I have to be doing something wrong....

Peoplepc3

Reefing newb
OK, so my 155 gallon is about 5 months old now and the fish are doing wonderfully in their new home. I have 140lbs of lace rock and I perform water changes with RO/DI water every week (made at home with a $350 setup) , 30 gallons each week....like clockwork. My water looks good, all values are as to be expected. I purposely raised the calcium level a little higher than normal to get the coraline to take over. 60 gallon refugium is doing well, skimmer is doing well. Underfeeding at 1/2 cube of frozen food every 3 days. Here is the problem....

I CAN NOT get the coraline to grow even a little. I have cyano growing on the top side of my rock and a very small bit on the substrate. It has by no means taken over but nonetheless, its there. I only run the lights 6 hours a day and the tank gets no direct sunlight. I also have a small bit of green algae growing on the back glass that I am waiting on my foxface to devour. I just dont get it.....I am running a 40W UV and I have read somewhere that a UV can kill coraline spores yet others say they have coraline growing like crazy with a UV. I have a 5lb rock covered in coraline that has been scrubbed lightly to release spores. Coraline was introduced in to the tank after the cycle. What gives?

Why do I have cyano? Why the green algae? Why no coraline?

Phosphate is very very low...
Temp is 82
0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, .5 Nitrate
pH 8.3
Lights are T5 and are only as old as the tank.:frustrat:
 
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Do you have a very white light or more blue lighting? Ive noticed that coralline grows much, much, much faster in tanks with more blue lighting. Also, if you dont have much coralline to start with I would suspect the UV light is killing off the spores preventing it from spreading to new areas of the tank.
 
Unfortunately, your lace rock may be fueling the algae issues...it's been known to have unwanted metals and contaminants in it.
 
You're likely going to have to get past the cyano stage before the coraline will grow. And if you have one rock with it, and a 140 pounds without it, it will take time for it to spread. My tank has been up a little over a year now, and most of the base dry rock I used has some corraline on it, but none of those rocks are fully covered

I'm guessing the lace rock is what is fueling your cyano, but many tanks go through a cyano outbreak at about the 6 month mark (mine did, and it took me about 2 months to get rid of it)

Have a little patience, you've just entered the frustrating part of the hobby. What kind of lights are you using, and how old are the bulbs? That ultimately was what was causing my cyano issues for me. As Metal Halide or T5 bulbs age, the light they put out shifts into the red spectrum and has been known to fuel algae issues.

If that's not the issue, phosphates are coming from somewhere, likely the lace rock you used to start up the tank. If this is the case, you should look into a GFO or a Phosban reactor. You say your phosphate is 'very low', how low is that? Is it showing up on a liquid test like API? If it is, its likely too high (You're seeing positive PO4 test results means there is more phosphate than your algae is using...)

And on a side note, you can have all the calcium in the world in your tank water, without Alkalinity and Magnesium at the proper levels it wont do you any good
 
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also one thing you can do is get a corraline covered rubble rock and a NEW tooth brush and in the tank scrub that rubble rock. That's if your lights are not the problem. Such as Hannah has stated.

Though I must give a warring on doing this scrub of the rock. You may get corraline in places you might not want it. Because it will spread through the whole system...
 
Ok great and thanks for the input. I can always count on you guys and girls. The lights are only 5 months old. Got them brand new after I bought the tank, after the cycle was complete Sounds like the cyano is just something I have to live through. Kind of like the diatoms that came and went. I will just keep doing what I am doing and hope for the best. I know I could increase my water flow...that is next on the list. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
 
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