I have an issue no one else has…

Ocean’s Piece

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I’d appreciate if you take the time to read this.
So this is kinda disappointing if this is just the way it’ll always be. I have never found anyone with this issue or knows about this issue on several of the threads I have made about it and the amount of research I have spent on it. So I want to try once more until I find answers and solutions. So my tank is 5 months old, and Coraline is starting to grow, but not in its usual form. I have a ton of Green coraline. I started with 15 lbs of live rock, then a month ago, I added about 15 lbs of dry rock (green coraline was growing before this).
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There is only one rock in my aquarium that has purple/pink coraline on it, and it has taken off too, but not as much as this green coraline. I’m unsure if it’s my light or what. I did a test too. I got a small piece of live rock that had pink coraline algae and purple coraline algae (different pieces of rock that we’re in my back chambers of Biocube). I took the rock and put one on top of the aquarium and the other on the sandbed. Both of them grew green coraline on top of their pink and purple coraline in a matter of a month. There’s only a few tiny spots of pink coraline on the back wall but 99% of it is green coraline. Any comments, answers, and solutions are highly appreciated. If you did, thanks for reading through this long thing btw
 

vetteguy53081

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What is you calcium and ph levels. CA has on impact on progression of coraline
 
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Ocean’s Piece

Ocean’s Piece

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What kind of lights are you using?
Biocube stock lights
Typically green shows up first. Pink/purple follow. 5 months is not a long time. What lighting are you using and are you dosing?
Only liquid I have put in my aquarium is MB7 but only when I see a phosphate issue arise
What is you calcium and ph levels. CA has on impact on progression of coraline
Ca: 390
Alk: 7.6
pH: haven’t checked in a while and won’t be able to soon either. I only check when I notice something wrong with ca, alk, and mg, which has been a long time when I realized I needed to raise my specific gravity.
Could have been the issue idk though. It was at 1.024 and got it up to 1.026 a few weeks ago.
 
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Ocean’s Piece

Ocean’s Piece

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Ca and alk are building blocks for coralline. Your numbers are low. I would try getting Ca up to 450 and alk above 8.
But I’m growing coraline fine. It’s just pink coraline. Does pink require higher Ca and Alk levels than green?
Any coralline is good. Give it some time to even out?
Maybe add some pink/purple spores from arc.
I have tried cutting off pieces and rubbing them against the back wall but I have no success from that yet.
 
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Tamberav

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Green usually comes before pink/purple. Not sure why, perhaps the pink/purple takes longer to establish or needs more stable chemistry. Coralline does seem to like nutrients too.

Your numbers are fine IMO. My Alk is 7.5 and my Ca is 400 and I grow the purple stuff in mass.
 
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Ocean’s Piece

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Green usually comes before pink/purple. Not sure why, perhaps the pink/purple takes longer to establish or needs more stable chemistry. Coralline does seem to like nutrients too.

Your numbers are fine IMO. My Alk is 7.5 and my Ca is 400 and I grow the purple stuff in mass.
I thought so. I don’t think the different types of coraline would need different levels…unless they do, which would be odd. I think the problem may be because I was raising my salinity from 1.024-1.026 over a month and a half period in the midst of the green coraline growth. Only time will tell really.
 

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I thought so. I don’t think the different types of coraline would need different levels…unless they do, which would be odd. I think the problem may be because I was raising my salinity from 1.024-1.026 over a month and a half period in the midst of the green coraline growth. Only time will tell really.

Lighting should be fine too... my first tank a million years ago was an Aquapod which is basically identical to a Biocube. There wasn't even LED's out yet, so they just used compact fluorescent's which are lower lighting/par then what the led's in the biocube have today. It grew pink coralline (but started with green!).
 

vetteguy53081

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Biocube stock lights

Only liquid I have put in my aquarium is MB7 but only when I see a phosphate issue arise

Ca: 390
Alk: 7.6
pH: haven’t checked in a while and won’t be able to soon either. I only check when I notice something wrong with ca, alk, and mg, which has been a long time when I realized I needed to raise my specific gravity.
Could have been the issue idk though. It was at 1.024 and got it up to 1.026 a few weeks ago.
Salinity-1,025
Alk- 8-11
Ca 440-460
Mag 1300
 

reefinatl

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Biocube stock lights

Only liquid I have put in my aquarium is MB7 but only when I see a phosphate issue arise

Ca: 390
Alk: 7.6
pH: haven’t checked in a while and won’t be able to soon either. I only check when I notice something wrong with ca, alk, and mg, which has been a long time when I realized I needed to raise my specific gravity.
Could have been the issue idk though. It was at 1.024 and got it up to 1.026 a few weeks ago.
Do more waterchanges with a higher alk salt like reef crystals or start dosing to keep Alk above 8. Calcium needs to come up to match.

5 month is nothing and the peak I can see of the liverock, it is not a powerhouse of pi k/red/purple corraline deposits either. These things take time. If you are 5 months in and your big worry is green corraline you are doing great. Tweak your parameters up a bit and keep on trucking. These things take a long time to really become the showpiece we got into the hobby for.

All for reef is expensive but so convenient. Get that and a hannah checker to check alk a few times a week after some water changes to bring ca and alk up and you'll be in for a treat in a couple months.
 

Susan Edwards

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all of my tanks started with green and eventually became pink and purple. You need lots of patience. 5 mo is just the beginning. And as others said, get CA and ALK up a bit but this is just normal.

+1 on hanna alk and PO4 checkers.

Looking good so far. Keep going. Nothing to be discouraged about.
 
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Ocean’s Piece

Ocean’s Piece

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Do more waterchanges with a higher alk salt like reef crystals or start dosing to keep Alk above 8. Calcium needs to come up to match.

5 month is nothing and the peak I can see of the liverock, it is not a powerhouse of pi k/red/purple corraline deposits either. These things take time. If you are 5 months in and your big worry is green corraline you are doing great. Tweak your parameters up a bit and keep on trucking. These things take a long time to really become the showpiece we got into the hobby for.

All for reef is expensive but so convenient. Get that and a hannah checker to check alk a few times a week after some water changes to bring ca and alk up and you'll be in for a treat in a couple months.
Reason why some of my rock is white and some is live is because I added more dry rock a month ago but the rest of the rock is live. I have Red Sea alkalinity test but may consider Hanna. I have a Hanna Phosphate ULR checker though
 

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