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FAQs about Red Calcareous and Coralline Algae Identification
Related Articles: Coralline Marine Algae,
Red Algae in General, Avoiding
Algae Problems in Marine System,
Algae Control,
Marine Maintenance, Nutrient
Control and Export, Marine Scavengers,
Snails,
Hermit Crabs,
Mithrax/Emerald Green Crabs, Sea Urchins,
Blennies, Algae Filters,
Ctenochaetus/Bristle Mouth Tangs,
Zebrasoma/Sailfin Tangs, Skimmers,
Skimmer Selection, Marine Algae,
Coralline Algae, Green Algae,
Brown Algae, Blue-Green
"Algae"/(Cyanobacteria), Diatoms,
Brown Algae, Related FAQs:
Coralline Algae 1, Coralline Algae 2,
Coralline Algae 3, Coralline Algae 4,
Coralline Algae Behavior,
Coralline Algae Compatibility/Control,
Coralline Algae Selection,
Coralline Algae Systems, Coralline
Algae Nutrition, Coralline Algae
Disease, Coralline Algae
Reproduction/Propagation, Red Algae in
General,
Red Algae 2, Red Algae 3,
Red Algae Identification, Red Algae
Behavior, Red Algae Compatibility,
Red Algae Selection, Red Algae
Systems, Red Algae Nutrition,
Red Algae Disease, Red Algae
Reproduction/Propagation, Marine
Macro-Algae, Use in Aquariums, Marine
Algae ID 1, Marine Algae ID 2,
Marine Algae Control FAQs II,
Marine Algaecide Use, Nutrient
Limitation, Marine Algae Eaters,
Culturing Macro-Algae;
Controlling: BGA/Cyano,
Red/Encrusting Algae, Green Algae,
Brown/Diatom Algae, | 
|
Brown Coralline? 11/09/08
I've had a dark brown slightly
reddish coralline algae starting to spread on my back overflows,
Koralia's and some live rock. It looks just like the coralline type but
the color is wrong. I cannot seem to find anything about this type of
algae on the forum. Any ideas?
<It could just be the red coralline
instead of the purple you are used to seeing. I'm supposing it looks
brown because of your lighting. If it is hard and crusty like the purple
then no worries. If it is filmy and slimy then it could be cyano or
diatoms. But most likely its just a different color coralline.>
Thank
you for all the support!
<Regards, Jessy>
alan
Algae I.D. 09/27/2008
Greetings Crew,
<<Good morning,
Andrew today>>
Thanks for the great site! I have looked high and
low for information on this algae but I can not find it anywhere.
Forgive me if I've simply overlooked it. Thanks in advance.
<<Corallina elongata i would suggest. Please do use your search
engine for plenty of info on this algae>>
John T.
<<Thanks
for the questions, hope this helps. A Nixon>> | 
Beautiful. |
Re: Algae I.D. 11/02/08
Hello again Crew,
<Hello, I'm so, so sorry this email does not appear to have been
answered after all this time.>
I've looked up Corallina
elongata but I am unsure that is what I have. I did find this
page
www.wetwebmedia.com/trialalgaeid.htm
<Ah, I'm glad you
found that page.>
with a similar looking algae. (Very bottom
row, in the middle) It's listed as possibly being Fauchea. I'll
keep up the search.
<Macro algaes are indeed often very
difficult to ID by eye, by picture.>
Is it not ironic that
our passion teaches us patience but when we have questions we
want answers right now?
<Hehe... "the more we know, the more
we don't know.">
Thanks again for a great web site and for
taking time to help. I live in an area without a LFS and as far
as I know have the only salt water tank in town. I could not
have done it without Wet Web!
<Great to hear, thank you for
the kind words!>
John T
<Best, Sara M.> |
Coralline or not? 5/23/08
Hi WWM Crew,
<Hello>
Sorry to pester, but I've been trying to determine if what is
growing on my rock is/is not the much-sought-after coralline algae
or not (see attached photo).
