Ok i understand the chemical make up a saltwater and still for some reason i cannot seem to grow the stuff. This is my second tank and i have no problems growing sponges, red/green/ cyano bacteria, and corals but yet very little or none coraline. The params are pretty spot on and i do a 25 percent water change with salinity every week. I am currently dosing with reef code part a and b three times a week, mag once, and iodine once a month. All the corals are getting good polyp extension and even the sps has some growth. The system is ran by a RKE and the ph usually stays around 8.1 while the temp swings from 79 to 81 pending the weather. I do have live rock in there that is covered as well as pieces with dead coraline with but it does not spread. Any thoughts?
Coraline Algea: Why can't i grow it?
- Thread starter gmpolan
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what are your CA/ALK/MG levels?
Coraline is calcium. Needs it to grow (consumes it really) so your ca/alk/mg levels ate crucial here.
Lighting isn't that important. I grow coraline in my sump off of crappy clip-on home depot fluorescent flood fixtures.
Coraline is calcium. Needs it to grow (consumes it really) so your ca/alk/mg levels ate crucial here.
Lighting isn't that important. I grow coraline in my sump off of crappy clip-on home depot fluorescent flood fixtures.
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In my Tank it grew on the power heads well before it grew on any rock.
Theres also some rocks in my tank that cant seem to grow any coraline while the ones besides them are covered :confused2:
Theres also some rocks in my tank that cant seem to grow any coraline while the ones besides them are covered :confused2:
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Geoff, I'd guess it's the age of the tank. In my experience, coraline takes a long time to start growing, even if you're using established rock and water. I bet once everything settles, you'll have great growth.
I know this will make you mad Geoff but the 135 I started in August is growing coraline like crazy, don't know if it's the lack of proper lights or the fallow period but the overflows are almost covered, same for the sump.
You are welcome to get some scrapings maybe it's a species thing.
You are welcome to get some scrapings maybe it's a species thing.
What's your Magnesium level? I had a similar issue years ago with a tank I maintained (and we still maintain). CA/Alk and all the other basic params were textbook, but no coralline. I consulted with someone more learned than myself and he suggested adding Magnesium (and I wasn't testing for it back then - we do now). Calcium isn't enough. Without enough Magnesium to make the Calcium biologically available by reef building fauna and flora (coral skeletons and calcareous algae), it won't grow.
Nowadays that tank has coralline on top of coralline (nearly 9 years later...) but it took about 6 weeks of me dosing it (every other week - customer just feeds the pretty fishes), to get it started. Once it started it went nuts.
Jenn
Nowadays that tank has coralline on top of coralline (nearly 9 years later...) but it took about 6 weeks of me dosing it (every other week - customer just feeds the pretty fishes), to get it started. Once it started it went nuts.
Jenn
I think your right jenn, as i just finished reading your post and was about to post my params...
Params:
PH 8.1
Temp 80
Salinity 1.025
Calc 525 (alil high)
KH: 9
Mag: 900 (low)
CA/MG/KH all tested with elos. So how much more often should i be dosing MG? Im currently doing it once a week...
Params:
PH 8.1
Temp 80
Salinity 1.025
Calc 525 (alil high)
KH: 9
Mag: 900 (low)
CA/MG/KH all tested with elos. So how much more often should i be dosing MG? Im currently doing it once a week...
Salinity has a higher starting value of MG than most salts - your batch should have that on the analysis sticker. 1250-1350 is what we aim for. Some people raise it higher than that for various reasons (nuisance algae and cyanobacter control etc). Typically it should be approximately 3 times the calcium. So if Calcium is 450, MG should be 1350.
Light isn't as important to coralline as you might think. I've grown some amazing coralline under regular output fluorescents.
You might want to dose 2 or 3 times a week, at least until you get it to where it needs to be, then back off a bit and see what you need to do to maintain it.
I had no idea how important Magnesium was until I saw the results for myself - like I said, I was the only one dosing, and only every 2 weeks at that. It was a big tank (225g) so I was pretty generous with the stuff (I was using Tech M on it at the time, and we still use it on that tank today). By week 6 I was pretty discouraged - I'd seeded it with some scrapings and a few snails that were well covered in it... but on that 6th week I saw a dime-sized patch of coralline. W00t! 2 weeks later there were 3 or 4 dime-sized patches. A couple of weeks later there were more, and they were quarter sized, and it kind of went exponentially after that.
It would have taken less time if the tank owner was more hands-on... but it did take off eventually.
Similarly, if people take CA supplements that don't have MG in them, they might as well flush the pills (and their money) down the toilet. Calcium alone is not enough.
Jenn
Light isn't as important to coralline as you might think. I've grown some amazing coralline under regular output fluorescents.
You might want to dose 2 or 3 times a week, at least until you get it to where it needs to be, then back off a bit and see what you need to do to maintain it.
I had no idea how important Magnesium was until I saw the results for myself - like I said, I was the only one dosing, and only every 2 weeks at that. It was a big tank (225g) so I was pretty generous with the stuff (I was using Tech M on it at the time, and we still use it on that tank today). By week 6 I was pretty discouraged - I'd seeded it with some scrapings and a few snails that were well covered in it... but on that 6th week I saw a dime-sized patch of coralline. W00t! 2 weeks later there were 3 or 4 dime-sized patches. A couple of weeks later there were more, and they were quarter sized, and it kind of went exponentially after that.
It would have taken less time if the tank owner was more hands-on... but it did take off eventually.
Similarly, if people take CA supplements that don't have MG in them, they might as well flush the pills (and their money) down the toilet. Calcium alone is not enough.
Jenn
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I didn't know this now im glad I read this thread I learn something new everyday
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I'm wondering how you got to this state if you are performing 25% weekly WC with salinity. You may want to try another test kit to confirm you are truly at 900 before going much further...
If your readings are right, it concerns me that your CA is so high with a normal Alk and a low Mg... Seems possible (not saying it is happening) that your CA and Alk dosing may be precipitating out and pulling the mg out with it... If you are doing 25% WC every week with Salinity, I would lay off dosing any CA or Alk supplements and let your WC be your additives. You should dose your Mg up to normal, however.
If you are truly at that low of a level, keep in mind that it takes a "ton" of magnesium additive to raise your mag levels from 900 to ~1300. I add 8 cups of dry Mag Chloride and 1 cup Mag Sulfate into a couple gallons of water. If I add this entire batch (dripped in overnight) to my ~500 gallon total water volume system, it raises my magnesium 100 ppm. You may want to consider performing a large (>50%) WC to try and get Mg back in line or ordering dry magnesium from BRS to raise it that far.
If your readings are right, it concerns me that your CA is so high with a normal Alk and a low Mg... Seems possible (not saying it is happening) that your CA and Alk dosing may be precipitating out and pulling the mg out with it... If you are doing 25% WC every week with Salinity, I would lay off dosing any CA or Alk supplements and let your WC be your additives. You should dose your Mg up to normal, however.
If you are truly at that low of a level, keep in mind that it takes a "ton" of magnesium additive to raise your mag levels from 900 to ~1300. I add 8 cups of dry Mag Chloride and 1 cup Mag Sulfate into a couple gallons of water. If I add this entire batch (dripped in overnight) to my ~500 gallon total water volume system, it raises my magnesium 100 ppm. You may want to consider performing a large (>50%) WC to try and get Mg back in line or ordering dry magnesium from BRS to raise it that far.
The tank has only been running for 11 weeks. 3 weeks of cycling and about 8 of full on running. The way change has only happened for the past two weeks. So i will probably just keep on with the water changes and with dosing MG and see where i am at from there...
