New to the board :) Have a question.

[Slumlord]

First off let me say, I've been a lurker for a while and this is a great board with a great community. I hope I can contribute as much as a lot of you as I get better versed in this wonderful hobby.

I have a question though!

I have a 46 gallon bow front with about 50lbs of live rock and about 40lbs of live sand. It has been cycled completely.

My live stock as of right now is 6 Turbos, 20 Hermits and 2 Striped Damsels.

I want to start adding live corals soon, what can i do to promote Coralline Algae growth?

I have some Purple Up that I add nightly, but it seems like I'm missing something because it's not giving me the desired effect.

I'd figure I'd ask here before I goto the LFS and dude trys to sell me $80 in chemicals.

 

[Bifferwine]

Purple Up worked really well for my tank, but others (like Yote) have seen better coralline growth without it. You need to make sure you have good lighting -- what lights are you running? You also need to make sure your calcium levels are correct (around 350 to 450 is generally a good area to be in). Coralline takes a long time to establish itself and spread. Many rocks can take years to grow a nice purple coat. You need patience.

 

[yote]

First off,Welcome to the reef.
#2-Tke the whole bottle of purple up and pour it down the drain.

Now for the fun part.
What kind of lighting do you have?That will play a big part in growing coraline.But the biggest part of growing coraline is keeping your calcium and alkalinity where it should be.Calcium between 380 and 450 with a DKH of 9 to 15.
Keep those right and you'll look one day and find a small spot of coraline,then before you know it,you'll be cussing it for growing on the front glass.

 

[reeffreak]

Welcome to the site.
I used Purple Up in the past,I didn't notice a difference in using it or not.I recommend that you test calcium before using it though.What lighting are you running?I personally could not get coralline to grow under normal output florescents.

 

[RigoSharon]

hello and welcome....nothing new to add..im just following the same advises..i want some to grow in my tank..like biff said..patience..make sure also you dont have any coraline eaters like urchins..ive had some nice spots but the urchins almost eat it whole...since ive removed them and folled this tips,the spots in the rocks looks brigther..good luck..i have my fingers crossed too...

 

[newbeetwo]

Hello and Welcome newbe here too. Had the same problem I used purple up as well, has good stuff in it even if it takes a long time to color your tank. but the lighting it the most important thing with out good lighting your will never grow bacteria and with out bacteria nothing will work right. Take a sample of your water to your FO store and they can tell you if your tank is ready for coral

 

[Slumlord]

My lighting is a 36" T5HO Lamp
78 watts and 10,000k

 

[jhnrb]

Welcome to the site. nothing to add at this time. Do you have anything in the system that had coraline on it. if you seed your system with a piece of rock that has coraline you might get a jump start, however, like others said and I agree lighting, alkalinity has a lot to do with it also including calcium levels. just be patient and it will show up.

 

[reeffreak]

Yeah what Jhnrb said,seed your rocks with a piece that has coralline on it.Thats if the rocks you have now doesn't have coralline already....good luck.

***I had to post again,Rigo is getting close to my post count****

 

[LionFish]

Welcome to the Reef

Everyone has you covered here.
Good luck with the coraline, and Have Fun.
Remember we love pictures here
witch reminds me I need to buy Batteries for the camera .

 

[Bifferwine]

Yes you do Fish!!

 

[hibye]

thats good enogh lighting my coraline is under some 65 watt coralife light

 

[fishbait]

sounds like every has you covered on the 3 main ingredients. calcium, alkalinity and lighting. like john said, get a piece of rock with coraline allready on it. then you can take a small brush like a toothbrush and lightly brush the coraline. this will spread the spores throughout the tank and help it take off elswhere.

 

[Adrastos]

Welcome to the group - I also have a 46 gallon bow front! Nice tank :)

 

[reeffreak]

Good idea Fish,brush some of the coralline to help spread the spores.

 

[Slumlord]

Thanks for all the responses, I greatly appreciate all the help.

 

[RigoSharon]

Good idea Fish,brush some of the coralline to help spread the spores.

true..i did that on both of my tanks..i used a colgate soft toothbrush..they are good to get the job done..

 

[yote]

Rigo,Just make sure not to leave that brush anywhere that your wife
could mistake it for her tooth brush.Trust me:pooh: will hit the fan.

 

[RigoSharon]

lol..thanks for the advice yote!!

 

[Gio94sr20]

I agree I have regular flourescent lights and it is just getting my rocks a light blueish purple color and spots of red here and there. I need stronger lights to get better stronger colors on my rocks. Welcome to the site enjoy.