NO CORALLINE ALGAE

[savetheocean]

I am legit done of waiting for coralline algae to grow. Im done with the gross nasty brown rocks. I think theres some green coralline on my back glass. I want some pink/purple coralline all over my rocks. I think there is some on a frag I have had for a week and what can I do to help it grow? Is there anything I can get on amazon that would help? I just moved an urchin down to the sump because I have heard they can eat coralline algae. Suggestions? I will do anything.


What else should I test?
Ammonia: 0

 

[tdileo]

Coralline needs good stable calcium and alkalinity levels. Basically, if your tank is good for SPS corals it should be growing like crazy. I despise the stuff. Have to scrape it off my glass with a razor all the time and I wish it never came in on a frag plug. Lol.

 

[Fishfinder]

Mag and time

 

[oscargrumete61]

Also loves blue light a lot

 

[savetheocean]

Id rather have to scrape if off all the time than have brown rocks.. Blehhhh.

 

[Tofer]

My tank has been running since Jan and just started getting it to grow on rock and back wall of tank in Aug . It was introduced on a couple of snails that I purchased in April . If something in your tank has it on a shell or frag plug it will start to spread in the tank . This is my first saltwater tank so not an expert.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Yes, you need a piece of seed rock to get it started. In other words, rock with some already growing on it to get it started. Even scrappings of it from a source thrown into the tank helps or off snails, frag plugs, etc........ As others have stated, you need excellent water parameters as well that are consistent.

 

[reeferfoxx]

Low pH will restrict coralline growth also. How long has the tank been setup and what are your test results?

Calcium
Alkalinity
Magnesium
Salinity
pH
NO3
PO4

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Find something with live coraline on it, not dried out. Scrape this off into the tank. I used my pocket knife on a snail shell. If you have good water and lighting, it'll start to spread.

 

[reefwiser]

I buy coralline algae from
http://www.ipsf.com/corallinebooster.html
Great starter packs for any reef tank.

 

[reeferfoxx]

I buy coralline algae from
http://www.ipsf.com/corallinebooster.html
Great starter packs for any reef tank.

Nice to know this site exists!

 

[reefwiser]

Gerald Heslinga the owner of IPSF was the person who first raised giant clams in a farm. He has been at the forefront of Marine aquaculture

 

[Oceanwave45]

My tank is eight months old and I just started to get some. Once I saw it growing, I did use Kent Purple tech for two weeks and it’s now it’s one every rock!

 

[reeferfoxx]

Does it blow off with a baster?

 

[Krzydmnd]

I watched a video of a guy who makes a coralline smoothie to spread the spores around in the tank . YouTube.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I am legit done of waiting for coralline algae to grow. Im done with the gross nasty brown rocks. I think theres some green coralline on my back glass. I want some pink/purple coralline all over my rocks. I think there is some on a frag I have had for a week and what can I do to help it grow? Is there anything I can get on amazon that would help? I just moved an urchin down to the sump because I have heard they can eat coralline algae. Suggestions? I will do anything.


What else should I test?
Ammonia: 0

Your lights.

Many types of corraline don't do well in higher light. The purple corraline in particular.

I blasted mine with a t5 upgrade. It wasn't until I started dosing TM alk/cal that I got pink corraline back.


Assuming your on rodi water.

Fwiw, in the same tank when I upgraded, unused Fiji mud and got a half dozen or more colors of corraline.
Till I blasted them.

Do you have corraline spots in the shade? Or the refugium ?

And how long have you been waiting?

 

[2Wheelsonly]

Id rather have to scrape if off all the time than have brown rocks.. Blehhhh.

You need to be patient man! This hobby is the kind of hobby where you usually don't see results in weeks or even months. It takes years.

When I started my rocks were brown for 2 years. To put things in perspective, I had a pregnant wife when I started the tank and by the time my rocks started turning purple I had a living breathing son walking around the house that wouldn't shut up.

I assume you didn't start with live rock since you're fighting brown rocks. Coralline wont grow if the rocks are leaching po4 and that could take years to balance out.

Just enjoy the tank and realize it's going to take a while. I too thought it would never grow, I wanted purple so badly and couldn't stand looking at my brown tank. Nowadays I hate seeing the purple and am working hard to fill every inch of rock with corals to the point I forgot I even cared what color my rocks were. You will eventually grow to hate the stuff as it will eventually start growing everywhere.

 

[Kris.C]

Stable tank conditions is the key, tbo I'm actually not a fan of the stuff. Other than on the back of the tank which is blacked out, I'll toothbrush what I can off if I'm aquascaping to allow my rocks more porosity for beneficial bacteria to grow inside my live rock.

 

[DarkSky]

My tank has been up for 1 1/2 years and I'm just now starting to get spots growing on my glass and rocks. It takes time. Another aspect aside from ca/alk is nutrients in the water, you need NO3 around 5ppm and PO4 around 0.03ppm. High intensity lighting prevents it from growing too.

 

[ReefPiracy]

Lower light, proper nutrient levels and some sort of dKh dosing.