Coralline Algae

[lickyricky]

My tank has been up and running for 2 and a half weeks....how long will it take to get corallline algae? do I need to supplement the tank with anything to promote its growth? it is beneficial correct? Just wondering as I am still new to this. I do have some fish, inverts, and a few softies. Thanks everyone!

 

[chort55]

Coraline really isn't beneficial, it consumes your calcium. It isn't a horrible thing tho and is better then looking at plain rock while you wait for corals to grow in.

Keep your parameters in line, have good strong lighting and keep calcium 420-450 range atleast and give it time its not something that will just magically cover your tank

 

[lickyricky]

Coraline really isn't beneficial, it consumes your calcium. It isn't a horrible thing tho and is better then looking at plain rock while you wait for corals to grow in.

Keep your parameters in line, have good strong lighting and keep calcium 420-450 range atleast and give it time its not something that will just magically cover your tank

ya, I have not tested for Calcium yet, was kind of hoping I would not have to since I am not going with any hard corals, only some softies. Do I still need to test the Ca?

 

[chort55]

If you want coraline algae then you will want to make sure calcium is there for sure.

 

[NanoNathan]

Took me about 2 months from setting up a new tank to see good Coraline algae growth. You will need to have some rock with it on it to seed your tank

Sent from my tank using tapatalk

 

[pickupman66]

agreed with the above. a good coraline coating will also help in keeping other algae from taking hold as well IME. keep your Ca at 440 ish and your alk in the neighborhood of 9dkh and so long as you have some in there, it will spread. if you see it very bright pink, that is growth and you can take a tooth brush and give it a good brushing to help it spread. I have a halloween urchin in my tank that feeds on it. his feeding also helps it to spread. Products like Purpleup are merely alkalinity and calcium boosters so dont waste your money.

 

[ritter6788]

Mine really took off when I started dosing. It's so thick now it really gets on my nerves having to clean it off the glass. I can't get to the back without breaking sps so I just let it grow there. I have spots so thick it plates and looks like small purple monti caps. Keep your parameters stable and water clean and it will grow for you in no time.

 

[YVR]

I believe that elevated magnesium levels help encourage coraline algae growth. I use Tropic Marin Bio Magnesium to reach the Mg level that I want. In addition to magnesium, it is also important to make sure that the calcium and alkalinity are all in check in your tank.

 

[halcyonism]

Mine really took off when I started dosing. It's so thick now it really gets on my nerves having to clean it off the glass. I can't get to the back without breaking sps so I just let it grow there. I have spots so thick it plates and looks like small purple monti caps. Keep your parameters stable and water clean and it will grow for you in no time.

+1

As soon as I started dosing two part my coraline growth sky rocketed to the point of being annoying. If only it would stay on the rocks...

 

[Rockadile]

all I can say is becareful what you wish for. I hate coraline algae an consider it a pest.

 

[MaxCanada]

Mine really took off when I started dosing. It's so thick now it really gets on my nerves having to clean it off the glass. I can't get to the back without breaking sps so I just let it grow there. I have spots so thick it plates and looks like small purple monti caps. Keep your parameters stable and water clean and it will grow for you in no time.

wooww id love to see a picture of that

 

[Chameleon]

mine took off in my last tank and covered the back wall. Then it became impossible to keep up with removing it. In my current tank I keep things well scraped so it can't get a start on the walls and I also angle the lights away from the sides slightly. basically be careful what you wish for because coraline can become a nuisance. It does look great on exposed rock though. In my experience it takes between 2 and 4 months to reach noticable levels in new tanks.