Coralline algae growth

[qasimja]

ive had my tank setup for over a year 90g with a 20g sump reef i do a 10% weekly water change originally i started with 65 lbs of brs dry rock and added about 35 lbs of marcos liverock to seed my dry rock over a year later and the dry rock is a little brown but not covered with much of any algae at all.

i'm wondering what else i can do the rocks by now should be covered with algae but most of them are darker then the white dry rock but it still looks like a newly setup tank for the most part lol

 

[qasimja]

oh btw the last time i checked calcium it was 380 and my salinity is 1.025 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate between 5-10

 

[lsu_fishfan]

There are coraline algae boosters you can buy in a bottle and use to help jumpstatt your tank.

 

[qasimja]

LSU_fishFan;1037967 wrote: There are coraline algae boosters you can buy in a bottle and use to help jumpstatt your tank.

would you happen to know the name of a good one?

 

[lsu_fishfan]

The one I've used is called microbe-lift coraline algae accelerator. The are other ones, I think one is name purple power. I know pure reef sales them, and I'd check at nemos near you.

 

[qasimja]

LSU_fishFan;1037969 wrote: The one I've used is called microbe-lift coraline algae accelerator. The are other ones, I think one is name purple power. I know pure reef sales them, and I'd check at nemos near you.

thanks alot for helping

 

[camellia]

If you want to come to my house I'll scrape you off some live that you can seed your tank with.

Pm me if interested

 

[liciawms]

Purple up is a name of a booster too.

 

[russ-iv]

careful of boosters. they generally just spike your mag and calcium and hope for the best. If you also dose, you could have a problem.

380 would give u a very slow growth of coralline. it really should be around 480. However you mentioned no growth at all. Make sure phosphate is 0 or under .25 ppm. mag 1400. ph above 7.8 and you should see a change.

phosphate really does stop growth by inhibiting calcification which you are already low on. No amount of booster would fix it. Do you use phosguard or gfo?

 

[qasimja]

i run gfo in a brs reactor my phosphate reads 0 ive never had an issue with bad algae in this tank

 

[qasimja]

and i dont test for mag i dont have a test kit for it but i'll get one

 

[russ-iv]

Qasimja;1038034 wrote: i run gfo in a brs reactor my phosphate reads 0 ive never had an issue with bad algae in this tank

bump the calcium to 480 and try scraping some exisitng coralline algae off to release spores.

mag may not be an issue if you never have bad algae.

 

[tbub1221]

You need to be looking at your alkalinity and magnesium as well as calcium.
Coraline although classified as a algae is more closely related to calcium building hard coral.
If your cal is kinda low no doubt one or both of the others are out of wack because they effect each other in that way , if your parameters are all in sync at proper levels it will grow stupid fast and spread from your existing seed rock faster than you will care for on your glass

 

[qasimja]

Tbub1221;1038045 wrote: You need to be looking at your alkalinity and magnesium as well as calcium.
Coraline although classified as a algae is more closely related to calcium building hard coral.
If your cal is kinda low no doubt one or both of the others are out of wack because they effect each other in that way , if your parameters are all in sync at proper levels it will grow stupid fast and spread from your existing seed rock faster than you will care for on your glass

i will also purchase an alk test too as well as mag