A Question About Algae

Algae could be the aquarist’s friend and at the same time an enemy, it all depends on what type it is. A question arose recently about algae and my immediate reaction was ‘Oh no, not again, algae!’’ In fact it wasn’t so bad.

The question came from a beginner aquarist who openly admitted that she didn’t have much experience. In fact, she had done precisely four routine seawater changes with her new aquarium. The aquarium, a fish only, was not overstocked, if anything it was understocked. She was a little fed up; the excitement of actually seeing some life in the aquarium after all the patient waiting when the system was being put together was being spoilt by the dreaded algae. I was unable to see the aquarium.

Basically she had done seawater changes and after each one she advised ‘red’ algae had gone bananas. That’s what she said; I don’t think it could have been quite as bad as that!

Many aquarists have problems with various types of algae, particularly when inexperienced and when the aquarium is in its early days. I was surprised that it was red algae causing the trouble. Usually it is green hair algae, or so-called slime algae or smear algae (a thin sheet that slowly covers rocks, sand etc). Slime algae can be ‘reddish’, very dark and appear red nearly black. Another type is diatoms that are usually more golden brown in colour.

Red algae can be calcareous and branching or encrusting, or have flexible ‘leaves’. These algae types are often sort after by aquarists as they are decorative. In the red algae family there are over 4000 types. The algae though had been identified as a problem and not decorative so it cleared these types away. So the algae in question had to be a problem type, but what? Green hair algae was obviously not the answer.

When an aquarium is first started up diatoms often appear. They could cover rocks, sand etc. The diatoms rely on silicates in the seawater – if the silicates go so do the diatoms. If they appear then die back, the silicates are used up. If they then re-appear at a routine seawater change, then more silicates have been introduced. The fresh water source could be suspect. Dry sea salt does not usually cause this type of problem.

Smear or slime algae is a bigger problem. It can be quite difficult to erase but this can be achieved. The presence of smear algae suggests excess nutrients in the seawater, even in a new aquarium. Also smear algae does not like strong currents – it often tends to appear in quiet areas of the aquarium, though just to be helpful it can appear in more turbulent areas.

10% of the net system gallonage is the guideline amount for routine seawater changes, until the actual needs of a particular aquarium are known. The changes being done were of this amount.

Possibilities would have to be narrowed down, so the first suggestion was that seawater tests should be done, that is, nitrate and phosphate. A request was made to test both the seawater in the aquarium and the new seawater made up for a routine change. Ideally, in the aquarium nitrate should be as low as 10ppm (parts per million) or less particularly for a reef aquarium, a fish only could be higher but should still have nitrate minimized. Phosphate should not be detected at all hopefully, but at least the level should not be more than 0.03ppm. If it is higher, say 0.10ppm, it is too high. In newly made up seawater there shouldn’t really be any presence of nitrate or phosphate. Nitrate and phosphate are known problem algae nutrients, thus the need for control.

It turned out that nitrate and phosphate were present and ‘a little too high’, levels were not given. The seawater destined for the routine change was also tested – the same for nitrate. Now then!

So on to the next possibility. This follows the clues given – the algae become more apparent after a routine seawater change and nitrate was present in the new seawater. A check was suggested of the freshwater being used.

The information arrived that the nitrate level in the freshwater was ‘high’. Maybe this was tap water, the most likely, or it could be local spring or well water, I don’t know. Nor was the actual level given. However, ‘high’ in this instance meant ‘too much’ and this seemed to be the problem that needed to be dealt with.

Tap water is not necessarily as pure as might be thought. In agricultural areas there could be excessive nitrate levels. There could also be heavy metals, pesticides, phosphate, chlorine, chloramines and so on. The water is made safe for human consumption; there are regulations as to how much of what is permitted.

The suggestion was made that fresh water should no longer be used from that source, and that a reverse osmosis (RO) unit should be obtained. The RO unit is a membrane that only permits pure water to pass, or nearly so. The purity is usually about 95 to 98%. It is important to have a unit that incorporates a carbon filter at the front end; this protects the membrane as chlorine is removed. Chlorine could damage the membrane. A sediment filter is often incorporated before the membrane as well. RO units come in various ‘gallons per day’ sizes, one needs to be picked that is suitable for the size of the routine seawater change. RO units are very reliable and only require the carbon filter etc changing from time to time in accordance with the manufacturer’s directions. They are not particularly expensive either.

