Corraline Algae I want some

[jumpingintosalt]

So I know there are alot of opinions on the best way to get corraline but I am open to suggestions of additives or levels to keep things at to produce the best and quickest bloom. i have a couple of tanks from pc light to halides so curious what everyone suggests. kinda gonna go by majority rules see if I can get some nice growth

[Felixc395]

All that was needed for me was calcium level above 450ppm. I'm not totally sure but maybe low phosphate and low nitrate aided too.

[Tuscaquatics]

Zero nitrate, zero phosphate, calcium above 450, alk above 10. And actinic light.

[jumpingintosalt]

Do you leave the actinics on all day or at night? or both? Some tanks i have dont have actinic but have moon lights.

[khaosinc]

I'd like mine to go away, if you happen to be near NW washington you can have all you can scrape.

I even grow it under 3 year old shop lights in my sump/cryptic zone.

[jumpingintosalt]

What are your parameters? I'd be more than willing to pay for shipping if you would scrape a bunch and put it in a tiny jar!!!!

[Tuscaquatics]

Don't pay anyone for scrapings. Chances are they will just blow around and most will get removed by your skimmer. Just add a piece of live rock with some already on it.

I run my actinics for a couple hours on their own at the beginning and end of the light cycle.

[khaosinc]

just so its said, I wasn't offering to sell any... I hate scraping it and just want it to go away

[Palting]

I started mine off a coraline encrusted empty snail shell, then a live rock with shrooms and coralline. No scraping anything, although maybe I should have. But, in 6 weeks, it was all over my powerheads, on the back wall, and now, 8 weeks later, it's starting to show on the rest of my live rock. Trites, trates, phosphates are zero, pH 8.4, Ca over 450, too lazy to test for alk or anything else since all looks good. I also dose with Lugols, and use Reef Crystals. Thought I'd throw that all in there if it makes any difference.

[cewoodall3]

I dont have actinics, my clacium is a little lower than 400, and it grows like crazy in my tank. +1 on just putting a rock in that has a little on it.

[Meggie2409]

hahaha YOU have to get the lr in the tank! get lr with it all over it and away you go! I also added purple up to my tank and tells you to dose daily but noticed that my ph and alk was dropping, so I suggest no more than once a week, its nice to seed the rocks and water have had great results!

[Sk8r]

The best way is to get 3 test kits, and 3 supplements: 1) alkalinity buffer (I use Kent) 2) calcium (if you're fish only you will very rarely need to dose this) and 3) Kent Tech M Magnesium supplement. Keep your mg over 1200, and your other params as per my sig, and you will be cursing coralline in no time, granted you have ANY tiny start of it in your tank at all.

[cloak]

Originally Posted by Tuscaquatics

Zero nitrate, zero phosphate, calcium above 450, alk above 10. And actinic light.

These numbers can vary, some more than others, and you can still have good coralline growth. Just as an example, the nitrates in one of the tanks at my LFS are off the charts, yet coralline still continues to grow at a reasonable pace. The water he uses come right from the hose, and to my knowledge doesn't use any sort of calcium additive. Coralline growth is not really as delicate as one might think.

[Dustin1300]

Don't get too excited about it Coraline will come and it will grow quickly once tank has livrock with it on it. You'll be hating it once you have to scrape it but I will agree it does look nicely. Had a urchin that LOVED eating it for about a month but took him back to the LFS cause he was making my rock look bare and camoflauging himself with all the snails/crabs in my tank!

[fraggleRocks]

http://www.garf.org/coralline.html

this helped me a lot when I started out. Also when you get some growing on the glass, turn off your main pump and just let the tank circulate with only your powerheads for a while, that will spread the coraline.

[droberts]

seems to me that after i bought my cal,alk,mag kit from bulk reef supply and started doing a daily dose it started growing everywhere naturally i had to keep the parameters whare they should be. any phos or nit in you water will slow down the growth of Coraline by %50 or more. i run gfo,carbon and have a fuge full of chato and it grows every where my tank has been running almost a year now with a eight hour (vho) light cycle and my moon lights stay on 24 7 just be patient soon you will be scraping it of the glass i have actualy have seen it for sale on ebay lol

[Tuscaquatics]

OK, so according to everyone here, if you want coralline, keep your nitrates and phosphates up, calcium below 400 and get some shop lights. Sounds like a plan.

And, cloak, that sounds like an awesome LFS. They use hose water in their tanks and keep the water nice and dirty. Why can't mine be like that?

[noobtothereef]

nitrates and phosphates down and calcium up, if you have nitrates and phosphates up the only a;gea you will be having is green hair algea and cyano

[khaosinc]

Only tested once this year (well the 8 year old across the street did) calcium is over 400 amn0 Nitrates and nitrites had some levels depending on which test she used, but tolerable by my standards. Water changes are erratic, and more likley to happen when I move something around. Large fuge, understocked tank Red sea coral pro salt (got a deal on a pallet)

I scrapped this clean about 6 months ago. the shop lights were used out of my shop before I put them over the fuge for my previous tank...on about 8 hours a day Some of it is getting thick enough to kill the bottom layer.

[B Mack]

Originally Posted by Tuscaquatics

OK, so according to everyone here, if you want coralline, keep your nitrates and phosphates up, calcium below 400 and get some shop lights. Sounds like a plan.

And, cloak, that sounds like an awesome LFS. They use hose water in their tanks and keep the water nice and dirty. Why can't mine be like that?

lol

[Palting]

Originally Posted by khaosinc

Only tested once this year (well the 8 year old across the street did) calcium is over 400 amn0 Nitrates and nitrites had some levels depending on which test she used, but tolerable by my standards. Water changes are erratic, and more likley to happen when I move something around. Large fuge, understocked tank Red sea coral pro salt (got a deal on a pallet)

I scrapped this clean about 6 months ago. the shop lights were used out of my shop before I put them over the fuge for my previous tank...on about 8 hours a day Some of it is getting thick enough to kill the bottom layer.

I want that shop light!!!

[cloak]

Originally Posted by Tuscaquatics

And, cloak, that sounds like an awesome LFS. They use hose water in their tanks and keep the water nice and dirty. Why can't mine be like that?

This LFS has been around for about 25 years, so what do you think is going on over there smart guy?

Get lost!

[stingythingy45]

Personally I'm sick of scraping coralline.
But seriously all you need is alk,ca,mg and salinity in the right amount.
I even have it growing in the refugium with a 65 watt PC light over that.

[khaosinc]

Originally Posted by Palting

I want that shop light!!!

Home depot... 4 bulb 4' t8 normal output... I think they are about $29. maybe its the custom rust coating giving the light that effect...LOL