my initial cycle just ended recently and i was wondering why there is little to know coralline algae in the tank. have i done something incorrectly?

coralline usually grows fast in an established tank. you just need something to jumpstart it. liverock, purple up works well. and keep you calc and alk up

maybe thats it my alk is on the low side but i havent tested for cal and i have about 240lbs of live rock in there

maybe thats it my alk is on the low side but i havent tested for cal and i have about 240lbs of live rock in there
Test both alk and calcium NOW. One does not work without the other.

well i tested my alk and i know its low but i dont have a cal test kit. gonna have to get one. is there a way to bring either of these up without a trip to the lfs

well i tested my alk and i know its low but i dont have a cal test kit. gonna have to get one. is there a way to bring either of these up without a trip to the lfs
You have to find out your parameter first. You can't fix it until you know what is broken.

I agree with testing Ca and alk. I also think that coralline takes time to develop and you should see it spread as your tank matures. I've heard (but not tried) that scraping some existing coralline off into the water column is a way to jump start it spreading. So if you have even a little bit of it you could give that a try.

i know that coralline algae turns white when it dies and i have large white patches on my rock could that have been dead algae?

also i have to find out my ca levels but i know my alk is low as i have tested it before and still do

Yes I think the white patches are probably dead coralline. If your alk is low your Ca may be high because they are inversely proportional. What kind of salt did you use?

the regular instant ocean and the reef crystals version

to be perfectly honest with you D, coraline should be the furthest thing from your mind at this point in your set-up, maintaining a stable environment should be your ownly priority for awhile! learn about yes, id suggest not fixating and searching for ways to introduce it! besides chances are your going to have a carpeted mess on your hands with other forms before your coraline takes hold, even with manual means to introduce it!

it comes on it's own....whether you want it or not....it just takes time....once it takes hold, it grows like crazy

to be perfectly honest with you D, coraline should be the furthest thing from your mind at this point in your set-up, maintaining a stable environment should be your ownly priority for awhile! learn about yes, id suggest not fixating and searching for ways to introduce it! besides chances are your going to have a carpeted mess on your hands with other forms before your coraline takes hold, even with manual means to introduce it!I couldn't agree more with veriann and the statements in bold above. There's a lot of talk in the literature and on the forums about coraline algae and it's importance in a reef tank. So much so that people begin to put more importance on it than it's worth. Coraline algae is naturally found on LR and, even though it has died back on new LR, it will grow out again given time and correct conditions. YOU DON'T NEED PURPLE-UP to get it to grow. Save your money and buy the test kits you need. They are, Ph, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium at the very least. These are the basic set and every reefer whether they have a ten gallon Nano or a gazillion gallon mega reef ought to own them (and use them). Get your water parameters correct, your cycle complete and let Mother Nature do her work. Coraline algae will come on it's own. The only benefit coraline has is it indicates healthy conditions and it's colorful in it's various color forms. That's it! Nothing more, nada!!!

Coraline algae needs Calcium present in the water at the proper level just like corals do. So if you are low on Calcium you are not providing ideal conditions. Can't test for Calcium? Can't provide ideal conditions! Alkalinity to high? Then two factors are possibly fighting each other. Testing for Magnesium, you might find your level well below natural sea water's 1250 ppm. This will force Calcium to precipitate out of solution lowering it and raising Alk levels. That's why you have to test for Magnesium. The three play off each other. My system is seven months old. I test weekly and maintain the following levels, Magnesium = 1400ppm, Calcium = 450 to 500ppm, Alkalinity = 4 to 5 meg/L. These are a good target to aim for. My coraline algae is beautiful, my corals are growing great.

If you want coraline algae to grow test properly or all the Purple-up in the world added to your tank will only give you purple water. When proper conditions are provided coraline algae will grow on it's own as dreams has stated.

Once again I have to state - The only thing that happens fast in a reef tank is disaster. Relax, test for the important things, let your system mature and one day you will notice purple coraline algae forming. Then when your system matures a bit more you will begin to see red coraline algae and other colors, too. Relax, enjoy the journey.

I believe that Reef Crystals has extra Ca. So if the Ca is high when you test your water you might want to use plain IO until it gets where it should be. Right now I don't recall you having anything that has a high Ca demand in your tank.