It is worth using high quality fresh water obviously for the welfare of the livestock; also dry sea salt is not cheap. Dry sea salt manufacturers produce salt that is free of nitrate and phosphate – why spoil this with poor fresh water?

Much later on it was learned that an RO unit was in use and though nothing had happened for a while, in time the algae (‘slime’ I assume) started to reduce and the aquarium became clear of it.

This seems a good demonstration that the aquarium will reflect what it receives. Feed in algae nutrients and algae could appear. In this case all turned out well.

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My Lovely Algae

Algae to an aquarist often mean trouble. It is one of the continuing ‘don’t wants’ of the aquarium. Hair algae, slime algae, yuk, no thanks! Then there’s the algae that’s purposely grown in a sump to aid filtration, usually Caulerpa.

The algae referred to here is none of the ‘horribles’, or Caulerpa, but the ‘reefy’ encrusting algae that is welcome, by me anyway.

At first when the aquarium started I used to keep all four side glasses clean. A considerable time later I noticed that encrusting algae had taken hold in a back corner. A closer look showed that it seemed decorative and welcome, so the algae’s impending doom with a scraper was averted. One end of the aquarium was not cleaned at all; it was left to its own devices. The glass turned green, the usual stuff, but despite twitching with the urge to clean it off, it was left alone. Over a few weeks it gradually turned dark.

I thought about this for a while, and then increased the alkalinity of the seawater from 2.5 meq/L to 4.0 meq/L. The reason for this action was that it had been anecdotally reported that bad algae grew poorly with higher alkalinity, but encrusting decorative algae does better. Having done this I monitored the corals carefully but nothing untoward occurred.

As time progressed the glass that had been left turned into dark, medium and light green patches. It also developed lots of tiny white pimples on it. It looked great.

Having obtained reassurance by this ‘experiment’, I left the back glass alone and just kept the front and one end glass clean. This was probably going to happen anyway as the corals were larger and getting to some areas of the glass had become difficult. The algae continued to develop and then covered the stated glass panels completely. The aquarium looks really great with this natural decoration in place. The original blue of the back glass can no longer be seen.

The alkalinity level has been maintained at 4.0 meq/L for years and the encrusting algae do seem to appreciate it.

I did note that algae over an area of about 2 square inches had come away from the glass and fallen down; it could be seen on a rock. The glass where it had been was clean. The fallen alga was quite thick, about 1/8 of an inch, so I assumed it had simply lost adhesion, glass is hard and smooth. Sure enough, the clean area was soon being taken over and is now once again covered.

Something else I have noted is that tiny shrimps, similar to the ones that scurry over the rocks and sand at night, take refuge behind some areas of the algae. Close inspection shows that the algae appears to be slightly loose in place – I wonder if the beasties have burrowed their way in or simply taken advantage.

Over time one or two additional patches of encrusting algae have come away and are growing back. Taking a photograph of the algae is difficult as corals tend to get in the way, however I did find one area that is reasonably open and used that. The patches on the left can be seen, in process of re-covering. Original algae can also be seen. Incidentally, the attached ‘leafy’ algae that can also be seen aren’t what I’m talking about, but are also very decorative. It is also very friendly in that if any does grow where it isn’t wanted the whole ‘leaf’ easily comes away for removal.

Algae can be the aquarist’s friend, adding a natural decorative background and increasing the overall attractiveness of the aquarium.

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Marine Aquariums Are Great, But Need A Bit Of Weeding

We all know that a successful marine aquarium doesn’t get that way all on its own. Nature has a very large part to play, and the aquarist needs to carry out ongoing maintenance.

Marine aquariums nowadays are generally successful. There are those that fail for one reason or another, sometimes because of a basic error by the aquarist such as an inadequate bio-filter. As said though, most are successful greatly helped by the amount of knowledge gained from experience that is available on the internet and in books. Science can tell us a lot but there is more to it than that – there needs to be integration between technology and Mother Nature. Skill if you like. All the gadgets that are available helps towards this, gadgets such as protein skimmers, calcium reactors, power heads and the like, not to mention the high quality dry salt mixes that are available now and have made such a difference.

In the early days marine aquarists weren’t so lucky, dry salt mixes were not available for a start. Aquarists could look up the suggested mixes and obtain the ingredients, what was produced was a brew very unlike natural seawater, with many parts missing. Protein skimmers and calcium reactors had not been invented, at least not for the fledgling marine hobby, so a lot of ingenuity was required. The actual ongoing seawater mix would be unknown – how for example could calcium be measured by a hobbyist? These early aquarists were the ones who kicked it all off though, maybe for the challenge.

