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Originally Posted by veriann 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.
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