Coraline

How does one even promote the growth of coraline algae? I started my tank with a few pounds of live rock, which was pretty much uncured, stinky and whatnot. There wasn't anything alive on that rock, it turned white/pale once cured; the rest of the rock was dead lace rock....Now, it's been more than three months and I haven't seen anything grow on the rocks, except for some diatoms.

So, how do I even get coraline or get it to grow out of nothing? I know corals need it, but if I don't have it....I don't even know how to even ask the question properly, 'cause I'm so new at this :. Thanks for the help.

 

Have you tested for cal? Your cal level should be somewhere between 400-500ppm. If its lower than 400, add some calcuim or kalkwasser to your tank, accordinly.

 

No, I haven't even checked for Calcium. So basically I just buy some Calcium or Kalkwasser and add/test?

 

Well it's not exactly that easy. Calcium and Alk need to be in balance. Both are being used by corals and your Coraline to form calcium skeletons.
i imagine the white you see o your LR is actually coraline and it will come back over time.

the best advice on learning about the CA Alk relationship in your tank is to refer you to this article HERE
There are hundreds more articles on the subject but that should get you started

J

 

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To grow Coralline you need to have the tank totally cycled and all parameters correct and steady.. Coralline in the old days was used by us old guys as a barometer of the tanks health before we added fish and corals .Until you can grow that the tank is seldom ready for much higher life forums of corals they all require the same water .

Now with that having been said I'd say your L/R as you said was smelly and all caused a hell of a ammonia or Nitrite spike and that caused the rest to die off. Get you Ca to 450 and the magnesium to 1500 and DKH to at least 12 and cut the skimmer and run only actinic and seed the tank with coralline spore filled sand . Many places sell it Like we do ours is 1.99 a pound plus shipping that will seed the tank with coralline and other needed fauna worms pods and sometimes mini brittle stars and stuff like that when they get caught in the scoop cup. But you need to get the water to the above levels to ensure its growth and health.. .

 

Cool I wish they sold seeded sand up here.

J

 

Jason we have some old systems over 15 yrs that had sand over a foot deep in tow of them ans we are moving stuff over to Groton to our new hothouse and out to the new Hot house we built behind the shop and I rather sell it cheap then to toss it . I'm going to keep a few thousand pounds to sell with our L/R. We have coralline so thick that I have to soak and scrape pumps and racks all the dang time.. And we have the purple pink with white that forms scallops and ruffles that grow off of the rocks and racks like a monti Cap red green and a pink the normal stuff.

Whats the deal with shipping up to the great white north ? Never tried it But I have a few friends up there that I have made stuff and loaned traps to . They tax everything that comes in and goes out it seemed to me .. I loaned a guy a trap taxed it going in then he sent it back tagged it coming back LOL like 12.00 for the in and out trip even had it labeled gift or returned ? If you ever need anything I'll give it a shot

 

If you can get a small piece of live rock with coralline that would do it. Scrape a little of the rock to get it moving throughout the tank. I am continually scraping it from the front and sides of the tank. The back of the tank is nearly covered and encrusted with multiple layers. The LR is completely covered and encrusted....

 

I've given up. Even if all the paper work is done the customs agents don't know how to handle anything live. So it ends up DOA. I spend 9 hours in Customs one day trying to clear some nudis. the Agent said I lucked out that fish and wild life agents where there that day. If I had the shipment arrive the next day they would have spent a week in customs before they would clear them.
I've learned a lot of tricks getting stuff up to Canada. I live about 10 minutes to a boarder crossing so I have a mail box in the US.

J

 

Yes I know alot no guys on the east side of Canada that do the same thing come in to upper N.Y or Mane to their mail boxes .. But with foreigners coming through the airports that's fine just come on in LOL Unless 9/11 changed ya'll also ? Pretty open door for humans.