Get a piece of rock with coraline on it. Put it in a small container with tank water in it. Get a screwdriver, knife, whatever and scrape off as much as possible and have it collecting in container. Turn of circ pump and return pump to stop current in tank. Slowly pour all the coraline you just scrapped off onto rock work. Leave pumps of for a bit. If cal alk and mag within range and relatively stable it will root, grow and spread. Many sea urchins eat coraline
NO CORALLINE ALGAE
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lou dog420
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Use kalk
mguili1947
Active Member
Keep magnesium high
Have used kalk for years as well as two part solution to maintain cal and alk in many tanks. Would say that 2 part has the advantage for spurring on coraline growth.
Have also dosed mag in many tanks to battle bryopsis. Have seen no added coraline growth as hi as 1600ppm, or when it was on it's way up, or slowly, naturally coming back down.
Have also dosed mag in many tanks to battle bryopsis. Have seen no added coraline growth as hi as 1600ppm, or when it was on it's way up, or slowly, naturally coming back down.
Coronus
Valuable Member
If you have a friend with a mature tank you could scrape some off their back glass and bag it up. Drop it in the tank and the spores will spread. Let the power heads eat it up. That will spread it.
Usually 1-2 years for coraline growth.
Also kalkwasser dosing will help growth.
Usually 1-2 years for coraline growth.
Also kalkwasser dosing will help growth.
Renelope
Active Member
I bought a piece of live rock with coraline algae growth on it, and it’s slowly spread to my other rockwork and is even starting to show up on the back glass. All my snails are purple too. Tank is 6 months old, currently only dosing 2 part.
karo25
Active Member
I started my tank mid April of this year and have been waiting for coraline to grow, almost 6 months. My clean up crew were covered in it when I purchased them. Though my crabs and snails still have coraline on their shells it has never spread through my display until this weekend when I was cleaning the sump and noticed the first spot on my sump wall. ;Jawdrop I have to say I'm thrilled! I'll probably be sorry later ;Muted, but to me it means I'm doing something right. Best of luck with yours.
drblakjak55
Active Member
90g tank up 2 years. 50 lbs live rock starting up. Half Fiji. Half Florida. 50 lbs manufactured(seeded). Went thru heavy cyano to heavy green hairy algae which all went away with some scrubbing. Very little coralline. Frags with it tend to lose it. Grows nicely in the corners.
pH 8.1 to 7.9. Kh 9 to 11. Mg 1350 to 1440
Maxspect Razor at 75/75 six hours.
Any way....point is to grow enough coral to not be able to see the rock a wise blogger said to me when I asked that question
pH 8.1 to 7.9. Kh 9 to 11. Mg 1350 to 1440
Maxspect Razor at 75/75 six hours.
Any way....point is to grow enough coral to not be able to see the rock a wise blogger said to me when I asked that question
rkpetersen
walked the sand with the crustaceans
Love the stuff. I have a 6 month old 100 gallon system and almost every light-exposed rock surface is covered with pink and purple coralline. And a good bit of the back wall. In the old days, say 30 years ago, if you got decent growth of coralline algae, it was a mark of a successful reefkeeper. Now it's much easier. Steady very good water quality with highish alk and calc, decent bluish lighting, and a seed source is pretty much it. Before, some people thought it liked a bit of strontium dosing, but I don't think that's been borne out over time. (Although, interestingly, I did dose this tank with strontium for the first few months.) I started this tank with cured live rock, and while more expensive, some of it definitely had patches of coralline, which then started to spread immediately.
And something else interesting I've noticed. When a coral is about to encrust further onto the rockwork, the coralline algae just beyond the leading edge will change color, turning lighter pink, a few days before coral tissue is then seen there (which always follows the color change.) I suspect the advancing coral is putting out some toxin in advance of its growth which is killing the coralline. Here are a few examples with potato iPhone pix:
And something else interesting I've noticed. When a coral is about to encrust further onto the rockwork, the coralline algae just beyond the leading edge will change color, turning lighter pink, a few days before coral tissue is then seen there (which always follows the color change.) I suspect the advancing coral is putting out some toxin in advance of its growth which is killing the coralline. Here are a few examples with potato iPhone pix:
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Luke Schnabel
I like corals...