<Looks like it to me.>
I had a
bit of a "red slime" problem on my back glass that two Trochus
snails resolved, but even when they come to this rock, they have
been unable to "clean" it, nor have my burgundy hermits. I just
stuck my hand in and scratched it a bit with a fingernail, and it
didn't "ooze" off like the red slime did when I touched it.
<Sounds like coralline to me.>
The rock in question is the
white(ish) one in the center. I picked it up from Hanauma Bay seven
years ago after it washed onto the beach. When I placed it in the
tank a month ago, it was totally white, but this stuff has turned it
progressively darker. I am not getting any kind of the same growth
on my glass or any other rock, so I'm a bit confused as to why it
would limit itself to this rock only.
<Something is favoring it's
growth in this spot, lighting, water flow most likely reasons.>
An added bonus would be if you might be able to give me an idea what
this rock is.
<Looks like fairly standard reef rock.>
Thanks,
as always, for your timely and sage replies!
-DS-
<Welcome>
<Chris> |  |
Red Fuzzy Coralline? …Not likely, perhaps another Rhodophyta – 08/26/07
Hello crew!
<Hi Dave, Mich here.>
I have been researching your
site and others trying to figure out what is growing in my 90-gallon
reef.
<OK.>
I have a red feathery/fuzzy substance growing on a
lot of my rocks, snails and hermit shells.
<OK.>
I was wondering
if it was a type of coralline and harmless in my tank.
<Only
guessing without a pic.>
I am very familiar with cyano and I don't
think this substance is it.
<OK, One of many possibilities off the
table.>
It is very difficult to scrub off, and grows in high flow
areas unlike cyano.
<Still leaves a plethora of possibilities.>
I
read a similar query asked by another gentleman on your site. The reply
to him was that it was coralline, and that he should drop some vinegar
on it to see if it bubbled to be sure that it was. I tried this
experiment on my substance and it did not bubble.
<Then it is likely
not coralline or any other calcium based organism.>
The other
gentleman described it very well, in my opinion, by saying it appears to
look like patches of red mold.
<Many nuisance algae come to mind,
red turf algae or red hair algae such as Polysiphonia, Asparagopsis,
Anotrichum barbatum, Gelidium pusillus, or perhaps a beneficial organism
such as a red tree Foram (Homotrema rubrum)
Your expertise would be
greatly appreciated.
<A photo might help here.>
Thank you all for
this amazing site!
<Thank you for your kind words!>
Dave
Kansas
City, MO.
<Mich
Gouldsboro, PA.>
Re: Red Fuzzy Coralline? …Not likely, perhaps another Rhodophyta... BGA
8/28/07
Mich,
<Hi there Dave.>
Thank you, for your quick
and very helpful response!
<Welcome!>
I have been researching
your suggested algae species and I am continuing to have problems
identifying which is growing in my tank.
<Yes, does not look like
what I was picturing in my head with out the photos.>
I hope that
they attached picture of the red substance growing on my glass magnet
might help you take a better guess at what it is.
<Mmm, pics are
helpful. Is not a red tree Foram and likely not many of the algae I
suggested previously, is a nuisance alga, likely a Rhodophyte, but
beyond that I can't tell. Perhaps RMF will comment on the dailies page.>
<<Is highly likely Cyanobacteria... a quick look under a few hundred
power microscope would show the absence of nuclei, organelles, the
distinctive circular DNA if higher powered... Please read on WWM re
BGA... RMF>>
This is the way it appears everywhere in my tank, (rock,
hermit shells, powerheads) short, red, and fuzzy.
<No fun. Perhaps
some improvements in husbandry would help?
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nutrientcontrol.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/maintenance/marineMaint.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/avoidingalgaeproblesm.htm >
Thank you for
your time,
<Welcome, wish I could be more helpful. Mich>
Dave
Mmm, think I forgot to move an image into the emails with images
folder... re: fw: re: Red Fuzzy Coralline? atten: Mich
<No worries...
was there somewhere. Found, posted>
Also He stated earlier: It is
very difficult to scrub off, and grows in high flow areas unlike cyano.
<Is almost assuredly BGA... B>
Re: Red Fuzzy Coralline? …Not Likely, Perhaps Another Rhodophyta... Nah,
Cyanobacteria – 08/31/07
Mich,
<Hi Dave.>
Thank you again,
for the quick and helpful reply.
