coraline algae

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Willow

steve it sounds like your colours are fading on your coralline, how long has it been since you upgraded your lights?

I have been running MH for almost 3 years now and I do regularly change the bulbs. the coralline algae is not faded at all, and it has been steady like this for the last 3 years. in other words, the growth rate is constant and the colors are consistent at what I see in other tanks that are very brightly light.

Just for info there are several different colors of coralline, some colors are dominant in dim tanks like VHO and PC lighting, and others are dominant in brightly lit tanks. Mine hasn't faded at all, in fact there was no coralline of the rocks or bottom of the tank be for so this color is all new growth and not faded old growth.

now since coralline is a calcareous algae, and algae is susceptible to light as a coral is it makes since that the colors of it will be different with different lighting.

here is some more requirements for different coralline genera.

high light/current you will have Lithophyllum, Porolithon, and Titanoderma as dominant coralline

medium light/flow you will have Hydrolithon, Mesophyllum, and Sporolithon as dominant coralline

and in low light/ medium flow you will have Peyssonnelia as dominant coralline

each one of these has there own colors. for example Peyssonnelia is usually the darker red plating coralline you see in some tanks, where Porolithon is more of a lighter purple almost pink.


Steve