithallial cells arranged in unbranched vertical rows.

 

[reef keeper]

So is that good or bad?

 

[Kman]

Regardless of what it is...and this may not be the popular direction....but is it harming your corals? Is it overgrowing and smothering them or preventing them from encrusting? If not why worry about it?

BTW I used to have beautiful dark red coralline as well as teal and deep blue but the regular pale purple stuff always ends up taking over...I will probably be going down to see BigShow on the weekend. If you're going to be around maybe I'll stop in...

I was under the impression that it was bothering the corals but i could be wrong about that. But if not this could be used as an approach as well if it is only looking ugly, not causing issues and is not an invasive sp. Nothing wrong with leaving something alone if it is not causing issues and is the right sp. Flip side if it is invasive and it is early in the bloom it could soon cause problems even if it is not now. So it could be a gamble leaving it. Definitely riskier approach then scrubbing the rocks but it could work if it is the right algae sp. A proper ID of the algae would be needed before this is attempted though because a wrong ID could be disastrous if it is a invasive sp and you leave it. If it is turf leaving it usually means it will cause an issue sooner or later so I myself would not take this approach if it is turf. Turf will grow on lps and sps and cause the tissue to release because the turf secretes an anti-competition chemical so it can take over areas of reef. Some even release digestive enzymes to eat tissue so they can encroach.

If it is a Peyssonnelia sp you don't need to worry about it for the most part. I have not had issues with this sp and it usually goes away after a few months for me as other Coraline algae take over it.

OP when you get a chance can you post a pic of it? Sorry if you already have. So we can take a look and make sure what sp it is. I have some ID books I can look it up in.

I have a maroon coralline algae in my tank but you can tell by looking at it that it is coralline algae and there is no mistaking it.

 

[reef keeper]

Pic is on page 2.

Interesting thing. As the sps encrusts, it seems to kill the corraline, or whatever this is and grows over it. I'm thinking it isn't turf, as it never actually grows away from the rock, just encrusts everywhere.

I was reading a bunch of threads on RC, and all my corraline literally fell off the glass, then this stuff grew. Same as those folks on RC.

Interesting.

 

[Kman]

Thanks I will take a look.

Whatever this is if the corraline fell off the glass it must have released something into the water but that effect could be unrelated and just happened at the same time.

 

[bart84]

Just a thought. when I did a cyano treatment, right after I had Dino. I was told that the cyano was the only thing keeping the Dino in check. Could the coraline have been doing the same thing for this algae?

 

[reef keeper]

Maybe. On Monday I have new fittings coming so I can get my reactors running. I'm going to run the carbon and see what happens with this stuff.

Has it gotten thicker or taller? Or the same?

 

[Skim]

The little that I read on it says it is a light form of Coralline Algae, I assume it lays a thinner base. It also is considered a excellent Algae. There also seems to be quite a few different forms. I was wondering if you can recall what your Alk. was when you tested it last.

 

[reef keeper]

I think mag had fallen to around 1100. I have to dose 350 ml every 3-4 days to keep it around 1300. My calcium stays around 420-450 and my alk has been coming down to just over 8. Ph is pretty steady - 8-8.3 or so.

 

[Skim]

Not bad at all, the reason why I asking was I know the modern trend is to keep Alk on the lower side, I not sure why I do know, but if you want Coralline Algae your Alk should be on the higher 10-12 so I was just wondering if you where to increase the Alk if the Red would reseed or decrees as the more common Purple would grow in. I going on the assumption that you do not have a lot of Coralline at this time except for the Red stuff.
Theory being Red can survive and grow easier at lower Alk then the more common Coralline so it has no competition and maybe by increasing Alk to the 10 or 12 you will great a competition for space. Just a thought and maybe one with the least impact on everything including yourself, your SPS will like it.

 

[reef keeper]

I was dropping it from 11.5 actually. My sps much prefers alk below 8.6.

 

[Nonuser]

So its Coralline algae ? Everything I have ever read says that thats good for your rocks? so there isn't a problem at all? the tank is perfectly fine except you dont like the look of the coralline algae?

Im confused

 

[BIGSHOW]

I would never run my ALK past 10 that is a disaster waiting to happen. I have no problem with coraline algae growing at ALK levels of 8-8.5 and if its not growing your system is not in-balance.

Not to derail the thread but that needed to be cleared up.

 

[AdInfinitum]

I also don't like my alk to run above 8.5 and my coralline grows like wildfire.

 

[reef keeper]

As my alk has dropped, my "problem" has exploded. It's everywhere on the rocks. I think that I'm going to look around for a doser to keep everything in a tight consistent band.

I've also noted that my sps has really taken off.

 

[reef keeper]

So its Coralline algae ? Everything I have ever read says that thats good for your rocks? so there isn't a problem at all? the tank is perfectly fine except you dont like the look of the coralline algae?

Im confused

It's just a totally different type of coralline.

 

[reef keeper]

UPDATE

I was away for 8 days in California, and had @bart84 come in and check things for me. He did a great job, and I definitely recommend him lol. It's good to have friends that know what they are doing.

Dave dosed my mag to keep it around 1300.

Here something I've noticed over the past 2-3 weeks.

There is a little green algae on the sides of the tank, and the purple coralline has started to cover the rocks and the glass. The weird coralline that is on the rocks seems to be fading a little, and the typical purple coralline seems to be making inroads against it.

Now here's the super dooooper part.

All kinds of the sps that I've purchased over the last 2 or 3 months have all begun to ENCRUST!!! A lot.

I had a beautiful pink lemonade I got from Kevin Tran last summer, and it was growing so nice. It was think, and had encrusted a large base and the trunk was THICK. I BROKE IT OFF by accident when I was rearranging some things a month ago. Now, the 2 pieces have encrusted, and the broken base has healed and begun to branch.

Lots of my RR has begun to take off as well, and now I'm finally getting good pe.

Maybe the wrasses are killing whatever was bad, or @bart84 is a reef hero

 

[Nighthawk26]

@bart84 the reef whisperer.