Coraline Algae turning white

[Sea Turtle]

What does it mean when my Coraline Algae turns white? I hade a whole sections of beautiful purple algae that was thriving. The other day I looked at it and it was all white. The other algae in the tank seems to be ok. What is causing this? There is a littel hair algae growing next to it. Could this have killed it? Also, just because it is white, does that mean it's dead?

 

[Ben1]

Coraline can die for different reasons, if you are seeing HA it is possible your P04 has reached levels that are causing it to not be able to calcify properly. Have you been running a P04 media? There are other reasons coralline will die off as well, but this is usually the cause. Things like change in lighting can cause this as well.

 

[MartinE]

+1 Really high lighting seems to get rid of mine in spots where the light is the most prominant. I have a rock on top that has coralline all over the bottom, but none on top where the halide is right over it.

 

[Sea Turtle]

It could be the lighting. I also have a phosphate reactor that I maintain well, so I don't think that's the problem. It's only in two spots.

 

[Anonymous]

Mine turned white from Alk instability. My dKH was bouncing around between 4-9 dKH. Once I staightened it out it came back.

 

[Sea Turtle]

I'll check all the parameters tonight to see if anything is off.

 

[Anonymous]

This can also happen if it dries out, eg during a water change.