how do you promote coraline growth?

coral1119

coral1119

New Member
i WANT more coraline growth on my rocks. Right now there are very slight spots of green and red. I use PURPLE UP daily as of nowfor two weeks. Can I keep my skimmer on during dosage?
also, can I use regular crazy glue to attach corals to rocks? Or is the special glue for that actually different? Can you propogate just any coral? As of now i want to splice my some of my xenias because they've grown multiple stalks. I'm assuming just splice right down the middle of the stalk? I also wish to cut some polyps off my mushrooms to transfer. just cut at the base? please advise.
thanks you guys.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
any gel-based super glue you can use, just cure outside of water for 30 seconds and you are good to go.
purple up is a fancy calium doser. it has nothing biological in it, and so only promotes purple coralline by keeping calcium above 400 or so, at proper reef levels. if you tank is new, and your water params good, and you have any reef - grade lighting, you are good to go, it just takes time. once it starts, it will explode like crazy. if you have a piece of rock or a spot on the glass with a coraline on it, you can turn off your pumps, and scrub it gently with a toothbrush. then turn the pumps back on in 30 mins.
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
Keep your calcium levels up and coraline will grow on its own. Some people scrub it off a piece of their rock to aide it in releasing pores which will create more coraline.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by coral1119
i WANT more coraline growth on my rocks.
Maintain Alkalinity around 3.5Meq/L, Zero to very low Phosphate, moderate lighting, and lots of waterflow.
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
Maintain Alkalinity around 3.5Meq/L, Zero to very low Phosphate, moderate lighting, and lots of waterflow.
So its alk that promotes coraline and not cal?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by larryndana
So its alk that promotes coraline and not cal?
Both are required to lay down Calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate can still be built with fairly low Calcium levels but it cannot be formed with low Alkalinity. In fact, if the Alkalinity is low enough Calcium carbonate will begin to dissolve.
Many new hobbiests boost Calcium too high thinking that more is better. When Calcium is too high it will precipitate Carbonate out of solution. This can lower Alkalinity to the point where nothing can grow.
Calcium and Alkalinity need to be tested together and it works best to maintain them in balanced levels. I suggest Ca 400 - 420 and ALK around 3.5Meq/L.
 
adroitmind

adroitmind

Member
Keep using the purple up, it's a great product IMO. It takes at least a month to see even the smallest amount of new growth. After i started to see tiny dots of purple on my base rock/glass (2 months) it really took off and started to grow much faster. I am thinking i will have my base rock nearly covered in about a year at this rate.
 
adroitmind

adroitmind

Member
I also think that using the Purple Up helped my inverts molt. Don't know this for sure but as soon as i started using it i saw one shrimp and two crabs molt within the week.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
if you read the purpleUp container it contains small amounts of trace elements like iodine molybdenum and whatnot that also help inverts.
 
coral1119

coral1119

New Member
I will try the scrub method since a lot of ppl are recommending it. Everyone talks about measuring your calcium levels and alkalinity. How do you test for those? are they just as expensive as the other kits? Is there really a thing as too much cal and alk? I have had 2 tanks for about 7 months now and my corals are flourishing. I have had only 2 deaths out of like 25 corals.
Also, would crzy glue help? it is gel based. Do i really have to let it set outside of the water? Does anyone think crazy glue will dry under water?won't it harm the coral? I guess not since crzy glue only needs like 15 seconds to cure. will it cure if the surfaces are wet?
When putting supplements into the water, is it better to turn of the skimmer or does it really not matter?
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
Both are required to lay down Calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate can still be built with fairly low Calcium levels but it cannot be formed with low Alkalinity. In fact, if the Alkalinity is low enough Calcium carbonate will begin to dissolve.
Many new hobbiests boost Calcium too high thinking that more is better. When Calcium is too high it will precipitate Carbonate out of solution. This can lower Alkalinity to the point where nothing can grow.
Calcium and Alkalinity need to be tested together and it works best to maintain them in balanced levels. I suggest Ca 400 - 420 and ALK around 3.5Meq/L.

Thanks, that helps. I'm trying to keep my cal down now. but my alk is 3 to 3.5Meq/l....going to change salt i think.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
I use Purpleup (calcium) and Kent Reef Builder (alkalinity) daily in my topoff water. Just make sure that you test your water weekly for alkalinity, calcium and pH. As was said, phosphates will not only inhibit coraline growth, but will kill your established coraline.
All it takes is one number that's out of whack to mess things up, so be sure to test all of your parameters.
Another good product to use for calcium, pH, alkalinity maintainance is Kalkwasser. It takes a bit more work but is much less expensive. Make sure you do some extensive research on kalkwasser (limewater) before using it though.
 
reeffreakgeek

reeffreakgeek

Member
Remember its alot easier to over shoot calcium and other elements than to remove it.Be careful when using Purple Up,dose when absolutely necessary.It is after all just aragonite that has been pulvarized.
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
Many new hobbiests boost Calcium too high thinking that more is better. When Calcium is too high it will precipitate Carbonate out of solution. This can lower Alkalinity to the point where nothing can grow.
This was me until reading your reply. I've decided to go with Oceanic salt which according to larryndana has a calcium reading of 540ppm and alkalinity of 3.0meq/L (not sure about magnesium). I plan on cycling with this salt and not adding any corals until my tanik is at least 6 months mature. Would these readings have adverse effects in my tank without corals using up the calcium?
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
has anyone ever heard of Natureef Sea-Alk ? i have a bottle of the stuff i am figuring it cant be so bad to use, it says it buffs both pH and Alk, however my pH is 8.4, but my Alk is always on the low side like <2.0 Meql. i also have kent super buffer which is a powder that is supposed to do a similar thing. i use the kent product to keep the levels good while Hypo-ing. Any thoughts?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by earlybird
This was me until reading your reply. I've decided to go with Oceanic salt which according to larryndana has a calcium reading of 540ppm and alkalinity of 3.0meq/L (not sure about magnesium). I plan on cycling with this salt and not adding any corals until my tanik is at least 6 months mature. Would these readings have adverse effects in my tank without corals using up the calcium?
No, there is nothing adverse about those levels. The Calcium is very high but it's not unreasonable.
 
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