Coraline Algae

[Rock126]

my tank sps tank is about 2 months old with small spots of coraline growing but i want to know whats the average time it takes to have a tank just full of it everywhere!!!

 

[lolgranny]

Truthfully you cant put a "time" on it. Some tanks grow it like madness, others not so much. Personally i would be happy with less. Cleaning the glass gets to be a pain over the years.

 

[Ramracer32]

it all depends on a lot of factors. using b-ionic always helps the process in my opinion

 

[teebone110]

if ur dosing it speeds things up. Also scrape your glass and it helps it spread faster too.

 

[sponger0]

Just keep your calcium levels up and it should help with coralline growth

 

[Piper27]

I set up a new 210 and in four months the sides I don't scrape are covered. I used rock and everything from my other tank which probably helped.

 

[SBRob]

+1 to b-ionic, just switched to it and my coralline is taking off!

 

[rmalone]

I would just say be careful what you wish for!! That crap is the second only to bryopsis in PITA status. I actually put a pink pincushion urchin in my tank to help control that stuff. It worked very well, I am happy to tolerate picking frags out of the sand, which is the only problem my urchin has created.

Problem is I hate coraline on the glass, period. I really don't care if massive amounts are a sign of a healthy tank, I'm fine with coraline on the rocks, but nowhere else.

 

[MechEng99]

Yup, be careful what you wish for...it'll suck up your alk/ca so quick once it really starts growing. When you're trying to maintain an SPS-dominant tank, the last thing you need is something non-SPS sucking everything your SPS needs.

Basically, just keep your alk/ca levels up, and the coralline will grow. How fast it spreads will depend on spore count, flow, etc. If you want it everywhere, just scrape it off regularly, and it will spread.

 

[29reef]

My setup is 5 months old and it's growing like crazy. I wish it would stop growing, because I'm spending an hour or more every two weeks scraping it off the glass.

 

[nonstopfishies]

Agree with everyone above, Coralline is a huge pain. Builds up on everything and then needs to be scraped or vinegar soaked. With patience it will spread all over.

 

[allsps40]

Funny how we all want it to grow when the tank is new and all white. Then is starts growing and it is uncontrollable LOL.

 

[miwoodar]

My wifes list reads as follows:

* Take out the trash
* Mow the lawn
* Clean that friggin coralline off your glass!
* I don't care if your arm hurts, keep scraping!
* Mop floor
* Missed a spot!
* Mop floor again