<You're welcome!>
I was however
disappointed that I could have some yucky cyano in my tank.
<It
happens to all of us. Glad you can't see my tank right now!>
Let me
give you a little background on my tank and husbandry. It's a 90-gallon
reef with a medium bio-load. There is no detectable nitrites, nitrates,
or ammonia. However with the phosphate test kit that I have, (which is
very hard to read, maybe time for a new one.) I think I may have a
slight amount of phosphate in my water, less than 5ppm (however, with
the color chart its very hard to determine if its actually 0) Calcium
and alkalinity are within parameters, and my ph. stays pretty steady,
and high, around 8.4. I have an all-glass model 3 wet dry.
<If you
have a wet/dry, you most assuredly have nitrates, if your getting
readings of zero it is because your algae, nuisance or macro is using it
up.
Yes, I do keep a close eye on my nitrates. ANS G-3 protein
skimmer, which works great, and I use RO water. I religiously change 4-5
gallons of water weekly.
<About twice that amount would be better.>
I don't have a lot of live rock, around 75lbs, and my sand bed falls
into the poor thickness range, 1 1/2 to 2 inches.
<Nutrient sink and
not deep enough to be very helpful with anaerobic metabolism.>
So I
consider myself very conscientious about my husbandry (except if it
really is cyano, it has to be from me being such a sucker to my Kole
tang.... he likes to eat, and I'm easy).
<Heehee! Could be a
contributing factor.>
So when I saw that yourself and Bob both think
its cyano, it really made me think about my feeding habits.
<Nix the
Wet/dry, deeper sandbed, add some macro, bigger or more frequent water
changes...>
Nevertheless, I took your advice and took a sample of it
to the local high school, where my mother teaches biology and put it
under a microscope.
<Cool!>
It took a few adjustments, but I
found that this substance definitely has a cell wall and what appear to
be organelles, however I could not identify a nucleus. If so, does cyano
bacteria have anything that appears to be cell walls, because this
substance had a definite structure?
<Yes Cyanobacteria do have cell
walls and although they are truly prokaryotic their internal membranes
are elaborate and highly organized and may resemble organelles. The
missing nucleus further suggests Cyanobacteria.>
I understand its
very difficult to take stabs at the millions of possibilities it could
be, but your advice has been so beneficial thus far, I thought I'd put
the ball back in your court. Any more guesses would AGAIN be very
helpful.
<As Bob suggested, is likely Cyanobacteria.>
Thanks yet
again, for your time and dedication to your absolutely wonderful site.
<WetWebMedia is Bob's baby. I am but a minor contributor to his massive
endeavor. But thank you for these kind words on behalf on Bob on the
rest of the crew.><<Uh huh. RMF>>
Dave
<Mich>
Kansas City, MO.
<Gouldsboro, PA> |  
|
Purple on My Glass 1/1/07
Hello there, <Hi> I need some info on
an issue with my 29 salt.
I have some light purple spots on my glass
and powerhead and other things in my tank. It won't come off with the
algae brush. The LFS said that it was ok, and he called it something but
can't remember what he called it. It kinda of crust, it scraps off with
my finger nails. Is there something that I can buy or use to get this
off at least my glass?
Thanks for your info.
Cody
<Coralline
algae, many scrappers available to remove it from the glass. See
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/corallinealg.htm for more.>
<Chris>
Coralline Algae/Alkaline Precipitation/Ca Reactor Tuning - 12/07/06
Hi Eric,
<<Hey Ken!>>
I hope all is well with you.
<<Indeed
it is...thank you>>
Things have been going well with the tank, but I
have a few questions.
<<Ok>>
The tank is set up 6 weeks
now. The few soft corals and star-polyps look good.
<<Excellent>>
I did buy a clean-up crew about 10 days ago. I feel like I should put
the snails on the payroll. In the first two days they cleaned all of
the greenish algae I had on the rocks.
<<Cool!>>
The tank looks
good. My nitrate is less than 1-ppm and phosphate is zero using LaMotte
Colorimeter.
