advice on seeding my tank....

[bartman]

Well i finally have the tank up. Powerheads are pumping. Lights are well ummm lighting. Skimmer is ummmm well doing whatever it does. My current looks good. Ph is right. Salinity is right. Water is RO water and looking good. I am ready to put something alive in there. BUT...the money tree has all but died. $1400 dollars later and i have a 75 gallon tank with about 70 lbs of high alkalinity, very pourus rock. ( they called it paradise rock). Looks great but nothing living in there.
My plan should i choose to accept it....is to purchase about 10-15 pounds of live rock. I plan to get as much small pieces as i can that have coraline algae on it and whatever else may be there and use that to seed my dead rock. Time i have to allow the algea to spread and do its thing. Money to dump into 50 lbs of live rock i do not have.
Now to the questions..
1. Will this work? It seems like it would but was wondering if anyone else has done this.
2. What additives should i purchase to help inspire the growth and prosperity of the coraline algea? (i.e. calcium additives, iodine??, ect...)
3. How quickly does coraline algea spread if things are set up right? Am i looking at a year till i have pretty purple and green rocks or what?
4. What is the answers to the questions i am leaving out if there are any important things i may be overlooking?
Any information would be apreciated. I plan on going to my LFS that sells pre-cured rock. I am hoping that will be benificial to me with die off. I am planning to do this tomm so expediance in replies would be GREATLY apreciated. Thank you for your time.
Bartman

 

[adrian]

Sounds like your off to a good start Adding some live rock would be a great way to seed your tank, if possible get pieces that vary in size, ranging from rubble, to some larger pieces. If your getting your rock from an LFS ask them if you can have a couple pounds of the grunde that collects at the bottom of the vat they use to cure the life rock, that stuff is full of live. Once you have your rock in, place some pieces on your exsisting rock and be sure to mix some grunde, if you can get it, and some rubble diretly into the sand, get yourself an alklinity and a Ca test kit, Salifert makes great kits, and something to maintain these levels such as kalkwasser, or one of the two part additives like B-ionic or C-balance. The coralline will not spread overnight, but once you have the tank cycled and the alk and Ca levels up to par it wont be too long. HTH

 

[herbbie]

What is coraline algae? What does it look like, and why would someone want it? Just curious, as I'm a new hobbyist, and I think I've read a few times that coraline algae seems to be desirable.

 

[adrian]

In short coralline algae is what gives healthy live rock it shades of purple, pink, red, and green coloration,its also know to growon tank walls, pumps, pipes, ect. A search will reveal a ton of info. HTH

 

[broomer5]

Introduction to coralline algae

 

[blondenaso1]

I have also found that the addition of strontium helps coraline growth as well as many other corals. I use Kents Strontium and Molybdenum addative. The key to coraline is lots of light, good current, and high calcium levels.