The early aquarists couldn’t dream of keeping corals or shrimps, how they would gape in awe at a modern reef system! They kept fish only aquariums, which were decorated with dead coral and various base coverings. Fish were lost as a regular occurrence and it must have been a mystery and a nightmare. They wouldn’t know the fish were poisoning themselves – no bio-filtration! Longevity of the fish was perhaps assisted by seawater changes? Fish were also lost because of the dreaded ‘white spot’ or ‘velvet’, the parasitic diseases.

Looking for cleanliness which the lack of was thought to be a reason why fish didn’t live long, an invention eventually arrived called the undergravel filter. This was a real milestone as oxygen laden seawater moving through the substrate caused the creation of a bio-filter. The inventor of the undergravel filter, a man called Stratton if memory serves me correctly, didn’t believe that the change was anything to do with bacteria as eventually science advised, but continued to believe it was enhanced cleanliness that increased the health of the fish. He was correct in a way; fouling toxic ammonia and nitrite were being removed.

The next big jump was the arrival of the protein skimmer. A remaining scourge of the aquarist was the fish ‘wipeout’, when all fish were lost for some strange reason. The arrival of protein skimmers, quite crude and not very efficient at first, sorted that out.

So it has gone on until the present day. Now success is the normal outcome for an aquarist. Seawater quality is high, fish are healthy and corals, shrimps and all manner of reef life are being kept in good health.

So we can sit back and just gaze at our fish and/or corals. Certainly we can, and that’s one thing I do particularly after a maintenance period.

A successful aquarium has high seawater quality, good seawater movement and adequate lighting. So the livestock should feel at home. They no doubt do – as do uninvited guests!

The gardener loves the display that has been created, apart from those weeds that keep popping up and spreading if allowed.

The marine aquarium is the same. Now that conditions are so good all manner of pests can arrive, perhaps with live rock or coral rock. Aiptasia (aaagh! I hear the cry!). Sailor’s Eyeballs too. These pests if not controlled will spread alarmingly, as will red flatworms. Some flatworms can also attack corals. Then there are nudibranchs that could be imported on the coral rock that their target prey is on. Not to mention some snails. There are more.

So the modern marine aquarium is becoming more natural to the livestock it holds. Because of this there is greatly increased success in livestock health and longevity. It follows that the captive reef in its modern splendor could become home to unwanted life too.

The problem, if it can be called that, is that the captive reef will never be able to hold the diversity of life that the wild reef can. Some of that diversity of life is predatory, and it predates on the pests that we battle with. There is a balance on the wild reef that we aquarists will not be able to match.

So the aquarist has to become the predator. He or she has to spend a little time attacking the pests so that they don’t get out of control. It can be a pain but, like the gardener, it’s worth it for the sake of everything else.

All that is required is vigilance and that is part of good husbandry anyway. If the pests are kept under control which needs a little extra attention, it is a small price to pay for the rewards.

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Algae I Didn’t Know Was There!

Today (Sunday) is maintenance day when closer attention is given to the aquarium. During the week it is feeding and when needed a manual water top up. Anyway, as said, maintenance.

Maintenance was carried out as usual without any problems. I noticed a coral (a toadstool) was loose and breaking away from its anchor point. So when the partial seawater change had been completed – the last task in the maintenance – I turned my attention to the coral.

It was simple removing it from the rock. The reason it had become loose was because new corals were growing from it and the new ones used the same anchor point. This meant that the seawater currents had more to affect causing more of a strain. I got out a cocktail stick and positioned the coral in a location where it could spread more easily though still in the same area.

As I bent to complete the re-positioning I noted a group of new toadstools that were growing. Great! Then I noticed at the rear of the aquarium on the rockwork some algae commonly called ‘sailor’s eyeballs’. The proper name for these is Ventricaria ventricosa. These are thought to be maybe the largest single-celled organism on the planet. Each cell is filled with carbon monoxide, a toxic gas* – this doesn’t normally cause trouble though. The cells are also filled with a large number of spores. After sufficient growth the cell bursts and these spores are released – not wanted!

