Cant get corraline!!

dirty-d

dirty-d

Member
I have a 60 gallon tank thats been up and running for 3 years now. Last December i got a orbit P.C. lightfixture with 2 65watt Sunpaq Dual (6,700K and 10,000K) & 2 65 watt Sunpaq Actinic (420nm and 460nm). My question is why cant i get any corraline algae to grow. I have introduced it on several peices of live rock and i have tried the toothbrush trick to help spread it. I heard people say that they have it in a new setup in a month or two and i cant get any of it. I have been dosing purple up for over a month now and not much results with it, maybe a little green and red coming in my live rock but that is all. For filtration i have double bio wheel charcoal filter. Could the charcoal make a difference? Seaclone 100 skimmer. 3 powerheads.
I used Seachem Reef Complete calcium about a year ago to get it were it is and it doesnt move.
I also use instant ocean salt mix and i use tap water in my tank

Calcium-450ppm
Dkh-10
Phosphates-.5
Ammonia-0
Nitrates-0
Nittrites-0
P.H.-8.2
Temp.-77-81
If you have any ideas please let me hear them
Thank you for your help
 
jerth6932

jerth6932

Active Member
Originally Posted by Dirty-D
I have a 60 gallon tank thats been up and running for 3 years now. Last December i got a orbit P.C. lightfixture with 2 65watt Sunpaq Dual (6,700K and 10,000K) & 2 65 watt Sunpaq Actinic (420nm and 460nm). My question is why cant i get any corraline algae to grow. I have introduced it on several peices of live rock and i have tried the toothbrush trick to help spread it. I heard people say that they have it in a new setup in a month or two and i cant get any of it. I have been dosing purple up for over a month now and not much results with it, maybe a little green and red coming in my live rock but that is all. For filtration i have double bio wheel charcoal filter. Could the charcoal make a difference? Seaclone 100 skimmer. 3 powerheads.
I used Seachem Reef Complete calcium about a year ago to get it were it is and it doesnt move.
I also use instant ocean salt mix and i use tap water in my tank

Calcium-450ppm
Dkh-10
Phosphates-.5
Ammonia-0
Nitrates-0
Nittrites-0
P.H.-8.2
Temp.-77-81
If you have any ideas please let me hear them
Thank you for your help
no clue... cause it sounds as if it should be working out for you!!! But I just wanted to say your tank looks great!!!!!
 
fccman

fccman

Member
In my past experience when I first tried to get coraline to spread I used a toothbrush also with no success. After a couple months I decide to try using a piece of hard plastic to actualy scape my existing coraline. I did that in a few different areas every time I did a water change (bout every week) and now 4 monthes later Its everywhere, I even had to buy a plastic scraper to clean the coraline off my glass.
 
joe123

joe123

Member
if you already have some purpl or pink coloration on your LR the keep using the bottle of purple up. this stuff works. I am almost positive it will be more than you want in less than 6 months. plus it has alot of other beneficial stuff as well. I would use ro water instead of tap water though. Just to be safe. other than that every thing else seems to sound legit? time and maybe more LR?
 
deeez

deeez

Member
It's the filter. I have two tanks. One with a refugium and one with a fluval filter. Started both around the same time. The one with the filter hardly has any purple. The one without one, lets just say I have a problem with coraline always growing on my glass.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Wait a minute !
I also use instant ocean salt mix and i use tap water in my tank
And you still have Calcium-450ppm~Dkh-10??? You are either dosing everyday or you have the nicest kindest tap water in the world, cause IO salt will not give you those kind of results on a consistant basis.
What are you dosing for calcium and alkalinity?
What do you mean when you say?:
I used Seachem Reef Complete calcium about a year ago to get it were it is and it doesnt move
What kind of test kit are you using and how old is it?
Thomas
 
supalupa

supalupa

Member
A lot of the live rock I purchased initially had lots of corraline on it. After 2 months the corraline was spreading to my other rock and the glass. You may want to look for a couple of rocks with corraline already on them and try adding it to the tank.
 
zoie2

zoie2

Active Member
I started using nano A+B and I got coraling growth in about a week. The stuffs awesome!!
(I have a 12 gal.)
 
salty tank

salty tank

Member
Thats weird. Mine spread like cancer. I have to say though, your tank looks great now, just imagine what it would look like with coraline
 
dirty-d

dirty-d

Member
Originally Posted by Thomas712
Wait a minute !
And you still have Calcium-450ppm~Dkh-10??? You are either dosing everyday or you have the nicest kindest tap water in the world, cause IO salt will not give you those kind of results on a consistant basis.
What are you dosing for calcium and alkalinity?
What do you mean when you say?:
What kind of test kit are you using and how old is it?
Thomas
when i first got into saltwater i used to add calcium everyother day (reef complete) and not knowing i had to test for it......when i did test for it, it was around 900 ppm..........i know that is outrageous and it took a while to get it back down and when i did get it down to where i want it it stayed. (maybe the purple up keeps it in tact) The same thing happened with the dkh. used seachem reef buffer. I know instant ocean isnt the best salt, does anyone have comments about what they like and why. I use the aquarium pharmaceutical tests for calcium,dkh,phosphates.
Thank you all for your replys
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Originally Posted by SaltFan
Thomas, is Reef Salt better than I/O?
Not familier with Reef Salt, did you mean Reef Crystals?
 
darth tang

darth tang

Active Member
Originally Posted by Dirty-D
when i first got into saltwater i used to add calcium everyother day (reef complete) and not knowing i had to test for it......when i did test for it, it was around 900 ppm..........i know that is outrageous and it took a while to get it back down and when i did get it down to where i want it it stayed. (maybe the purple up keeps it in tact) The same thing happened with the dkh. used seachem reef buffer. I know instant ocean isnt the best salt, does anyone have comments about what they like and why. I use the aquarium pharmaceutical tests for calcium,dkh,phosphates.
Thank you all for your replys
Purple up does help maintain Calcium.
I had the same problem you did with getting coraline to grow. Tried everything I heard of. Even purple up didn't help much. I scraped off some coraling from my rock and it spread a little bit, but not much. I have since been using a product called Figi gold coral and live rock supplement.. . I started using this about two weeks ago and I have seen an improvement on my coraline growth. My peppermint shrimp have molted twice in that time as well....which they only normally do once every six months.
Here is the information on it.
"Description:
Fiji Gold Coral and Live Rock Supplement is 100% natural calcium derived from seawater and coral reef substrate. None of the natural resources utilized in this product are derived from living coral. This product can be used effectively to raise calcium alkalinity and PH levels in your aquarium. Beneficial to all organisms especially those that excrete calcium from their exosketleton orutilize calcification as part of their physiological process. Rapidly increases the growth of coralline algae on your live rock. Contains calcium, magnesium and all major and minor trace minerals in their natural quantities and molecular structure to benefit invertebrates and fish. Because the minerals are in their natural state absolutely no waste or harmful build up of unused minerals will accumulate in your aquarium."
 
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