I believe that Reef Crystals has extra Ca. So if the Ca is high when you test your water you might want to use plain IO until it gets where it should be. Right now I don't recall you having anything that has a high Ca demand in your tank.Actually, Carmie, Reef Crystals has the correct level of Calcium and Instant Ocean is low on Calcium.

Instant Ocean mixed fresh with RO/DI water to a specific gravity of 1.025 will produce a Calcium reading of 350 ppm.

Reef Crystals mixed identically will produce a Calcium reading of 450 ppm.

They, Aquarium Systems, formulated Instant Ocean more than forty years ago when keeping corals was unheard of. All the formula had to do was keep fish and a few invertebrates alive. When reefing became possible, rather than reformulate Instant Ocean, they chose to bring out a new formula that would reflect the higher demand for calcium a reef tank needs. It also allowed them to put a premium price on their new formula, Reef Crystals. Those of us in the know buy Instant Ocean and supplement the mix with liquid Calcium to 450 ppm and save a bunch of money.

Thanks Dick. My choice of the word extra really was a bad one. :) I know that IO doesn't have extra Ca compared to NSW as I too use IO and dose Ca. (In fact you may remember my problem a little while back with reading my test wrong and underdosing.)

Also, can you lower Ca in a new tank with low alk and high Ca and no big Ca users in another way besides doing water changes? And making sure Mg is also correct of course. I know that we don't know that his tank has low Ca I just wanted to double check.

can you lower Ca (http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/showthread.php?p=33720#) in a new tank with low alk (http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/showthread.php?p=33720#) and high Ca (http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/showthread.php?p=33720#) and no big Ca (http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/showthread.php?p=33720#) users in another way besides doing water changes?I had to give this question some thought, Carmie. At first I thought it was a trick question. I had to read it several times to understand where you were coming from.

I'm not sure how you would come up with a high Ca without dozing it in yourself. So let's assume that's how it happened. If you wanted to rectify the situation quickly, water changes using IO would bring it down. High Ca in a tank with a bio load that doesn't require high Ca won't harm anything. Fish require Ca so in time the Ca will come down naturally.

Did that answer your question?

Well I was thinking about the fact the dadonoflaw knows that his alk is low and that Ca and alk are often inversely proportional. So if the low alk is a result of high CA, in order to raise the alk to where it belongs wouldn't you need to lower the Ca? Or would you do your normal water changes and just let nature take its course?

This brings up another question dadonoflaw, what is your pH and does it fluctuate much?

actually it only changed once in the month that the tank has been up it went from 8.4 to 8.2 and has stayed there ever since. i test it at night and during the day and it is always 8.2.

You should not even expect to see Coraline algae in the first month of a set-up. It will begin as little tiny specks of purple and grow out from there. Give this subject a rest until next month. Then if you don't see any Coraline algae give us a shout.

tiny tiny flecks, yup. with satuation levels high enough with the correct lighting, u might see small traces. although once again, "quest to contain the mess before you see the best"! and that my friend will spoil your visual desire to watch for small purple flecks...:wow: at least till you wade through the greens and reds with a shovel and pitchfork to once again see your nice rockwork with ever looming day for purple spots..lol

Ha ha ha, Hoot!!!

http://www.alexander-oberg.de/smileys/shit_2.gif hehe, yeah we've all played in the mess at some point! http://www.alexander-oberg.de/smileys/shit.gif

I sometimes use a little "trick" of my own that seems to work.

I take a smallish, flat, coraline encrusted chunk of rubble and put it into a rag. I then pulverize it with a hammer and sprinkle the dust on the rest of the aquascaping. This works well with "base rock".

I've had systems with 1/2 base and 1/2 live rock. Both rock masses colored up evenly when using this method. Although not a 'controlled experiment' I would assume that without the seeding, the base rock would have been slower to grow the coraline.

Dave

well its starting to grow now and i am seeing some dark purple and burgundy that i like

Yahoooo! Hang in there.. before you know it, you'll be authoring a post called "How do I get rid of coralline algae on all of my glass and powerheads and such"

D

that will be a good problem to have