<<Very good>>
The pH is usually 8.10 to 8.20 and
ORP has been about 415MV.
<<More good news>>
I also have gotten
more and more pink coralline algae on some of the rocks. My first
question has to do with that in the last couple of days I am getting
areas of a burgundy color on the rocks.
<<Coralline algae comes in
"many" colors>>
It looks to be more on the areas that have some of
the pinkish coralline.
<<Conditions in those locations are likely
"optimum" for both species...everything competes for space on the reef>>
Also I notice the burgundy color is all of a sudden on a lot of the
turbo snails.
<<Very common>>
Is this just another color
coralline?
<<Indeed it is>>
I am hoping that it is not like red
Cyano or something.
<<Can usually tell the difference>>
I don't
see this on most of the rocks and none on sand, powerheads, sand etc. I
tried scraping it off with my fingernail and it does come off
somewhat. It doesn't seem as hard as the pink coralline algae.
<<Differences in structure/composition>>
I'm not sure if this is
coralline or not.
<<Likely so>>
I would say that I see this
burgundy color mostly on places that had pink to begin with pretty
much. My next question has to do with my AGA Mega Flow. Their isn't
really any algae on my rocks or tank, but I do have some thick greenish
layers of it in the overflow box only. Should I leave it their, or
manually remove it, or can I put a couple of my turbo snails in there to
eat it.
<<Can remove or leave, whichever you prefer...I would not
put turbo snails in the overflow box (will probably get there sooner or
later anyway, but...) as they will get in to the overflow pipes and
restrict/block flow>>
I thought about snails and overflows but the
Durso pipe and the return pipe are sealed unit and nothing could get in
there. What do you think?
<<If you have some kind of "screen" on
the Durso then this may be fine>>
By the way, if I manually remove
the algae will anything?
<<...?>>
I don't want to spread it
around the tank? Also is it possible that this algae is in its own
"container" and it can act like a refugium in a way?
<<Sure...on a
very small scale. If nothing else, it is removing nutrients...but I'll
bet close observation will reveal some tiny crustaceans living there as
well>>
My last question and most perplexing and bothersome to me has
to do with my calcium reactor. I have an MTC Pro-Cal calcium
reactor. I don't run it all of the time as my tank is only 6 weeks old
and there isn't much in the tank to take up the Alk and Ca. When my alk
gets down to 8dKH, I turn on the CO2 and run it at 1 bubble per second
and the effluent at .02 ml as per the instructions. This is their
starting point.
<<And as good as any>>
I will shut of the CO2
once the alk hits 10 or 11 dKH. My Ca usually is in the 410 to 425 ppm
range. The strange thing is that once I run the Ca reactor for a day or
so, I see some of the rock (usually more evident where the coralline
algae is) start to get a whitish tone to it. It does not blow
off. Also, and more importantly, when I take a turkey baster, I can
blow off what almost looks like ash.
<<Sounds as if you may have
some carbonaceous material falling out of solution>>
This has
happened all three times I ran it.
<<You may want to consider
experimenting with different reactor media>>
I was wondering if it
was calcium precipitate, but how could it be?
<<Easy enough...the
water can only "hold" so much material. Maximizing alkalinity (11dKH)
and calcium (425ppm) over saturates the water with carbonaceous
material. Try test your alkalinity AND calcium after one of these
events...likely BOTH have fallen as a result>>
All of the parameters
are in check. I am not using limewater or any additive and I do 20%
water changes weekly with Reef Crystals.
Do you have any ideas?
<<The reactor is probably "too large" for the system (right now anyway)
and is producing to much alkaline and calcium reserve than the tank can
"use." I would turn to one of the two-part alkalinity/calcium
supplements for now. Based on your future stocking levels/specimens,
you may find you don't need the reactor>>
By the way, I am using
CaribSea Geo Thermal aragonite for the media.
<<Mmm, I see...this
product is likely soft/more soluble than others...try adjusting the
reactor effluent to a pH of about 7.0 the next time you use it and see
what results>>
I did buy a kalk stirrer and plan on using it with my
dosing pump and float switch for top off water once I have the time to
set it up in a few days.
