Coraline Algea: Why can't i grow it?

Dude, I generally get killed when I comment on things like this as I am a bit different from the norm (I RARELY do water changes at all).

But 11 weeks. That tank is an infant. give it another 3 or 4 months.


And 25% water changes... Are you serious? Why? Unless you have HUGE bio loads, you are throwing out the good stuff. Cut back, get a bit more casual and give it time.

IMHO

cheers

johnny
 
After posting, I reread the thread.

Man, the amount that you are dosing... Three times a week. You dose more in a couple of weeks than I do in a year. That is a bunch of chemicals going into the tank. Then once a week you remove 25% with the WC:eek:

I kinda get the idea that there is a vicious circle going on. But then again, I ain't been accused (too often) of being all that brilliant.

I dunno... Just seems like you are doing a lot of work on what should be fun.

cheers

johnny
 
Anyone want to respond to these past few comments as i dont know the proper approach without perhaps coming off as rude? I guess to each as their own....

To stay on topic, i prob will do a few water changes within the next couple of weeks to see if the mg picks up along with dosing. Ill keep everyone updated and thanks for the input and information....
 
I do think a 25% weekly water change might be a bit excessive.

Normally after the cycling process is finished (~4 weeks), we suggest a 10% weekly OR 20% every other week water change, with average bio-load. Ultimately your parameters (esp. nitrate) will dictate whether more or less is required.

Changing so much, so often, so early in the process may be causing the tank to lose equilibrium. It finds equilibrium when it cycles. Changing too much water, too often, effectively hits the "reset" button and it tries to find equilibrium again.

That might be why you're having cyano issues. Are you having lots of diatoms too?

I don't suggest the other extreme... lots of people "get away" without water changing very often, but their creatures would do so much better if they had a regular replenishment of trace elements through water changes. Also, if you aren't changing water and aren't testing because things look fine, that's often a time bomb... I can't tell you how many people have had things on auto-pilot only to hit the wall with nitrates, and once they start having problems, the nitrate has gone off the map and it takes a long time and a lot of small, but frequent water changes to put things right again. An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.

Keep an eye on your parameters, and ease up on the water changes a bit, IMO. 10% per week or even every other week if your bioload is light, should suffice for now, and give the tank a chance to find its equilibrium. Test for CA/ALK/MG and dose as needed, but until the tank settles some more, don't stress about chasing a number quite so much.

I've seen people drive themselves crazy chasing numbers... and if they don't hit their numbers without throwing something else out of whack, sometimes I suggest just backing off of everything except feeding and buffering pH (if it's needed) for a while to let the tank settle. More often than not, levels settle closer to what the hobbyist was trying to achieve. Once it's settled, then it can be tweaked here and there without excessive measures. We really can tinker things right to death.

Jenn
 
Same here. I used a 30W 6500K clip on light, and I have so much pink coraline in the sump that it's even growing IN the filter socks, IN the protein skimmer, and on mag pump sponge.

JeF4y;584386 wrote: 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.
 
here is a handy calculator

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chem_calc3.html">http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chem_calc3.html</a>

10% weekly would be better, imho......or 20-25% every 2 weeks.

I dose 2 part 6x's a day with an aqua-med doser to keep up with calcium & alk.

What comes into play here that's very important is the good bacteria. Removing 25% weekly can disturb the balance, imho. Yes, there is plenty in the water column.
 
JeF4y;584386 wrote: 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.

They had a t5 shop light at home depot last time I was there. Also have u tried that purple up stuff I never used it maby someone else has insight on it
 
Thanks for the input guys...

and jenn, no diatoms and nor do i have any cyano at the moment...but ill def cut it back to about 10 percent
 
RaisedOnNintendo;584715 wrote: They had a t5 shop light at home depot last time I was there. Also have u tried that purple up stuff I never used it maby someone else has insight on it

I've never used any of the purple products (purple up, purple tech, etc). IMHO, they're a waste of money, but again, that's just my opinion.

Proper MG/CA/ALK with just about any lighting, and some seed coraline is all I've ever needed. In general it takes my tanks about 4 months to really start coming in with coraline growth. After that it's pretty dominant and easy. As in, if I threw a rock or a new frag rack in today, in about a month there would be a decent amount of initial growth on it.
 
JeF4y;584719 wrote: I've never used any of the purple products (purple up, purple tech, etc). IMHO, they're a waste of money, but again, that's just my opinion.

Proper MG/CA/ALK with just about any lighting, and some seed coraline is all I've ever needed. In general it takes my tanks about 4 months to really start coming in with coraline growth. After that it's pretty dominant and easy. As in, if I threw a rock or a new frag rack in today, in about a month there would be a decent amount of initial growth on it.

Ya sometimes that stuff grows so fast on my plugs it actually starts growing up my Zoas. If I don't break it off n peel it back the new sprouts will try n grow under my coraline and get choked out
 
gmpolan;584610 wrote: Anyone want to respond to these past few comments as i dont know the proper approach without perhaps coming off as rude? I guess to each as their own....

To stay on topic, i prob will do a few water changes within the next couple of weeks to see if the mg picks up along with dosing. Ill keep everyone updated and thanks for the input and information....


Sorry Guy,

I didn't mean to get your back up against the wall. It just seemed like you were doing A WHOLE BUNCH... QUICK...

And the one thing I have learned. Nothing good happens fast in a marine tank.

Jenn was way more articulate that I could possibly be. But the message is similar.

cut back, ease up, it will happen...

The last item. Best piece of advice I ever got on dosing (for what it is worth)

Read the directions. THEN DO HALF AS MUCH, HALF AS OFTEN.

But as you said... to each his own...


cheers


johnny
 
I have very little coraline growth in my tank and now I think I know why... will have to get a magnesium test kit and see... calcium is constant between 420 and 480. Tank is 4 months old... you guys are great!!!
 
My coralline went crazy after I added the kalk stirrer AND CA reactor...
 
Mine def picked up a TON after i added the calc reactor as well...thanks robb
 
My tank is around 2 months and my entire rock structure is purple . I started to notice growth in about 2 weeks after tank was running. By week 3 I don't have a white rock in the tank
 
Mine didn't really start until the tank was five months old and until I got the Mg up from 1000 to 1300. I hadn't been testing for Mg. Since then it has really started to go. I think the Mg level was probably key rather than the age, but you never know...
 
MG is important. It makes the calcium biologically available to the organisms that use it. Found this out many years ago when CA/Alk and other params in a maintenance tank were spot on but I couldn't grow coralline to save my life. Spoke to a rep for a supplement manufacturer about it and he suggested adding Magnesium to the regimen, which I did. Shortly thereafter, the coralline took off. 9 years later, that tank is still a coralline factory, and Magnesium is still a part of its regimen.

Jenn
 
I was doing the standard BRS 2-part dosing but had trouble keeping the Mg up (forgetting, adding too little, etc) so I added another dosing pump and started dosing Mg daily. It's worth the effort since Mg is so important. They should really call it 3-part dosing.
 
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