I wasn’t alarmed as I have dealt with these little perishers on and off for a long time. They are quite attractive really, but it is the extent they can spread that is the problem. It was when I noticed the spread that immediate action was required; there must have been 100 or more of them growing. I hadn’t noticed them until I had to lean over the aquarium at an unusual angle to fix the coral.

So off I went to get my very sophisticated anti-blob kit – a length of silicone airline fastened to a short length of rigid airline. After emptying the old seawater from the bucket I commenced siphoning. The algae are destroyed one by one by pressing the end of the rigid airline on them until they burst. Any spores are hopefully drawn into the siphon tube by the seawater flow. This destruction process becomes more efficient with practice. I can achieve quite a speed as, as said, I have been having small skirmishes with them for a long time. It took about ten to fifteen minutes and the job was done.

They will be back of course as there isn’t a way that all of them will be removed, there are so many nooks and crannies in a reef aquarium. The majority will have been destroyed though.

The event reminded me to check from time to time areas of the aquarium that are hidden from a normal viewing angle.

What a shame it is a nuisance though. The appearance of the algae is said to be a good sign as it will only prosper in excellent seawater conditions*, that is, seawater lacking in phosphate and nitrate. Also, as stated, it is quite decorative.

Below is a link to enable identification of the algae. The images can be clicked on to enlarge them.

http://www.poppe-images.com/images/search_results.php?category=Algae&species=Ventricaria%20ventricosa

(Reference: Baench Marine Atlas. Helmut Debelius & Hans A. Baensch)

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Algae – Nothing Wrong With It!

Certain types of algae invasion are most definitely unwelcome. Finding green filamentous algae waving in the currents is not a good sight, particularly as it could spread rapidly. Brown, or more correctly diatom algae is another bothersome arrival, but this one is likely to disappear once the supply of silicic acid is exhausted. Another very unwelcome alga that could make an appearance in the aquarium is cyanobacteria, the horrible smear algae as it is often called. It forms a thin dark coloured blanket and creeps across surfaces.

Algae don’t have to be unwelcome though. A reef aquarium where the aquarist is reasonably diligent about calcium and alkalinity levels could develop some very decorative types. The ones I’m thinking of are encrusting mainly, appearing in colour shades of pink, sometimes brownish red, brown and various greens. They cover rocks and the back glass and give a really natural look.

In my aquarium I permit the encrusting algae to cover the back glass and the left hand viewing glass (that end is near a wall). I’ve taken a photo of the left hand end (I offer my apologies if necessary for the quality which is the best I can manage with the pocket camera owned). Anyway, it hopefully demonstrates the point.

I don’t have a lot of encrusting algae on the rocks or if I did it wouldn’t be seen. This is simply because there isn’t much rock surface visible, hardly any at all. Everything is covered with coral growth or another type of algae. There is clear evidence of pink coralline.

The other algae mentioned took me a fair amount of time to identify when it first appeared. I was a little puzzled before realizing it was in fact algae as I wondered if it was a plating coral. How could a plating coral survive and be healthy with light levels as available? I realized it wasn’t coral when I touched it as it is fairly stiff but bendable. I don’t know if there are any common names but the proper name for it is Peyssonnelia caulifera.

The colour is a reddish brown and it takes the form of mainly horizontal plates, one growing above the other. It spreads at low speed and can cover quite a lot of available space. It is an alga so is this spreading habit a problem? No, it isn’t, and this is because if a plate appears where it isn’t wanted it is very easily removed. Holding the plate between the fingers and giving a gentle tug breaks the plate free in its entirety when it can be removed from the aquarium. I have found the need to remove it from between button polyps and as said it isn’t a problem – really friendly algae.

It looks good and ‘reefy’ (I think it does anyway) between corals and adds attractiveness overall.

I’m not sure how I managed to get the stuff in my aquarium. It wasn’t knowingly imported so must have arrived on a coral rock (I didn’t use live rock at first, the inert rock used is now live though). A bit of good luck. I note that it grows the most lower down in the aquarium which is 2 ft deep and lit by a bank of fluorescents. There is some growth higher on the aquarium glass side and back but not as much. I assume the alga prefers low light levels and this is supported when some went into Peter’s aquarium. His system has metal halides and the algae didn’t like this and disappeared rapidly. I doubt it had anything to do with seawater quality as in both aquariums this is high. Hardly a scientific test but an indicator perhaps. Because the algae is a plate shape seawater currents should not be too high or the algae could be damaged or break free.

