How can I get my LR colourful?

[StripesTheEel]

Hey everyone,

Im just wondering how some people manage to get their LR to have all these beautiful purples whites and greens?

I have been struggling to do this for a while and cant manage to do it. Ive recently just moved my rock in my main tank and revealed some nice whites etc, but in a week or two they turn brown and ugly?

Any ideas would be great!

Thanks

 

[gooyferret]

YOu adding calcium to the tank? Otherwise it takes a while for a tank to produce and support coraline algae

 

[revhtree]

How old is your tank?

 

[StripesTheEel]

about 12 months old.

whats the highest safest level of Calcium i need?

im adding it yes..

but unsure of what level i need it at

 

[gooyferret]

You should be testing your calcium if your adding it test the calcium adn get back to us on what its at i like to keep mine about 420ppm

 

[Brodie]

Keep your calcium up. There are also coraline additives one can buy. I use "Purple Up" and "Coraline Stimulator." This helps my coraline grow thick and bright. 3 weeks after using this I started having coraline grow all over my tank. I'm not sure if it's sold in Australia though. HTH

 

[gooyferret]

I have been adding b-ionic to my tank its a 2part additive for calc and alk....And works awesome, since i have been adding it to my tank it has been growing like crazy. (the coraline)

 

[malkore]

Make sure when increasing calcium that you're maintaining the balance with alkalinity. If you don't, you'll have issues.
And don't dose calcium unless you can test for it.

 

[Phyl]

Coraline is a specific algae. If you don't have it in your tank to start with it won't grow and spread. If you want coraline in your tank you can either buy seed spores (like previously mentioned) or you can throw in a rock or two with the colors of coraline that you're interested in growing in your tank. In 6 months every rock in my tank is covered with it and so is anything that's plastic (baffles, power head, etc). I fight to keep it off of my glass!

 

[seaham358]

Not sure I 100% agree with that statement Phyl.
Like others say you need to have a balance of cal and alk. You need to get test kits and test the water. Most keep there Cal at 400-450 and alk at 9-10.5. If you need to use additives the make sure you add them slowly and not raise it too fast. I use b-ionic 2 part system and it works well.
What corals do you have? What type of water and lights do you have?

 

[Acraman]

Here ya go
www.garf.org/NORM/coralline/corallinenorm.html

 

[Phyl]

The most perfect balance of Ca & Alk won't introduce coraline to a tank that was started with base rock or without seed spores of the coraline. If he has coraline and it isn't growing fast that's one thing, but I was under the impression that he had no color to his rocks at all... That would imply a lack of the coraline algae in his system to start with. I do agree with what you said though, if in fact the coraline is present in his system.

 

[StripesTheEel]

my calc is at about 400. i have mostly leathers because they are the only corals my emperor angel doesnt eat. i have x2 actinic blue and x1 white. i have a few rocks that have purple and oranges (coraline). just very unsure on how to promote its growth!

 

[chimera]

phyl is correct, you need to have coralline spores in the tank to start producing that type of algae. it wont just appear because you up you calc and alk levels. of course, if it has already been introduced then higher levels will promote growth. coralline actually prefers lower light levels to grow, however once it starts, it will grow almost anywhere. the easiest thing to do is get someone else with a tank full of coralline algae and chip some off their rocks and sprinkle it into your tank. keep your calc and alk levels respectable and within a few months you should get good growth. dont think it will happen overnight though!!!

 

[lando]

The most perfect balance of Ca & Alk won't introduce coraline to a tank that was started with base rock or without seed spores of the coraline

I 100% agree with Phyl. The perfect ALK/CA balance is needed to promote coraline algea growth, however, if no coraline is present in the tank it will not grow. I would have www.liverocks.com send you 3 or four smaler rocks to seed your tank. Just call them and tell them what you want to do, they will not disapoint.

 

[StripesTheEel]

lando.. i dont think they deliver to australia

ill have to source it locally i guess..

 

[seaham358]

if he was using just base rock then I agree with that. But IMO with lr even if you dont see any coraline it will grow. I had 125 lbs of bare LR when i started and it was gray/white and it took a long time but it grew. What I'm saying is that just because you don't see it that does not meat its there.
Stripes you need to check you alk also. Its a balance of alk and cal that helps it grow.

 

[allill]

are these available at the lfs or a special order from somewhere. i've looked but no success.

Keep your calcium up. There are also coraline additives one can buy. I use "Purple Up" and "Coraline Stimulator." This helps my coraline grow thick and bright. 3 weeks after using this I started having coraline grow all over my tank. I'm not sure if it's sold in Australia though. HTH

 

[Morticus]

Zack at lr.com said they they use Reef Advantage on their keys rock, it helps keep Cal and Alk up.

 

[Brodie]

are these available at the lfs or a special order from somewhere. i've looked but no success.

Allill, I'd be more than happy to take a digital pic of it so you can see what the bottles look like, or if you can't find some where you're at, I'll buy a bottle and ship it to you if you pay for it..I would do it at cost.