No Coralline Algae

bigfish14 · 10/14/2012, 08:10 PM

My tank has been cycled since May of this year and I still do not have any coraline algae. I started the tank with all dry rock and dry sand. I have a 4 bulb 156w ATI fixture over my tank and all parameters are good. I do have a bit of a GHA problem. Am I missing something? Why can't I get coralline algae to grow?

Buzz1329 · 10/14/2012, 08:32 PM

Get some coralline-encrusted live rocks from your LFS to seed the tank.

yogoshio · 10/14/2012, 08:38 PM

Coralline algae chips and high alk and you'll be golden.

Just get different colored coraline otherwise your whole tank will be one color, lol.

I had a nice mix of purple and red, with just a tiny bit of green.

hollister · 10/14/2012, 08:41 PM

You say readings are fine but what do u test for
Whats used for water flow?

Smnparish · 10/14/2012, 09:02 PM

Phosphates from the dry rock are probably fueling the GHA while at the same time inhibiting coralline growth. I know I had phosphate issues in my 125 when I started with all dry rock; added some GFO, one month later coralline is growing like mad.

bigfish14 · 10/14/2012, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hollister

You say readings are fine but what do u test for
Whats used for water flow?

I test for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, calc, alk, magnesium, and salinity. I will stop by my LFS to pick up some coralline chips

hollister · 10/14/2012, 09:04 PM

Also need to test for phosphates.
Whats used for water flow?

bigfish14 · 10/14/2012, 09:22 PM

I have an mp10 at about 75% and a koralia 750 for flow

Mel 2038 · 10/14/2012, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzz1329

Get some coralline-encrusted live rocks from your LFS to seed the tank.

+1 If you don't have any coralline to start with, you wont be able to grow any. You need to get some rock or something with coralline on it to start. Then keep your params in check and you'll get more than you want. You should start seeing some after 3 to 4 weeks and it will spread fast after that. Good Luck!

C4rN4gE · 10/15/2012, 12:27 PM

+2 cant have something grow unless its introduced.

DNA · 10/15/2012, 12:45 PM

I started with dry rocks as well 10 months ago and after only one month I had several small patches.
These all died off and I had to wait several more months for coralline to start growing again.

Dry rocks have a huge bare surface that is going to get encrusted with coralline and that is going to require a lot of supplements.
My alkalinity has been dropping lately while calcium and magnesium remain steady and I suspect that could be because of coralline growth.

A quick search didn't provide me with an answer to the question if coralline and corals use the same amounts of building materials.
For a new tank with dry rocks coralline growth can use much more resources than the corals.

bertoni · 10/15/2012, 05:09 PM

I agree that the tank needs to have some coralline algae added.

10/14/2012, 08:10 PM	#1
bigfish14 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Ohio Posts: 406	No Coralline Algae My tank has been cycled since May of this year and I still do not have any coraline algae. I started the tank with all dry rock and dry sand. I have a 4 bulb 156w ATI fixture over my tank and all parameters are good. I do have a bit of a GHA problem. Am I missing something? Why can't I get coralline algae to grow? __________________ Happy Reefing Joe Current Tank Info: 40B reef tank being transferred into a 20 gallon because of apartment rules

10/14/2012, 08:32 PM	#2
Buzz1329 Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Staten Island Posts: 2,414	Get some coralline-encrusted live rocks from your LFS to seed the tank. __________________ Current tank info: 180 mixed reef

10/14/2012, 09:22 PM	#8
bigfish14 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Ohio Posts: 406	I have an mp10 at about 75% and a koralia 750 for flow __________________ Happy Reefing Joe Current Tank Info: 40B reef tank being transferred into a 20 gallon because of apartment rules

10/15/2012, 05:09 PM	#12
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I agree that the tank needs to have some coralline algae added. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

10/14/2012, 08:38 PM	#3
yogoshio Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Highland, IN Posts: 163	Coralline algae chips and high alk and you'll be golden. Just get different colored coraline otherwise your whole tank will be one color, lol. I had a nice mix of purple and red, with just a tiny bit of green.

10/14/2012, 08:41 PM	#4
hollister Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2,037	You say readings are fine but what do u test for Whats used for water flow?

10/14/2012, 09:02 PM	#5
Smnparish Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 65	Phosphates from the dry rock are probably fueling the GHA while at the same time inhibiting coralline growth. I know I had phosphate issues in my 125 when I started with all dry rock; added some GFO, one month later coralline is growing like mad.

10/14/2012, 09:04 PM	#7
hollister Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2,037	Also need to test for phosphates. Whats used for water flow?

10/15/2012, 12:27 PM	#10
C4rN4gE Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 56	+2 cant have something grow unless its introduced.

10/15/2012, 12:45 PM	#11
DNA Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Iceland Posts: 1,516	I started with dry rocks as well 10 months ago and after only one month I had several small patches. These all died off and I had to wait several more months for coralline to start growing again. Dry rocks have a huge bare surface that is going to get encrusted with coralline and that is going to require a lot of supplements. My alkalinity has been dropping lately while calcium and magnesium remain steady and I suspect that could be because of coralline growth. A quick search didn't provide me with an answer to the question if coralline and corals use the same amounts of building materials. For a new tank with dry rocks coralline growth can use much more resources than the corals.