Coralline algae seeding

[cgj]

Alright, Most of my coralline died uring the tank cycle. The tank has been running for almost three months now and I figured I coud start seeding it, so I bought a few pieces of rock from an lfs and some shells that were exceptionally loaded and placed them in key points like next to other rock and in front of powerheads.
Chemical levels are as:
salinity: 1.025
nitrite: 0 ppm
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 20 ppm (I believe this will inhibit growth, unsure of how to fix?)
Calc: 400
Ph: 8.4
KH: 9

 

[rbaldino]

Take a toothbrush and scrub some of the algae off the rocks. That should help it to spread. As for nitrates, try a big water change and/or a nitrate sponge of some type.

 

[cgj]

Ah, you mean scrub as much of the brownish algae off the rocks... right?
And where do I get a nitrate sponge?

 

[aztec reef]

Originally Posted by CGJ
Ah, you mean scrub as much of the brownish algae off the rocks... right?
And where do I get a nitrate sponge?
1.No , scrub some of the "purple" stuff and spreaded all over tank, if toothbrush doesn't work try a knife or something like that..
2. at your local fish store.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Aztec Reef
1.No , scrub some of the "purple" stuff and spreaded all over tank, if toothbrush doesn't work try a knife or something like that..
2. at your local fish store.
Exactly. A nitrate sponge would be something like Seachem's DeNitrate, a filter media that you can run in a bag or canister. It's best to try to cut down on the amount of nutrients entering the tank, though, such as by over feeding.

 

[trainfever]

If you have something made of flexible plastic, like a plastic cup. Put that in there for a while and the Coraline algae will adhere to it quickly. Then you can flex the plastic and the Coraline will flake off very easily, spreading its spores around your tank.

 

[cgj]

I will try the pastic cup thing... from my LFS i did buy one small 4 inch piece of coralline that was scraped off the side of one of their tanks. I relocate it around the tank, but Im starting to think maybe id want to put it in a blender and chop it up into tiny bits with some saltwater, and then pour it onto the rocks in the tank, does this sound like a good idea?

 

[spanko]

or just chop it up with a razor blade.

 

[bjsbargain]

I have had my nitrates high before and a friend gave me some "chato" -spelling it probably wrong but my nitrates dropped overnight just by having it in your tank, he had it floating in his fuge but I dont have one of those so I just set it in the corner held down by a rock.

 

[cgj]

Originally Posted by spanko
or just chop it up with a razor blade.
this stuff is strong... like the consistency of rock-hard. A razor wouldnt even scratch it. I used a knife and scraped for several minutes straight and the coralline on some of the encrusted shells is so thick i could barely get the whole layer off in some areas.
The blender with some saltwater would work good but i can gaurantee itll take a couple minutes of heavy blending and might just ruin the blade

 

[cyclops]

Hey what about lights? How long are you running them for

 

[alix]

you could raise your calcium level to 450

 

[cgj]

Coralline is having minimal growth... but I think I can chalk that up to high nitrate levels.
Ok, now, I need to know what my KH carbonate hardness should be at, I know my targets are:
PH 8.4
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Calcium 450+
Iodine 0.06
Phosphate: Almost undetectable amount
KH: Not sure....
Anyone? I do have Nitrate/nitrite remover pellets to stick in my filter which will hopefully help out.

 

[spanko]

Yes but why use the pellets? Let nature do the work for you. Get on a routine water change schedule for the nitrates.

 

[dawman]

Originally Posted by spanko
Yes but why use the pellets? Let nature do the work for you. Get on a routine water change schedule for the nitrates.
Sometimes it takes many water changes to remove nitrates . Using a nitrate remover like a bag of nitra sorb or Amquel works good .

 

[snaredrum]

I was thinking the same thing. I would do the water change to lower the NO3. This should bring the Ca back up some. Then use the toothbrush idea and just scrap some off (purple stuff). It will float around and land all over the tank. It worked for me. 3 month old tank and looking real purple.

 

[spanko]

Here is my 29 Bio Cube at 5months old. I have always let the thing run it's course. I had about 1/2 of the rockwork that was live when I started. The coraline just grew from it.

 

[cgj]

Ammonia and nitrites are 0, nitrate continues to be a real chore. After two days the D*nitrate doesnt seem to help, perhaps it'll take longer.
I did purchase two pieces of PVC piping that were SMOTHERED in coralline. I scraped one clean so there are spores everywhere.
Is my lighting suffiecient? I have a 65w 10,000K daylight and a 65w blue acticnic flourecent lights.

 

[petjunkie]

I always laugh at these thread because I could never get corraline to grow in my one tank, it's been three years and still not covered but my other two with much higher lighting I have to scrap off with a razor and lots of time, I hate corraline now.

 

[cgj]

Ah hell... is this a sign I need some mercury vapor or metal halide lighting? I do have a little coralline growing here and there even with my 130 watts total power.