coralline turning white???

[wubaguba]

Hello, could someone tell me why my nice purple coralline algae on my live rock is turning white? i've only had my tank running for a few weeks now. only inverts in the tank right now (turbo snails and hermits). i added about 75 lbs of nicely cured live rock with lots of purple algae when i set the tank up.

Any ideas?

Thanks. -Bill

 

[DaisyPolyp]

Bill, I noticed the same thing on my new live rocks. I understood it occurs because of intense light, which made sense with my metal halides (3X150HQI), but i don't know if your PC's would be causing this. (I have 75G also)

 

[ricky1414]

changes in salinity can cause the whiting as well

 

[JD'sReef]

My rocks shed for a little bit, but my my brother has a pc on his 30 and he was told to leave it off for the first few days and then slowly use the light.
As long as your quality is in good shape, I would think it is just the cycle. My 46 did if for the firts month but now the rocks are coming in full force.

 

[Anonymous]

Although what daisy says is true, under bright lights corraline is not purple. Only the undersides and shadowed rocks in my tank have that nice color. 4x65 though, I'm not sure....

 

[wubaguba]

Thanks for the replies. I'm trying calcium dosing and cutting back on the number of hours the lights are on.

 

[ChrisRD]

Cutting back on the light duration isn't necessary and probably won't help. What Dan is referring to happens because of intensity.

With your lighting you'll be able to grow coralline algae just fine. Just give it time. It's not unusual for it to turn white in a new tank like yours - it will come back in time.