build coraline algae? I've just loaded some man-made live rock in to my holding tank and I want to purple it up as quickly as possible. There's nothing else in the tank but the rock. What do you use to build coraline quickly?
what's the quickest way to........
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You could do both. Seed it with scrapings, then monitor calc, alk, and mg, keeping them slightly high. There are additives like Purple-Up, but I'm wary of dosing anything without monitoring the parameters.
Personally, though, I'd just seed it and let it happen at a natural pace. Not only is it easier, but it keeps the system more stable and you're far less likely to run into any issues like calcium precipitation. Just my opinion.
This is all kind of what I figured. I've personally used Purple Up before and didn't see the results that I had hoped for.
+1 for everyone who commented on keeping strong levels of CA/ALK/MG and scraping existing coraline.
My CA is ~450, Alk 11, Mg ~1300. Took about 6 weeks to start seeing coraline grow on pumps, etc after I moved. Now I'm 2.5 months in and it's growing pretty good on my back glass and I see noticeable spots on the rock.
IME it takes about 4-6 months to really color up rock good...
And yeah, I'd avoid purple up or other "purple" coloring products. They are snakeoil and have been debunked as having any "real value" many many times over.
My CA is ~450, Alk 11, Mg ~1300. Took about 6 weeks to start seeing coraline grow on pumps, etc after I moved. Now I'm 2.5 months in and it's growing pretty good on my back glass and I see noticeable spots on the rock.
IME it takes about 4-6 months to really color up rock good...
And yeah, I'd avoid purple up or other "purple" coloring products. They are snakeoil and have been debunked as having any "real value" many many times over.
Not so sure I agree with this one.
I started off with 85 lbs of base rock and 12 lbs of nice, purple live rock about two and a half months ago. I did scrape some of the coralline from the live rock when I first put it in.
I've been keeping my Alk levels up by buffering daily, using Kent's Purple Tech daily, and doing an ~15% WC every two weeks. Within the last two-three weeks, I've noticed multiple spots on my base rock begining to color (including pink, purple, and green coralline) and very rapidly it's spreading. Some of the initial areas I noticed were little bigger than a pencil eraser and are now larger than a quarter.
The growth isn't just in one area either, it's all over. At this rate of growth I figure most of the rock will be colored within the next six months to a year.
Lighting isn't really a factor in the growth either, as I've been running a normal flourescent shop light above the tank just so I can see the fish until I replace my LEDs.
As for the additive being "snake oil", I can't say they're 100% what they claim to be, but I can tell you before using Puple Tech, my Calcium was staying at around 200ppm... now I'm keeping it around 500ppm with no problems.
Not from what I've seen with the equipment that I have. The prices of the supplements were comparable to the PurpleTech, which also contains Magnesium.
I'm still new to the hobby, so take it for what you will, but it doesn't seem that it has taken the time for me to see the results of coralline growth that I was told it would. :shrug:
Hey, if it's cost effective and (more importantly) works for you, then go for it...
And I should add that I have never used any "purple" products and commented purely off of the articles I had read on them. And of course my own experience without them.
Cheers.
And I should add that I have never used any "purple" products and commented purely off of the articles I had read on them. And of course my own experience without them.
Cheers.
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High Calcium is the way to go.and i don't think lighting plays as big as role as keeping the Ca high .
this was growing under some of my rock.
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I keep my Ca at 450
this was growing under some of my rock.
I keep my Ca at 450
