Algae question

HarlequinTusk · 08/13/2019, 08:44 AM

I'm just getting back into the hobby and I'm trying to understand algae better before I add water to my new tank. I'm going to start this up as a fish only tank with reef safe fish. In the near future (year or two), I'm going to add the necessary equipment to make this a reef tank (add LED's to hybrid light fixture, add more flow in tank, add two part dosing, etc).

I understand that coralline algae is beneficial (and visually appealing) in the tank. I also know that high powered Kessel LED "should" grow Chaeto so efficiently that it'll outcompete algae attempting to grow in display tank.

My concern is that I would think that this would make it very hard time growing coralline algae in the main tank? Should I not even worry about coralline algae until I convert to reef tank?

Equipment List (relevant to my question):
210 gal tank (72" L x 24" D x 29" H)
Aquatic Life LED-T5 Hybrid light (no LED's yet, will add in future)
40 gal sump (Trigger Systems Emerald 39)
Kessel H380 LED light to grow Chaeto in sump refugium section
Skimz Monzter SM252 skimmer
Reeflo Hammerhead/Barracuda return pump

ali1 · 08/13/2019, 09:49 AM

yes, I would not worry about coralline algae until the reef tank is 3yrs in.

Maturity first.

If you don't see traces of coralline then, you can seed the tank with a piece of LR that's encrusted

bertoni · 08/13/2019, 06:25 PM

Coralline algae seems to come in different strains that will grow differently under the same lighting. I'd wait until the lighting was in place to worry about coralline growth. You might need to seed the tank with some appropriate samples, but most often, coralline takes off on its own.

08/13/2019, 08:44 AM	#1
HarlequinTusk Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Niagara Falls, NY Posts: 117	Algae question I'm just getting back into the hobby and I'm trying to understand algae better before I add water to my new tank. I'm going to start this up as a fish only tank with reef safe fish. In the near future (year or two), I'm going to add the necessary equipment to make this a reef tank (add LED's to hybrid light fixture, add more flow in tank, add two part dosing, etc). I understand that coralline algae is beneficial (and visually appealing) in the tank. I also know that high powered Kessel LED "should" grow Chaeto so efficiently that it'll outcompete algae attempting to grow in display tank. My concern is that I would think that this would make it very hard time growing coralline algae in the main tank? Should I not even worry about coralline algae until I convert to reef tank? Equipment List (relevant to my question): 210 gal tank (72" L x 24" D x 29" H) Aquatic Life LED-T5 Hybrid light (no LED's yet, will add in future) 40 gal sump (Trigger Systems Emerald 39) Kessel H380 LED light to grow Chaeto in sump refugium section Skimz Monzter SM252 skimmer Reeflo Hammerhead/Barracuda return pump Last edited by HarlequinTusk; 08/13/2019 at 08:51 AM.

08/13/2019, 09:49 AM	#2
ali1 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 997	yes, I would not worry about coralline algae until the reef tank is 3yrs in. Maturity first. If you don't see traces of coralline then, you can seed the tank with a piece of LR that's encrusted __________________ Originally Posted by Gogandantess "I'm totally frustrated by this disease. My display has been fallow for 2 months now. If ich happened to mysteriously appear again, I'm giving up and going back to African Cichilds."

08/13/2019, 06:25 PM	#3
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Coralline algae seems to come in different strains that will grow differently under the same lighting. I'd wait until the lighting was in place to worry about coralline growth. You might need to seed the tank with some appropriate samples, but most often, coralline takes off on its own. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni