Coraline

Will Coraline algae grow at all without ever introducing it into the system?

 

I think it can, but it takes A LOT longer that way. The best thing to do is seed it in your aquarium, with either scrapings or a rock covered in coraline.

 

+1 with above post, also make sure your alk, mag, and cal levels are where they should be.

 

yeah once i got my alk/mag/cal in check mine took off like mad. all my base that was added four months ago is now purple coraline.

i started with a piece covered in it from the LFS and a bunch of base rock. i used a razor and scrapped off coraline into the display. it grew from there...

 

Your milage my vary but what I did was get a piece of live rock with pink on it and then scrap it off the rock in various locations around the tank. That combined with Purple Up and a few month later I have coraline growing not only on my rock and sand but on the glass and plastic items in the tank as well..

 

darn, my tank was born about 6 months ago and nothing but green coraline. my rocks are literally green, not slime algae or gha, just green, period. i was told this is coraline and the purple stage is next, but i guess my alk/mag/cal are off... maybe ill start dosing... who knows

 

No you must have some coralline algae present intially for it to replicate and spread.

 

You need to introduce some of the purple coralline, otherwise it won't grow.

 

+1 The spores have to be introduced. This can happen many ways, on live rock, coral frags, sometimes even on fish. But the fastest way is to find a small piece of live rock with coraline on it and add it to the tank, or even scrape it off into the tank.

 

There are several colors but the green grows the fastest and the most coman i have pink and 2 shades of red in my tank.