Coraline Algae

badfish420

New Member
Cant figure why coraline is NOT spreading through the tank not even on the glass.
Vitals; As of this morning
130gal.
20gal. fuge
20 gal. sump
2- 175 watt MH
2- 55 watt PC (Blue 03)
100# LR
125# LS
Temp- 76F
Salinity- 1.0245
Calcium- 400
Alk- 11dKH
PH- 8.2
NH3- 0
NO3- <20
PO4- 0
Any Ideas???????
 

jugger

Member
mine has a hard tiime speading on the glass but it has almost fully covered my pumps, heater, water lines and magnet
 

elfdoctors

Active Member
Your setup looks fine. Two thoughts came to mind.
How new is your tank and how long have you been waiting? Sometimes you need to wait for several months before it is thick enough for you to see it.
Do you have much coraline algae covered live rock to seed the rest of the tank. If you only have a little, it will take longer. Sometimes you just have to be patient. Perhaps someone else has some ideas.
 

badfish420

New Member
The tank is 3 years old, over that time ive add rock with Coralline , polyps and mushrooms only to see them disappear. Can i get the polyps back ??? About half the musrooms and coralline ar estill present.
 

marvida

Member
WELCOME!
Dripping kalk & adding magnesium is what got mine going. Keeping your calcium around 450 also seems to help.
What are your maintainence routines? i.e. water changes, additives, etc.
 

badfish420

New Member
I dont drip kalk only because every time i test for calcium its the same (about 400ppm). No additives either since its a fish only tank right now. Water changes maybe every other month, I have a light bio-load. I would like to be able to keep Zoanthids they are super cool. I have kalkwasser( not made) just not sure how fast to add it.
Ialso have a drip dispenser.
 

hirock

Member
Magnesium is the key. Bring your levels up towards 1300 ppm. Once there, buy a new firm bristle toothbrush, shut down all filtration (protein skimmers, canisters, sumps...) internal power heads are ok, and start brushing the coralline algae you do have, firmly to release the spores into the system. Don't rub it raw, but use good pressure. After about an hour or so, go ahead and restart the filtration. It would be best to keep the skimmer off for a few days while the spores are lingering in the water column. Within a few months, with regular supplement replenishment, you'll notice a difference, guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.
Good Luck
:holiday:
BTW, while shopping for the toothbrush, somewhere along the same aisle, do yourself a favor & pick up a box of Epsom salts.
Check the ingredients
 

marvida

Member
Epsom Salt = Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate
Hmm... Haven't read about using this as a source of magnesium, does it work? Are they any negatives?
 
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