Coraline algae supplements

do the supplements like purple tech and purple really do what they say? i would like a little bit of back up before i go pick some up.
thanks
-norg.

 

They work, but so does keeping your calcium up. Not worth the price in my opinion. I think its a waste of money. As long as you keep your calcium and salinity up it will grow. Usually takes 2-3 months for everything to stabilize in a new tank and for the coralline to start growing. Don't put chemicals in your tank without a test kit.

Once you know your levels are good, then you can buy a really purple rock and scrape it in your tank. The coralline will settle on your rocks then grow.

 

I have heard sevaral times that purple up is no good the best thing for Coralline Algae is your water....You will get alot of feedback concerning purple up and other things but its all in your water....There are things inyour water that need to be kept right for coralline....I do monthly water changes with no additives for coralline and have 4 different colors of it....good luck
Danny

 

i do weekly water changes of 15 percent or more. my algae is coming in alright. i also supplement calcium. i just recently got a few different supplements and they have done wonders in my tank in the small time i have dosed them. its starting to turn out like i want it to. too bad i will be tearing it down, but it will be going straight in my new 80. :]

 

Do water changes and use a Alk. Cal. buffing agent. Its everywhere in no time

 

i was reading through this thread, and if you guys are saying a good stablized tank wll cause coralline to grow, then why is my unstablized tank that's still cycling and only 2 1/2 weeks old getting so much coralline already? It's in small amounts but i have many diffrent colors on every single rock i have

 

Coralline is also somewhat like xenia. Will become a Nuisance in some tanks and melt in days in others. Make sure it is coralline algae. I have had people come in to the store I work out thrilled about all their coralline algae and they show me a photo and it turns out to be red slime. Just make sure it is nice and hard.

 

I agree with xmetalfan99. At first thats what I thought I had so I didn't touch it. It was nice and red. I was so happy untill I asked my friend with tons of experience how long did it take to grow and she told me a few months, and she said it not coralline until its hard to scrape off. When I got home I checked to see what I had and it came right off! I was pi@#ed. But I learned. Now after 2 and 1/2 months I had to dots about an inch in diameter but I thought it was algae so I scrapped one and left the other. It's a pretty pink color now, but hard to just scraped off. Hope that helped

 

It's a multi part puzzle to get coralline to grow. First, you have to have Ca, Mg and KH all in balance. If one is out of whack, the others will go nuts and precipitate out of solution. Obviously, you have to have correct SG, 1.021-1.028. Then you have to make sure you have <20ppm nitrates in your tank and no phosphates. Generally when someone says (and I was included in this too) "I can't get any coralline growth in my tank, what's wrong", they have phosphates in the system. Sure it looks pretty, but trust us when we say, you will curse the day it overruns your tank. I keep it off my PHs weekly. I clean them off before the algae can take hold.
Puffer chick, you may have coralline algae growth, but it may also be strains of cyano. There are many different color strains of cyano, red, green, blue, aqua; cyano isn't just "red slime.". It may very well be coralline though, just scratch it and see if it comes off easily or not. If it IS coralline, that means your ammonia and nitrite phases are closing down and are going through the nitrate phase.