One month to the day, and already have coraline

chipmaker

Active Member
I started this 10 gal taank using 5# of good live rock removed from an established tank and dropped in the 10 within seconds, so no die off. I used dry, live sand (***** special on wet packed bags that leaked all the qater out that I got dirt cheap) and also 4# of good live sand from an established tank. I placed a piece of locally collected live rock I have been dragging around for over 20 years that had been bleached, bleaced, bleaced and soaked in potassium permanganate numerous times, and left outside for a long time before being washed in bleach yet again and wrapped in plastic saran wrap and stuck in the attick for a few more year. The entire tank cycled in less than a week. I planted a good stand of caulerpa at one end. Lights are URI 15 watts x 2 one a 50/50 the other true actinic....lights are on 10-12 hours a day and lunar nights are on all night. It now has a few neat oddball shrooms, pulsing xenia, a large toadstool leather, a few hermits etc and snails. Today while merely gazeing at the tank while having my morning coffee and contemplating what I was going to put in the tank, I noticed a light pinkish red color all over the highly bleached out rocks. the rocks are literaly covered in a light coating of the stuff.....First thing I thought wa oh $%* cyano.......but I brushed it really hard with a long brush (long handled double headed tooth brush used for dogs) and then looked with a magnifying glass and the red/pink color wa still there, never phaseed by the scrubbing....Hmmmm.....checked a few more spots, and then I noticed some in some not too easy to see spots that were a pretty good pink color.......So it looks like I have a pretty fast growth of coraline algae already......I will admit I have dosed it from the very first week and kept my cal and alk at 500 or above, and only when I added inverts did I skip sufficient dosings to bring levels down to about 460 /11.2 range. PH is right at 8.4 before lights out and at night drops no more than 8.3, 8.25 or so......No ammonia, no nitrite and just a trace of trates....Dosed with nothing but B-Ionic 2 part and I used Instant Ocean salt, with a SG of 1.0245-1.025. Temps have been held at 80-81 deg continually, and only one water change was done.
I never expected coraline to start to establish itself so fast as it did, as on most of my other tanks it took a couple of months, and on one tank I still do not have but a tiny spot that never gets bigger. So tomorrow the other livestock arrives by mail so I have to see how that episode of my first ever online ordering of critters goes.
 

phixer

Active Member
Thats pretty fast, probably because you used established live rock and a small tank.
 
A

andretti

Guest
Get ready...now the stuff will grow like weeds. On the front, sides, etc. It's great on the back, on rock, and equipment, but it does become a bit of a pain having to scrape it off the front & sides once a week.
 
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