Coralline algae growing on sand!

[Regric25]

About 2 months ago I changed out the substrate and added about 80 lbs of sepcial reef grade sand to the tank. This is mixed with about 20 lbs of the normal fine live sand. Today I noticed that coralline is growing on the individual grains of the more course sand. At first I thought it was cyano but after getting a very close look at it and taking some out and messing with it, I have determined that it is coralline algae! I never thought this would happen and is an indicator that I need to up my flow or get some sand sifters or both. I like coralline on my rocks but not on my sand. I need to keep it white. Now that I think about it I should not be suprised that its growing on the larger grains because its algae and it will grow on anything it can adhere to. Has anyone else seen this in their tank?

[tebstan]

I've got some. My sand has some pretty big gravel type chunks. The coraline part blends in because it has a lot of pink hues in it anyway. The shrimp drags around the big pieces so much that it hasn't been a problem.

[SoLiD]

I've noticed the very same thing. I have the cheap petco crushed coral substrate mixed in with some loose shells of some locally caught clams. There is some growth on the crushed coral but the clam shells have coraline growing like crazy compared to any other thing in the tank, including the live rock.