[Poseidon]

Hi all,

I cant seem to get Coralline algae to grow in my tank. I have PC lights calcium levels are around 400 and alk about 9? Is pc lighting missing some component of the spectrum that Coralline needs? The bulbs claim to be 10,000K and I have 2 "blues" as well. My tank is a 135 and my fixture is only 4 feet, so I don't expect growth on the ends of the tank where not so much light is but directly under the fixture should not be a problem. I have many soft corals that thrive under my lights including Xenia and Anthellia CApanella and Green Star Polyps they all grow like weeds !!! Calurpa and Bubble algae (yuk) also grow like crazy to the point I'm pulling out handfuls of calurpa every 2 weeks. All other chemistry seems just fine, I haven't tested PO4 in awhile though.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated !!!

Mike

[scubadude]

Go to your LFS or another hobbyist that is local and try and get some coralline....most established tanks have it so thick you can scrape it off in sheets off of the glass. They shouldnt charge you more than a couple of bux if that much. Make sure you skim real good before you do this because it is my belief that if you have problem algaes being prolific in your tank then they are competing w/ coralline algae, anyway after you get the sheet of coralline then you can take a small cup of your tank water and put the sheet and the tank water in a blender and chop/blend it up real good, then turn off all your pumps and power heads for a few minutes if possible and pour the coralline soup into your tank let it setlle then you can turn your powerheads back on. This method has worked pretty good for me as far as seeding DIY aragocrete rock. Also Florida Aquaculuture Farms sells coralline stimulator

[Poseidon]

Thanks Scuba Dude, I don't think the seed is the problem I recently purchased so live rock with excellent coralline coverage and it has gradually Faded (died) and I can't seem to come up with a reason why??? The only thing I can think of is the lights...

[scubadude]

well ya know whats funny is I actually have better coralline growthin in lower lighted areas with good flow

[Iron Crab]

My tank has been up for a little over a year and I couldn't get any to grow. I had some in there on the rock from my old tank so I knew it was there. Just about the one year mark on my tank the coralline took off like wildfire. Now it's even in my overflows. Don't know what changed cause all my water tests are the same. -- ??

[Poseidon]

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one, maybe I need to increase my water flow, I have 2 Aqua Clear 300's and 2 402 powerheads just for water movement. Maybe thats the key. Any ideas on the lights anyone out there using POwer Compacts with lots of Coralline ???

[Wayne's World]

I can also vouch for the time span on coraline growth. My main tank, after being up for a year, has finally started to grow coraline like wildfire. No changes in parameters seem apparent. I have halides and pcs. Now on my refugium, just a tupperware tub and daylight el cheapo ge pcs, the coraline growth is thick, as is the macro algae.

[bongobrian]

Chances are something is inhibiting the growth instead of something being "missing". But just to cover the bases... what units are you measuring your alkalinity in? an alkalinity of 9 dkh is kinda low, although 9 meq/l is off the charts. DEFINITELY check the PO4. High levels of phosphate would definitely prevent the calcification of coraline... as well as corals.

[Poseidon]

Thanks Brian, I should have clarified 9 Dkh not meq/l. While were on that topic does anyone have an easy conversion from dkh to meq/l some of my supplements make the reccomendation in meq/l but my test kit is dkh????

[bongobrian]

1 meq/l = 2.8 dkh\

so to convert just divide 9.0 by 2.8 which gives you 3.2 meq/l.

Also please excuse, I said that your alk was low, but it's actually right where it should be.

[Poseidon]

thanks Brian that will make it very easy !!!

Just wish I could the purple stuff to grow

Mike

[bongobrian]

Here are all the factors I know of for growing coraline (most of which have already been mentioned):

calcium levels
alkalinity levels
blue spectrum lighting (lower light areas as scuba mentioned)
moderate to high flow areas
seed the tank (with live rock or products)
ph (keep the ph high to facilitate calcification)
low nutrient levels, primarily phosphate, use RO water

here are some things you might try:

drip kalk
add a refugium
add a deep sand bed

have you tried any of these? if not, you might want to consider. HTH

[Poseidon]

Yup already have the DSB but I think I need to increase flow and drop PO4 levels.

[scout]

Mike,
I have 2x55 PC's and I wish I could get the coraline to at least slow down. Scrapping overflow, powerheads, front and side glass is part of my weekly cleaning routine now. The tank has been up and running for almost 3 years.

If you live near Delaware, swing by my house any weekend and I'll keep you stocked up!

Mike

[Poseidon]

Thanks for the offer scout, but it'd be a long drive from MI !!! Thanks for all the help everyone I'm going to be much more detailed in my tank log and keep a closer eye on the PO4 levels, I bet thats my biggest problem. I'll get to the lfs and have a test done this week sometime... Probably end up doing a HUGE H2O change to bring the levels down.... Or I may be back to square 1 if PO4 test okay??? We'll find out soon.

Mike