I’ve included a photo, again taken by my unprofessional hand. It doesn’t do justice to the algae but hopefully demonstrates the effect.

If Mother Nature wants to give me any more ‘freebies’ that are attractive and friendly then I’m not complaining.

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Diatom Algae

Algae! Now there’s a word that can raise very mixed emotions in a marine aquarist. Even if the aquarist is a newcomer to the hobby, if plenty has been read in research he or she will be aware of the dangers.

Of course not all algae’s are bad; in fact they could be the aquarist’s friend. There are many forms of decorous algae. Caulerpa is a larger form of algae that is often used by more experienced aquarists to reduce nitrate and phosphate, as it uses the nutrients for its growth which of course means that other nuisance algae cannot. When used this way it is usually kept in the sump under individual lighting.

The algae types that worry aquarists the most are green filamentous and smear algae. Filamentous green algae take the form of very thin strands which are close together and could be up to 8″ (circa 20 cm) long. If unchecked it could cover all the rock and sand. Smear algae, also known as blue-green algae (though it comes in more than one colour variation), properly known as Cyanobacteria, which is often a dark reddish brown appears, as the name suggests, as a thin covering that is really unsightly. If unchecked this thin film could extend over much of the aquarium décor and smother all underneath.

There is another algae type that often causes alarm and it often appears in a newly set-up aquarium, seemingly – from anecdotal reports – particularly where a decorative sand bed (or possibly a deep sand bed) is in use. It is not a definite appearance however; quite a few aquariums never develop it. It could be a nuisance in older aquariums under certain conditions.

This algae is diatoms. Sometimes they are referred to as brown algae, but this is incorrect, brown algae is another type altogether. The algae could also be mistaken as a form of smear algae as the aquarium décor could be covered with a thin layer. Again, smear algae has nothing to do with diatoms.

Diatom algae rely on silicic acid being present in the seawater. If this remains present in any amount it will be extremely difficult to get rid of the diatoms. Tap water could contain the acid in a sufficient amount to support the algae – if it doesn’t it is likely that it will not appear. If there is a sand bed present maybe silicon is present?*

Wandering off-course for a moment, diatoms have a really wonderful cell structure. I have only seen pictures in books. They could be circular, triangular, oval etc and have intricate patterns within the cell that are individual. I don’t know, but I doubt they are singularly unique, but there are many variations. The cells, which are constructed of silicon, don’t degrade and are in fact used in diatomaceous filters. The media is simply made up of these cells.

Anyway, if the aquarist has an invasion of diatom algae then the first thing to do is wait. After a week or two the diatom problem will often die back and cease to exist. The die back usually is not instantaneous but occurs over a period.

If the problem is getting worse, and/or there isn’t any die back, then it is likely that silicic acid is being supplied. I’m not sure of the sand bed bit, but perhaps silicon content within the sand bed is the culprit. If so, then the silicon should exhaust?* Obviously the aquarist should not be tempted to change the sand bed as this could well make matters worse or extend the period when the diatoms are present.

If the aquarist is using tap water then he or she could have the water tested for silicic acid content. If routine seawater changes are being done, as they should be, and the acid is present in the water then fresh supplies are being provided and the diatoms will not go away.

Another way to deal with the tap water is to use reverse osmosis (RO) water. This is tap water that has been filtered through a very fine filter and much of the unwanted content of the water is removed. The purity of the water when leaving a RO filter is generally from 95 to 98%. The use of RO water is recommended whether there is a diatom algae problem or not. RO filters are available to the hobby commercially, are not particularly expensive, and are a good investment.

So, despite the attractive individual cells of diatom algae, the alga is not wanted. Of the nuisance algae types this is probably the easiest to deal with.

(* I have never seen any ‘official’ or science proven reports about the affect of new sand beds in marine aquaria)

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Coralline Algae Is Not Supposed To Be White

Coralline algae in the marine aquarium in my opinion makes the overall appearance much more attractive and natural.

There are some people who dislike coralline algae and each to their own. I have a personal hatred to having any on the front glass and as soon as I spot any out comes the blade to scrape it off!

Coralline algae comes in a vast array of shapes and various shades of pink/purple as well as other colours – there is one colour that it is not supposed to be however and that is white.

Coralline algae when white basically means that it is either dying or unfortunately is actually dead. If the entire area is white then it is dead, however if either the outer or inner areas are white and the rest still has colour then it is dying.

