Coraline growth acceleration

[Jer@fishwonders]

I have two tanks at home, one is a 20 gallon nano-reef and the other is a 125 gallon predator tank. Both are in very good shape but I'd like to see more coraline growth on my live rock. There are some small patches on some of the rocks, but how can I get it to spread to all of them? I just started using a 2 part calcium buffer, which says to dose daily, although that seems like too much so I've been dosing weekly instead. Is calcium all you need or are there other ways to spread coraline faster?

 

[ctenophors rule]

i use a product that is absolutely amazing.

i have plates!!!

it is called coralline stimulate, and is made by florida aqua farms inc.

i have been using it for about 6 moths and wow. you will not believe till you see it.

i had coraline only on my rock, and only on 4 of them (29 gallon) 6 months later it has spread to all of my rocks, is foring plates, and i have had to scrape it off of the back front and sides glass 2 times. i will have to do it again in a little bit to.

you can see tri weekly growth, it is that great.

i strongly advise you aquire some, and never use purple up.....never

 

[chrisstie]

If you go by the chemistry raise your Magnesium up. It allows in a certain ratio better absorbtion of Ca and Alk from the water. Normal seawater is around 1100 but in reef tanks I like to have it around 1500 (I forget the units, doh). If you add that with your two part you'll notice an explosive growth of it.

I doubt other products made specifically to grow coralline are much more than elements like this to help boost the growth.

 

[nycustomsumps]

where did you get the coralline stimulate ?

 

[Benuski]

ctenophors why not use purple up what has your experience been.

 

[madadi]

ctenophors rule, you sound like a TV commercial lol

 

[1DeR9_3Hy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14114189#post14114189 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by madadi
ctenophors rule, you sound like a TV commercial lol

yes he does.....kinda funny huh?

CA and Mag levels are your key to coraline, assuming of course you have light and salty water! lol

 

[spoofer]

i agree calc, alk, and mag are the ways to improved growth of coraline.

Sorry, Purple up is a waste- i've tried it, in fact twice, but then i didn the research on it and it wasn't doing anything, but burning a whole in pocket. The proof is in the pudding...CALC, Alk, and Mag.

 

[Benuski]

MMMMM I have used Puple UP and had great results

 

[Ninong]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14121322#post14121322 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Benuski
MMMMM I have used Puple UP and had great results

Purple-Up is manufactured by Carib-Sea, the sand people. It's powdered aragonite sand in suspension.

You don't need any special additive to get coralline algae to grow. The biggest problem is getting it off the glass, the back wall of the tank, the corner overflow, the cleaner magnet, etc. Getting it to grow is not a problem. Cleaning it off is.

 

[Ninong]

Hi Jer@fishwonders,

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

The key to having coralline algae all over the place is to simply maintain natural water parameters in your tank.

In particular, your calcium, magnesium, alkalinity and pH should all be within normal range.

NSW concentration for calcium is ~412 ppm but most reefkeepers prefer a range of approximately 425-475 ppm.

NSW alk is ~2.5 meq/l (7 dKH) but most reefkeepers prefer something between 8 to 12 dKH.

NSW Mg is ~1285 ppm but anything between 1250 to 1350 will do. Some people prefer going a little bit higher.

NSW pH is 8.2 but anything between 7.9 - 8.5 is acceptable. I think it's best to shoot for 8.2 - 8.4 as a goal.

You should never dose anything in your tank without testing for it first and then monitoring it on a regular basis thereafter.

There is no way that you can maintain appropriate levels of calcium, alkalinity and magnesium without testing.

If you are using a two-component product to maintain calcium and alkalinity, then it should be dosed daily. The amount of the dose will be based on the volume of water in your system and the results of your testing. You should never dose anything blind.

Good luck!