<<Proceed with caution here...for now
anyway>>
I appreciate your help.
Regards,
Ken
<<Always
happy to assist. EricR>>
To Be Coralline or Not To Be..... 11/11/06
Hi there, <Hi> my
aquarium is newly setup and cycled with live rock and I've watched
many colors change and algaes and such spread, I now have a bright
red patch of algae, that just will not scrub off with a tooth brush,
a lot of my rock is very deep red, and I can scrub and scrub and it
wont go away, what I am curious about is this patch (on the photo)
is it red coralline algae, and should I worry about it? It had grown
from two dime shaped patches into one of that size in about 2 weeks!
My nutrient levels are all 0ppm. Any insight you could offer would
be great! ~Ryan
You have been sent 3 pictures.
<A little
hard to tell in these photos but my guess would be that it is
coralline and no need to worry about it.>
<Chris> |
To be coralline or not to be..... 11/12/06
Hi
there, my aquarium is newly setup and cycled with live rock and
ive watched many colors change and algaes and such spread, I now
have a bright red patch of algae, that just will not scrub off
with a tooth brush, a lot of my rock is very deep red, and I can
scrub and scrub and it wont go away, what I am curious about is
this patch (on the photo) is it red coralline algae, and should
I worry about it?
<Is coralline, not to worry>
It had
grown from two dime shaped patches into one of that size in
about 2 weeks! My nutrient levels are all 0ppm. Any insight you
could offer would be great! ~Ryan
You have been sent 3
pictures.
<Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/corallinealg.htm
and the linked
files above. Bob Fenner> |  
|
Coralline algae 11/19/05
Dear Bob,
I have a bit of a
stupid question. I have live rock in my tank that has been there for
approx 2-3 mos. I have a 180g FOWLR. The rock is growing pink and red
encrusting algae. There are areas on the rock where there is green algae
growing and I am having a hard time determining if this is coralline
algae. The green algae doesn't look like it is "encrusting" but when it
grows on the walls of the tank it feels like fine sandpaper. On the
rock, the porosity of the rock that is covered by the green is evident.
Unlike the encrusting pinks where the rock is "plated" I had a piece of
dead fire coral in the tank that first grew pink, then green algae. This
algae is not removed very easily and it is not slimy to touch. I have
noted that it is now growing in the gravel of the tank. Is this likely
to be coralline ?
Jimmy
<Well... encrusting is a descriptive
term... usually associated with given species of red, brown and green
algae... if it's hard, rough to the touch... is "encrusting"... but
coralline refers to Reds/Rhodophytes of algae species... and these do
look red, unless bleached (then white). Bob Fenner>
Coral / Algae Id and care
WWM Crew,
<Hi there>
Could
you please provide an identification of the material that is
encrusting this rock (the "bumpy" purple and green stuff)? I first
thought that this was coralline algae, but after searching your id
pages and others on the web, I do not know what to think.
<Looks
like an encrusting Red (coralline) and some sort of green algae to
me as well.>
I would like to also the care for this particular
material. We think that it is very attractive It came in on our LR,
but as you can see on the lower left hand portion of the picture,
the material is receding, and on the top of the rock, it is
bleaching (turning white). On another piece of LR that did not have
as much of this material on it, it is almost gone.
<Please read
here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/corallinealg.htm
and the linked
(in blue, at top) FAQs>
Setup:
We are setting up a Oceanic 75
gal. mini reef tank. The equipment currently in the tank are 2
MaxiJet powerheads,4-65W PC Coralife (2-10000K and
2-actinics),Prizim Pro skimmer, Oceanic w/d sump (bio balls removed
- put skimmer in the "old bio area" - the output of the skimmer goes
into the refugium with has LS and red Gracilaria growing - reverse
photoperiod of about 12 hrs.- which then overflows into the pump
area to be returned to the main tank), Eheim power canister filter
(with floss and activate carbon in it) and a UV sterilizer (not on)
in a separate loop. We currently have about 60 lbs. of LR (LR is
Fiji (45%) and aquacultured from FL (55%)) and 45 lbs. of LS. The
sand bed (mix of sand and LS) in the main tank is 3" of fine sugar
sand (a little medium fine aragonite mixed in).
