How long will this take?

[aquatica-tech]

Well I gave up on buying Live Rock for my tank cause its so expensive over here, so I decided to buy around 25 pounds of dead rock and probrably 10 pounds of live rock on top of the 25 pounds I have already.
Well im just wondering how long will it take for the dead rock to populate with Coralline if I have a 265 watt light fixture? Can I add purple up and thatll help it?

 

[lmarc78]

What kind of lights, ands what size tank do you have?
I've never used purple up but have heard good things about it. Also do you have coralline growing on your glass? If you do you can shut off your filter and get a razor blade and scrape the coralline off the glass and it will spred faster that way. If you don't it may take 3-4 months or more depending on your peremiters.

 

[aquatica-tech]

Naw I only have a little coraline on my rocks and at the moment I dont have ANY lights, but on friday im getting a 4x65 bulb PC light that has moon lights. So im wondering when I get the lights and rocks how am I able to get the coral line and algae on the dead rock. and how do I ad calcium if to grow coralline faster

 

[leeleeah]

The best way is to add just a few pieces of LR in your tank and place them on top and close to your existing rock. This creates natural coraline growth on the existing rock. It could take a few months but it is the best way. Using purple up for coraline growth I've heard works, but you should never add any additives to your tank that you can't test for.
I would add just a few pieces of live rock and then wait. Patience and waiting will pay off for you in the long run because you won't have any other chemicals in your tank that you can't test for.