purple coraline

caribian1

In Memoriam
how do purple coraline grow i have some on all the rocks bu i whant to know whats DIY good for it to keep growing .
 
I think it's lots of water changes. Mine is covering the sides of my tanks very fast and my tanks are not very old. I do small daily water changes and that's it. I have a few times added the tiniest bit of calcium or purple up. But I forget and haven't done it more than once or twice per month at the most.

Suzi
 
Calcium and light I gather. Eventually it'll grow by itself with good husbandry. If your tank has been running a year (according to your profile) you should have plenty of it by now all over your rock and glass.

Don't bother with the commercial additives like "Purple Up"
 
light intensity doesnt matter any light will will do, if you are dosing calcium you will have coraline growth.
 
what kind of calcium because im low on monney i just buy a 180 gallon and 200 live rock but does any calcium home made could make it let me know
 
It's more of an Alkalinity than Calcium issue. Time and proper Alkalinity (and Calcium) are the key.
 
My tank and rocks are coverd in purple. When I got my LR it had big chunks of purple. I don't add anything anymore and just keeps covering more glass and my over flow. If you want more try to find a few pieces of purple covered rock.
 
caribian1 -- You really don't need any additives unless your stocked with coral sucking up all the good stuff. Any of the salts that provide good alk/Ca will be fine alone. IO should be fine. Reef crystals has a higher alk/Ca level and is also inexpensive. Just keep up on your water changes.
 
I read somewhere that you can also take a toothbrush to your purple rock to loosen up some spores that will facilitate growth elsewhere.
 
from what i read on this subject calcium iodine and strontium (i think thats how its spelled). purple up is supposed to be a good start up for it. but i found if the coraline you already have starts to bleach then the strontium levels are low. as for propigation ive read that you shut the filters off for a few hours and scrape some of the coraline with a razor and let it float around with just the powerheads and it will settle in new places. my tank is only five months so i dont have any new growth yet.
 
Proper Magnesium levels, Alk and Calcium will do wonders for stability and coralline. Many salt mixes do contain magnesium; however they usually don’t contain enough to keep levels ideal with your basic water changes. Actually, in some cases I have actually lowered my magnesium levels by giving to many water changes. Some salt mixes are better then others, but I would never rely on water changes to keep mag levels in the ideal range (I like 1350 or higher). When I first started I had terrible coralline growth. However It was a different problem that got me to check magnesium levels, once all 3 were in their proper range Mag, Alk and Calcium I noticed that coralline grows even under duel 250s. There are other clues to low mag levels, but this should be a good starting point without confusing the issue. Good Luck.
 
Coraline algaes are all a little different and have different light requirements. I have a deep purple that does well in moderate to strong light. I have a pink-purple coraline that only does well in low light areas. If I take the rocks out and rearrange them the colors will die off and eventually change to the one that lives in that lighting best. But I also agree that calcium and alkalinity play an important roll. I also believe that using only actinic lighting will bring out the darker colors faster than under normal lighting spectrums.
 
I agree with many of the points above. I do not think iodine and strontium dosing will help coraline growth. Scraping to allow particles to seed helps.High levels of calcium ,alkalinity and magnesium and patience are needed to grow it. if you have a lot of corals then the calcium,alkalinity and magnesium are even more important since corals will likely outcompeter the coraline if the tank is not saturated.
 
Just keep on top of your water quality and it WILL come. I just set up my 24g Nano last month, and I am getting it everywhere. They are growing on places I don't want it, like on the front and side view.
 
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