coraline algae

[mp32]

Just a curious question, If I have enough base rock already and decide not to buy any live rock, is there anyway to grow the purple coraline on the base rock without using live rock? Just wondering.

 

[dragonzim]

You are going to need at least a small chunk of live rock to seed your base rock with both coraline and the bacteria that you need to have run the tank.

 

[scopus tang]

^ +1; I seeded my whole 65 gallon tank with a rock the size of a small childs fist.

 

[9supratt4]

You have to seed the tank with coraline or else you will never have any growth. You can seed the tank by adding a rock or a snail that has coraline on it or scrape some coraline off from somewhere and add it to your tank.

 

[shiby1510]

Originally Posted by mp32
http:///forum/post/2645244
Just a curious question, If I have enough base rock already and decide not to buy any live rock, is there anyway to grow the purple coraline on the base rock without using live rock? Just wondering.
To actually answer your question. Yes, you can seed base rock without lr. Just to clarify, just because it's lr doesn't mean it has coralline on it.
Anyways, find someone with a bunch of coralline; possibly your lfs and scrape some off the glass of the tank (they don't want it on the glass anyways). Take a razor or credit card and put some airline behind. Scrape and siphon the coralline into a container and add it to your tank.

 

[mp32]

Thanks everyone, good advice, I have so much base rock and I am happy with my aquascape soI was not sure if I wanted to buy more rock so this is good to know!