The tank is about
8 weeks old.
<This is "very young"... and has a direct bearing on
the vacillation in the encrusting algae you are experiencing... You
need to maintain biomineral and alkaline reserve levels... over
time... to grow all>
The tank was cycled with the uncured LR and
LS. For the past 4 weeks our water tests have shown ph 8.2, ammonia
0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0,and a temp. of 80-82F. Within the last two
weeks we have been testing alkalinity and calcium. The current
results are KH 11 dKH, GH 40+dkh (got tired of dropping reagent - is
this possible or do I have a bad test kit?), and CA of 255. I know
that I need to increase the CA levels.
<... please have a read on
WetWebMedia.com re these materials>
I have been adding small
amounts of Kalkwasser to increase the CA, but from reading your
website, I would guess that I am close to a precipitate snowstorm.
Therefore I need to do water change to lower the alkalinity so that
I can raise the CA -- Do I understand this correctly?
<Partly>
We added the PC lights about 3 weeks ago (before only ambient
lighting and 1 48" NO Coralife flour.). Over the last two weeks this
material (referred to above) on the LR has been receding (mainly the
dark and light purple, and dark and light green algae -- the pink
coralline seems to be growing well within the last week (after we
started supplementing the Ca - small spots on the glass, on the dead
rock, and a little on the sand). Is the receding material due to the
water quality issues (low Ca and high Alk.) and/or acclimation to
the new lights?
<More the former>
Or is this too much lighting
for this tank? Or some kind of disease?
<No on both counts, your
system is "settling in"... you need to settle on a regimen of
testing and whatever supplementation you're going to utilize. I
encourage you to look into simple two part systems
(Wilken's/C-Balance, Stark's ESV...) and stop the yo-yo'ing with
Kalkwasser. Bob Fenner>
Thank you in advance for your assistance!
John | 
|
Red coralline VS Cyanobacteria
Hi guys, hope you are all well.
<Hi and thank you we are all well and happy.>
I am in the process of
upgrading my tank after a near total loss, so I let the tank sit with
minimal maintenance for several weeks (which did good- the corals I have
left all have come out in full). <Sometimes less is more.> I have had
red-slime problems in the past, and I would siphon it out and blow it
off the rocks with a turkey baster.<That is a good practice but I would
use the baster first then siphon it out.> I cannot blow this red stuff
off the rocks, its hard to brush off with a toothbrush (even with
toothpaste-:)) it "feathers" off the rock (like tree fungi), and is
nearly the same color as Cyano. Is it red coralline? <It is absolutely
coralline algae. If you want to be sure take it out and put it into
some vinegar. If it bubbles then your are in business.>
Thanks for
being there to answer oddball questions! <Not a problem! MikeB>
James - Questions: Is It Coralline? Or Is It Cyanobacteria? -
Hello.
I've started the hobby for about 6 months.
Now I have:
2
yellow tail damsels
1 fire damsel (mean little buggah, constantly
fighting with or getting picked on by one of the yellow tail)
1 clown
fish
1 yellow tang
1 blue tang
1 cleaner shrimp
4 brittle
stars
4 turbo snails
I recently notice a bunch of white critters
on my glass...the fire damsel has been picking on these for awhile since
I got him. And now the pods are everywhere which I'm assuming is good?
<Yes.> During the whole time I started I don't have a sump nor skimmer.
my first water change was a month ago...since then I do a 5 gallon water
change once a week or more depends. As of now, I notice red pinkish
patches on my rocks. The patches aren't very thick... just a very light
covering. I was thinking it was Cyanobacteria (something I shouldn't
want?) My cousin said it might be coralline algae and the only coralline
are on the tips of my turbo snails (I could be wrong) or the water I've
been getting. And I don't know what I've been doing to promote
coralline. <It happens [or not] on its own... in presence of adequate
calcium.> I do however have a killer green algae farm growing on the
right side of my tank just for my tangs just until I can put together
more rocks to start on coral.
