algea questions

[boom-sage]

i have some questions on algea

1. what is coralline algea?important?

2. what is macro algea?important?

3. what are diatoms and how do i prevent them?

4. what are the harmful algeas and how do i prevent them?

thanx

 

[steelhealr]

Hmmm..busy questions:

1) Coralline algae is an encrusting algae that grows on your LR and eventually will grow on almost anything. The good and the bad of it....the good is it is extremely colorful, makes your tank pleasing to the eye, is usually a sign of good water quality. The bad...some people claim that after awhile it can cover all the 'pores' on your live rock and diminish the filtering capacity; and, it can ENCRUST

2) Macro algae are, well, small marine plants. The good..they can 'export nutrients', ie, take up nitrates and phosphates in your tank and 'cleanse' the water. The bad...some can spread like weeds in the main aquarium and literally take it over.

3) Diatoms are one of the oldest plants on earth and form that brown slime layer on the glass and sometimes on the substrate. There will always be some amount of them in your tank. The good....they provide food for some of the inverts...the bad is they can 'bloom' when water quality is poor or overlighting exists.

4) Harmful algaes.....hmmm...are they really harmful or just a nuisance to humans who want to keep a crystalline appearing tank? Bubble algae I guess can be labeled as harmful since some will actually grow on some corals. They can also cover and overrun ones live rock. Hair algae can also take over a tank and choke it off. To name a few. SH

 

[boom-sage]

whats over lighting?how many watts per gallon should i be at?

 

[parker313]

It depends on what sort of corals you want. If you want to keep the basic soft corals (which can be a beautiful reef tank!) then you need far less watts per gallon than if you wanted to keep clams or the SPS corals.

 

[boom-sage]

ok, thanx parker