Coral Algae

[djdubdub]

Any suggestions for a good coral-line algae growth stimulator???

Is Kent the best??? If it is, which one??? Any other suggestions???

Thanks...

[MikeP]

What JLMI said and also to add this woprked for me. I scraped off some larger patches/chunks and wedged / dusted it over some areas I was trying to get it to spread and it worked ok with a calcium boost. I have one nice piece of LR I got that was dark green with algae about 5 months ago from a LFS and after goofing around with above method it's about 1/2 coered in nice purple coralline (it's about softball sized). I've noticed since my Halimeda (have 2 species in 46 gal) have started growing in my display that calcium levels are dropping much faster and coralline growth has slowed down. Something to consider if you want to keep other calcareous algaes in tank/fuge.

-Mike

[djdubdub]

Will the deep purple algae spread from a smaller "established" piece to a larger, new, "clean" piece just by placing the small on the large???

[newtosa]

DJDD-

It's exactly like Josh says. The coralline algae in your tank will begin to grow when Ca is 250ppm or above and alkalinity is supported consistently (at least 8 dKH). It will paint your rock very quickly as you increase Ca and alkalinity levels. Reasonable goals should be 300 ppm Ca and 10 dKH, and people much better than I am can maintain the numbers everyone always talks about: 400-450ppm Ca and 12-15 dKH. The rock star numbers are not necessary to paint your rocks.

It's primarily a function of these 2 things. Things like lighting and phosphate matter, but so much less so that they shouldn't be your focus. I grabbed a few URLs out of my favorites list FYI.

To your question: yes, break some up and move it around the tank; this will help. Just remember that no amount of moving stuff around will make up for for poor Ca and alkalinity.

Post some pics as they grow.

Thanks,
Dean

http://www.globaldialog.com/~jrice/algae_page/bulb_coralline.htm

http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/clines/

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

http://www.paleoweb.net/algae/

[djdubdub]

Thanks everyone...

Now, with all of that being said (and a little research), several things are recommended for good algae growth: lighting, pH, Calcium and phosphates...

Are there any good recommendations for getting these levels??? Obviously a buffer for pH, good lights for lighting... What about Calcium additives??? What brands are commonly used??? And phosphates... I know SA water is pretty crappy... I have a RO unit... Should I worry about phosphates in SA water... Should I get media for my filter to lower phosphates???

Thanks again...

[Chris]

Good current also help coralline spread throughout the tank. If you can scrape some off a rock and get a powerhead blowing on it the spores of the algae will spread quicker.

;)

[djdubdub]

Has anyone in the MAAST organization tested the quality of SA water???

I know when I first moved to SA, SAWS sent me a chemical breakdown of their water (chemical ppm and such). I'll see if I can find it so I can share the info.

Thanks for the great info... I have some Kent Superbuffer-dKH... I plan on getting some Kalkwasser to go with it... Hey JLMI... What do you mean by "drip"... Do you mean like an IV drip???

[djdubdub]

Ok... Next question....

How do pH and alkalinity relate to each other??? Is a higher pH always a higher KH??? Is raising the pH always raising the KH??? Is testing and measuring one, measuring the other???

[Bbristow]

Use your RO unit to make up top-off limewater (kalkwasser). Drip it slowly, usually overnight, to make up for evaporation. This will take care of Ca, Alk, and usually pH. If you have light, the coralline will grow.

Is it best to drip overnight, does it matter when you add the limewater :shock: ?

[newtosa]

DJDD -

As you're probably starting to realize, this can be a complicated topic.
Overview:
1. Ca test kits measure Ca++ ions in your water. Ca++ (as you probably already know) bonds easily with -- ("2-negative") elements or ions. This property is what drives most of calcium's interactions with carbonates and bicarbonates, as well as influencing how reef structure is built - whether in your tank or in the ocean. As a result, this property also drives much of the interaction between Ca, alkalinity, and pH.
Check out Ca here.... http://klbproductions.com/yogi/periodic/
2. pH is the measure of acidity: concentration of H+ ions in solution (more or less). Both biological (what's going on with the animals and plants in your tank all day and all night) and chemical (what the alkalinity is, what ions are being bound and released, etc.) processes are at play. Of the 3 parameters, pH usually (although not desirably) varies the most during a 24-hour cycle. You should shoot for somewhere in the high 7's (7.8 or so) just before lights-on to low 8's (8.3) just before lights-out.
3. Alkalinity in reef tanks means the resistance of the water to pH change. Since carbonates and bicarbonates are buffers in our tanks, it is typically determined by measuring CO3 and HCO3 ions in solution, and its units are commonly either mEq/L (2.5 - 3.5 is in our range) or dKH (degrees of carbonate hardness; 8-15 is in our range). There is a conversion factor for these, and I can't remember it right now.

General interaction:
As CaCl2 is added to a tank (Kent turbo calcium and most other Ca additives - even if it says calcium gluconate or "chelated" calcium), buffer ions are pulled out of solution, reducing alkalinity, and allowing pH to drop. Sustained additions like this will hurt you.
As a balanced Ca additive (KW, b-ionic, etc.) is added, you get free alkalinity boosts with Ca boosts, and free Ca boosts with alkalinity boosts (2 bicarbonate ions for every Ca ion, I think).
My Advice: do not attempt to control pH; rather, get alkalinity right and steady first. Then, as you're getting calcium up to where it should be, continue to monitor and maintain high alkalinity. pH will follow.

As complicated as this is chemically and biologically (it's way beyond my depth; trust me), it can be ridiculously simple in practice. Add KW drip, either at night or 24x7, as makeup water. If you're not keeping a lot of SPS corals, that's it.

I would recommend the following:

- Read http://www.aquariacentral.com/articles/calcium.shtml
- Read http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1998/june/bio/default.asp
- Read http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1998/july/bio/default.asp
- Read the Reefkeepers FAQ (at FINS or reefs.org) on this topic
- Search (maybe not post any questions) on RC for alkalinity and pH. Don't be afraid to lurk and read everything.
- Once you get a little more comfortable, do a search for the last name "Bingman." RC, google, wherever you can find. Read it all. I'll look in some printouts I have at home, grab the urls, and post a follow-up note.

CHRIS - How can we move this thread to another one? Is there any way we can do this w/o having to involve you in the future? Or should we just start a new thread?

Thanks,
Dean

[djdubdub]

Holy Smokes Dean!!!

I didnt realize I was going to need a Masters in Chemistry to keep a saltwater tank... I'm going to spend the next 5hours deciphering your reply...

Just kidding... Thanks for the great info... Keep it coming...

Oh... And if anyone is interested... Here is the website that shows us what's in our SA water supply (this may be old news to some).

http://www.saws.org/our_water/waterquality/Report/charts.shtml

[Bbristow]

We were talking at the meeting about a medical dosing pump around $15. Does anyone know where to get one? Also has anyone seen Jim D put a post up on his kalk chamber? :?

[MikeP]

I'd be interested in one too. I think Ed/Hammer can get them fairly cheap if we buy enough. JimD was nice enought to give me some chaetomorpha and a toxic but beautiful hydnophora frag yesterday - his kalk reactors are nice and seem simple - no kooky stirrer to wear out/get clogged. Might ask him to bring some to march meeting at Jim/Tim's house?