If it is coralline, is it possible for
one color coralline changing to another color? <Not usually. A quick
note: in the future, please don't send along such large images. They
clog our inbox and then block other's email from coming in. Thanks...
cheers, J -- >
Coralline Algae 24 Jan 2005
Aloha WWM crew, <Aloha Richmond,
MacL here with you this morning.>
I was wondering if the color
crust on my turbo shell is coralline? <That would be an
affirmative.>
If so, could any of the algae on my rock in
picture 2 be coralline?
<EEK I didn't see picture two, just
picture one but I'm guessing that it could be. Coralline is very
hard to the touch an actually hard to remove.>
How can I go
about in promoting coralline growth and detour the others from
competing with it?
<Coralline generally shows up on something,
on the sides, on the rocks etc. It needs calcium to flourish.>
The 3rd picture is a old empty turbo shell that has brown hair like
algae and some kind of brown fuzz rug on it. Is this type of algae
anyway good and how do I go on about of getting rid of it if it
comes a problem? <Honestly I would pull it out right now and pull
all of it off. That algae is terribly difficult to get rid of and it
won't hurt the empty shell to just pull it out of the water.>
Currently I quarantined my blue tang, yellow tang, 2 yellow tail
damsel, fire damsel and clown fish because the tangs had a little
outbreak of ich. The tank has been running with only 4 brittle
stars, 4 Turbos and a cleaner shrimp. It's been a little over a week
and my pod has 4x its population but then these brown hair started
showing up as well.
<No tangs to eat it would be my guess. As
soon as they go back it should all disappear but you don't want to
let it get ahead of you.>
I've also notice some of my pods are
turning red or maybe this is a stage in growth? I saw one of the red
pods attached to another pod then two more pods attached on to the
red pod...eventually the other 2 let go but I don't know what happen
to the pod with the red pod on it.
<I've never seen one that has
red on it but its not out of the realm of possibilities.>
Lastly,
I was thinking about removing the filter trays and just left my sand
rack and use the filter as water current to move the water, is that
a good idea? I figured that those filter only trap poop and other
debris and I could just buy a separate carbon pouch if needed.
<I'm assuming you have lots of live sand and live rock in the tank
to work as your filter instead? Should be okay if so. Lots of
circulation is important to the tank.> | 
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Coralline Algae i.d.
Hi Bob. Could you describe in details how to
identify coralline algae? Secondly, if these algaes are growing on the
power heads, is it okay to remove them or ignore it? Please advice.
Thanks.
>>
Don't know if I can... they're encrusting with CaCO3
base material... so, if you dry some, it'll turn white, foam with the
application of an acid... have no pores (old designation, Nullipora, to
distinguish...)... Do you have a microscope? Or, can you feel the matter
with your hand? If it's hard, this IS likely some type(s) of coralline
algae. Okay to ignore on most anything... would remove from viewing
panels (gingerly, like with fancy commercial plastic scraper or credit
cards), but that's all.
Bob Fenner Coralline Algae
Bob-
I was reading an article penned by you located at
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/corallinealg.htm. I was wondering if there
was any difference between the algae in your article and the encrusting
coralline algae located off the coast of California?
<Mmm, same
groups down sometimes to the genus level as the tropical corallines...
and both gorgeous. Dave Wrobel wrote widely on such "cold water reefs"
incorporating these rhodophytes... still haven't caught on largely.>
They look identical to me...but I'm wondering if they are.
Thanks in
advance.
D.M. Daniels
<Be chatting. Bob Fenner> Yellow
Spots... Maybe Algae, Maybe Encrusting, Not Definitely Coralline
Bob - Thanks for answering all of our questions. I have yellow spots
growing on the sides of my 75 gal saltwater tank. The spots are as large
as a dime and start as a small dot. They have to scraped from the sides
with my fingernail. Is this a type of encrusting algae?
<Not a very
encrusting variety if so...>
If the spots were purple, I would say
they were coralline algae spreading from the live rock. Any ideas?
<Lots, but none re this organism or mix... Please read through the many
materials posted on WetWebMedia.com re algae, their control, marine
system maintenance.
Bob Fenner>
-- Thanks
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