Keep your levels stable at cal-450 Mg-1350 Alk-10.
If you want more growth now, go to your LFS and buy a small live rock that is covered with coralline algae. Take that rock and scrap a lot off with a razor blade in the tank. Keep doing that every few weeks or once you see the algae has come back from where you scraped.
Also your going to deal with brown rocks for a while till your tank matures, it's all part of starting a new tank.
If you want more growth now, go to your LFS and buy a small live rock that is covered with coralline algae. Take that rock and scrap a lot off with a razor blade in the tank. Keep doing that every few weeks or once you see the algae has come back from where you scraped.
Also your going to deal with brown rocks for a while till your tank matures, it's all part of starting a new tank.
XNavyDiver
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I wish this were universally true. Coraline grows prolificly in my tank...acros wither and die.
bblumberg
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I have 2 reef tanks, one up about a year (150g) and the other up for 10 years with some 10 year old rock in a recent rebuild (75g). The 150 has T5/20k led while the 75 is LED only with about the same color. The 150 grew coralline almost immediately with pink/purple everywhere, even on snails and hermit crabs. The 75 grew only a small amount of coralline in the first 10 years and the rocks in there now have only a bit. A piece of shelf rock from that tank, where it only had a small patch of coralline is now totally purple in the 150g. My conclusion is that the T5 lights make a big difference in the amount of coralline, at least for my systems.
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BigJohnny
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do you really only test ammonia?
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savetheocean
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I think I am seeing the little coralline algae on a frag grow.
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savetheocean
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Heres a picture, I am also seeing some small spots on the frag in front of it!
And yes, the hammer coral is alright. This was as opened as it was at the store and on the over the first night I placed this hammer a little too close to the torch coral and I woke up to this dead branch, moved it as soon as I saw it and a week later and its still looking good.
I use fuel by aqua vitro, I didnt buy it for the coralline algae but for the few corals I have now. The day after I added it, the corals opened like I have never seen them before! Would this also be good for the coralline algae?
And yes, the hammer coral is alright. This was as opened as it was at the store and on the over the first night I placed this hammer a little too close to the torch coral and I woke up to this dead branch, moved it as soon as I saw it and a week later and its still looking good.
I use fuel by aqua vitro, I didnt buy it for the coralline algae but for the few corals I have now. The day after I added it, the corals opened like I have never seen them before! Would this also be good for the coralline algae?
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savetheocean
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Oh god no. I was just asking what else I should test because I dont feel like testing 11 different times when I could just 3 or something.
Fettman2006
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Purple up worked for me.
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savetheocean
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Isnt that just like calcium? How much is it?
ReefBeta
Valuable Member
As you have urchin in the display, that's the major reason you don't get coralline algae. They wipe them out fast. Since you move it out, give the tank couple months or more. Wait and patient will be your best bet.
I used to have several urchin in my tank and my rocks are always white. Then I decided I don't want white rock so I removed all of them. That's like over a year ago. My rocks now are no longer white. Most have greenish tint. There are some purple and red patch, but not a lot. My back of the tank, which painted black, has way more purple patch. One part is more than half purple. It's also the part getting least light and flow. Also the overflow chamber wall is covered with coralline. Basically it's growing in the place with lower light and/or flow, aka the place not ideal for coral growth. I'm OK with it not prioritize growing on the rocks. The rocks are no longer white and look fake, so I'm fine with it.
I used to have several urchin in my tank and my rocks are always white. Then I decided I don't want white rock so I removed all of them. That's like over a year ago. My rocks now are no longer white. Most have greenish tint. There are some purple and red patch, but not a lot. My back of the tank, which painted black, has way more purple patch. One part is more than half purple. It's also the part getting least light and flow. Also the overflow chamber wall is covered with coralline. Basically it's growing in the place with lower light and/or flow, aka the place not ideal for coral growth. I'm OK with it not prioritize growing on the rocks. The rocks are no longer white and look fake, so I'm fine with it.