The white colour is basically the underlying carbonate structure of the algae – very similar to a coral which has expelled its zooxanthellae.

So how can this happen?

Quite a number of things really. It could a be a shift in balance of an important element – for example a drop in Kh in the aquarium. It could be due to the light bulbs being changed above the aquarium and the lights are now brighter. It could be the introduction of new lights. It could be a reduction in water flow. It could be not enough actinic light – the list goes on and on.

There will always be some area(s) in the aquarium where an area of coralline algae goes white. This cannot be prevented as things change inside the aquarium. If coralline was once thriving in an area of high water flow and the water flow is changed then the coralline algae may no longer thrive. I would not worry too much about the occasional area of dying coralline algae but if more than ‘a bit’ starts to turn white then this could be cause for concern.

Some aquarists worry when they see small white spots appearing on the coralline algae. In these cases the area could do with some closer inspection as this might not actually be decline it could actually be worms living on/in the algae.

Rather than go into how to prevent coralline algae from turning white I think it may be beneficial to look at how to actually increase coralline algae growth in the aquarium. If you understand what you need to do to encourage growth then you will hopefully see what is missing if some areas start to go white.

So how do you promote coralline algae growth?

First of all coralline algae does not like bright white light but really like actinic lighting. The first thing you want to consider is increasing the amount of hours that your actinic lights are on for. This is very simple to do by simply changing your timers so that the actinics come on one hour or so earlier and turn off later. Another thing you may want to consider and this does depend upon what else you have in your aquarium is increase the amount of actinic light and reduce the amount of white light.

The second thing is that you want to maintain your calcium at around the 400 mark. Coralline algae is a calcerous algae and therefore needs calcium to be able to grow and expand. As the coralline algae is growing it will deplete the calcium content in the water and you will need to add calcium additives or some other type of supplementary measure to keep calcium at this level.

Magnesium is the next consideration. This level should be maintained at around the 1300 mark. Again additives, supplements etc can be added to the aquarium to maintain this level.

Another element and in my opinion the most important one – strong water movement. Coralline algae does appear to grow better in areas of high flow. Have you noticed in other people aquariums that it appears to grow on powerheads, pumps, overflows etc. Water flow – important for corals, live rock etc but also important for good coralline algae growth.

The final aspect and a word that is said in every aspect of this hobby – patience. You will need to be patient as the coralline algae will not grow and colour up overnight. It will grow slowly at first and probably be so small for a while that you will not even be able to see it. Then after a while it will start to spread covering rockwork, pipes, glass etc and in the end, like me you will be scraping it off the front glass as soon as it appears!

There is another area that needs to be covered and that is the actual introduction of the coralline algae itself. Strangely enough it cannot grow if it is not already anywhere in the aquarium. A good piece of premium live rock will suffice as a seed. What I do when I am attempting to make the coralline spread is remove a piece of live rock from the aquarium and scrape it with a scalpel allowing the scraped coralline to fall back into the aquarium. Where it eventually lands it will hopefully attach and grow. Another method that some people do is not use live rock but use what is called ‘live rock grunge’. GARF manufacture and sell this and from what I have heard people have had amazing results. This method is particularly useful if you do not use live rock in your aquarium and have for example home-made rock or another type of inert rock.

The majority of aquarists aspire to having coralline algae which is a really deep purple in colour. It needs to be noted that you cannot pre-empt the colour that the coralline algae will be. You could purchase a piece of premium live rock which is covered in beautiful coloured coralline and over time it turns into a lighter shade. On the other hand you could purchase live rock covered in a light shade and it turns into a deep colour. The colour depends upon the actual parameters in your aquarium, the water flow, the lighting etc. Every aquarium is unique and that is one of the great things about this hobby.

It also needs to be noted that coralline algae is not always a purple/red colour. It comes in a lot of colours – green, yellow etc however a purple colour is normally the dominant one. One colour which you don’t get however is white – well not that I have ever seen anyway!

There are some products on the market nowadays which are designed to accelerate coralline algae growth. One that I have heard of is one called Purple Up Coralline Accelerator – I have never personally used this or any type of these products as I prefer to do it ‘naturally’ and therefore am unable to comment on their effectiveness even though I have heard that they are quite good.

So if the coralline algae in your aquarium starts to go white then basically ensure that all of the above is correct and correct the one(s) which is off the mark.

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