coraline algea

[mcavanah]

i have a 14 gal bio cube, how can i get the coraline algea to take off in the tank

[BriGuy]

You can use Purple Up, my suggestion on this though is not to have any lifestock in the tank, if so check your calcium levels every few days.

Thanks,
BriGuy

[Texreefer]

all you need is moderate lighting, strong water flow, some seed rock and maintain your alk and calcium levels with either a two part or reactors. I have a bottle of some stuff similar to purple up if you want it. IMO they are a waste of money, your paying mainly for water and packaging,(with the exception of B-Ionic which many people love); in your case, I would probably try this product.. does not matter what livestock you have as long as you are not overdosing

[VoodooMach]

Keep alkalinity at 12 dKH and keep phosphates down for quick growth.

[Bill S]

I second the no on purple up. If you can get some coraline from another tank, that can help. Coraline will NOT tolerate air exposure for any significant period of time.

[VoodooMach]

coralline rubble would be best and bagged under water. You can mash the rubble into the rocks and it'll "fill in" the tank faster.

[kkralicek]

I have a 14 Gal Biocube too with tons of coraline algea! I upgraded the pump to a Rio 210gph, added a Hydor and changed bulbs to 50/50 and actenic. I keep Dkh at 8-9 and Cal about 520ish. I use the DT's pure system and dose Iodine 1 drop 2 times a week (Wed and Sat). I run the Biocube Skimmer and put rubble all in the second chamber. On top of the rubble I use a Hagan 30gal Charcoal bag that fits perfect in the 14 Gal Biocube just under the black grate. I have had no problem with my system and am growing stuff like crazy. I dose a TBSP of DT's phyto daily and run my 50/50 light 8 hours, actenic 10 hours and moonlights through the night. My current livestock is Xenia, zooanthids, Torch Coral, Frogspawn, Green Starburst Polyps, Yellow Polyps, some shrooms, ricordias, a bi-color blenny and a firefish. This is what I have and everything is working great and have had it up and running a year as well. Good luck and maybe some of my parameters could help!

[joelb]

Fiji gold. dose it for 3 months consistantly and you will have coraline even on the glass, if you don't clean it. all the other items workif your consistant but there is no way you can overdose with fiji gold. this is the tank i dose.

Salinity - 32ppt with dissolving salt granules present in sump.
pH - 8.3
Alkalinity - 9
Nitrate - 10
Nitrite - undetectable
Ammonia - undetectable
Phosphates - undetectable
Calcium - 28 <--- 520 PPM (the expert says its ok)

[d3rryc]

One way to help it spread is to take a smaller rock that has decent coralline growth on it and scrape it while holding it underwater with a table knife or something similar. Let the currents blow the coralline "dust" around for a while (turn off the filtration in the meantime if you can), and the dust will seed new growth throughout the tank.

[tony]

be careful what you wish for, mine reached plague proportions before getting it under control

[aggman]

I have a 14 Gal Biocube too with tons of coraline algea! I upgraded the pump to a Rio 210gph, added a Hydor and changed bulbs to 50/50 and actenic. I keep Dkh at 8-9 and Cal about 520ish. I use the DT's pure system and dose Iodine 1 drop 2 times a week (Wed and Sat). I run the Biocube Skimmer and put rubble all in the second chamber. On top of the rubble I use a Hagan 30gal Charcoal bag that fits perfect in the 14 Gal Biocube just under the black grate. I have had no problem with my system and am growing stuff like crazy. I dose a TBSP of DT's phyto daily and run my 50/50 light 8 hours, actenic 10 hours and moonlights through the night. My current livestock is Xenia, zooanthids, Torch Coral, Frogspawn, Green Starburst Polyps, Yellow Polyps, some shrooms, ricordias, a bi-color blenny and a firefish. This is what I have and everything is working great and have had it up and running a year as well. Good luck and maybe some of my parameters could help!

sounds awesome, would like to see a pic of your tank!!! my rocks have all turned poo brown, hopefully this means the growth is starting but i'm still not sure if it is good or bad.

[DrMark]

didnt see this thread before.
good parameters and patience are what you need. Latter is tough sometimes.
mark

[Texreefer]

didnt see this thread before.
good parameters and patience are what you need. Latter is tough sometimes.
mark

I agree and would add that my tanks have always taken up the three or four months to start showing good coverage

[aggman]

ah good info, thats why i love this forum. lots of been there done that without the attitude. must be a texas thing...very different up in the D.C. area.

~alex

[kkralicek]

I just posted these pics that show my tank and the coraline algea. Enjoy!

http://www.maast.org/forums/album.php?albumid=36

[aggman]

I just posted these pics that show my tank and the coraline algea. Enjoy!

http://www.maast.org/forums/album.php?albumid=36

dude your tank is nice...so far mine is just live rock and a few single frags. oh and my poo brown algae has started to turn a reddish purple, i guess a plum color...:bigsmile:

~alex

[runamukus]

I agree with d3rryc's method.
You don't need to dose your tank with anything other than calcium. You will need a rock or rubble with coraline already growing on it. If you have a friend with a reef tank and if they have a thermometer in the tank with coraline all over it, ask if you can borrow it and use a razor blade and scrape the coraline off the thermometer and into your tank and you'll see significant increase. When you spread the smaller pieces all over the tank they tend to grow quicker in my experience.