Coralline algae and Jar reef

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

NatureFish

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
1,097
Anyone know how to grow Coralline? Also what does it do for the reef (all I know is that it's good)? Is it possible to keep a few mushroom corals in a jar? And how would I do that? What lighting would you recommend? I ask a lot of questions....☺


NatureFish
????
 
Coralline is actually neither good nor bad, although it's annoying as heck and is a sign of a healthy aquarium. But pico aquariums such as that are really neat. I once saw a vase tank that had been up and running for around 10 years that was full of LPS corals.

I would suggest doing a large vase over a jar, the glass in a vase is generally going to be a little bit clearer and nicer looking.

As for light, a par 38 bulb would probably work nicely or if you go with low light corals you could possibly put it in a window that receives a lot of sunlight.

You will also need to find a miniature pump for flow and a way to heat it.
 
Are the mini power heads expensive? Guess I'll find out!


NatureFish
????
 
Are the mini power heads expensive? Guess I'll find out!


NatureFish
��������

Nah, you can probably pick up something for around $20. Look for an external water pump as they won't take up a lot of space and the water can be sucked out and returned with plastic tubing. Shoot for around 20x the volume of the container per hour in flow.

Heat it? What temp do mushrooms need?


NatureFish
��������

Around 75 - 80 is their preferred temp.
 
My house is about 72-76. As far as all the live rock and stuff is all that necessary for what I'm trying to do? And you said it was called pico right? That's way cool! What about water conditions? Thanks for the advice you've given so far!


NatureFish
????
 
Honestly, if you are just getting into salt water; for your first tank you really should go big. The smaller the tank, the harder it is to keep happy. For a first salt water tank I wouldn't go with less than a 20g if possible.

Your tank idea is difficult, but it can be done.

Since your tank is going to be soo small I would go with the 70gph model and shoot for a minimum water volume of 2 gallons. Maybe a large fish bowl would work nicely for it.
 
I completely agree as you say in the states GO BIG OR GO HOME !!


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
Last edited by a moderator:
So does that mean a pico freshwater cannot be done by a beginner either? I'm really interested in mushroom coral! It's fascinating to watch it eat! Too bad I can't do a pico for salt water. I don't want to kill it.


NatureFish
????
 
That's not a commonly sold/traded animal, you'll probably never find one. And that's more nem than mushroom.
 
Actually, I disagree. My mushrooms eat quite readily, especially my hairy shrooms. However, my red and green ones dont seem to accept food quite as readily.
 
I started my tank a little over two months ago and started to get noticeable Coraline growth about a week ago. I think a part of my early growth could have been the fact almost all my live rock had Coraline on it to start. My algae went thru a green phase before I started seeing some light purple and blue.
 
Ok so I did some more research so I'm going to go ahead and do a pico reef if I can! I have found a pretty large vase and I've looked at a few soft corals and how to propagate and care for them. But I still want some opinions! So does anyone think zoas or pulsating xenias are a good option? I want a low light pico. So any suggestions? They don't need filters do they? I'll be getting a power head and a light if my parents allow me to set my pico up, but if I need anything else please let me know! Upkeep advice would be helpful too! Water parameters please? I know, I know I need to do more research but Its always helpful to get advice straight from experienced reefers who love what they do!


NatureFish
????
 
Here's the vase... I haven't measured It yet so not sure how much capacity I'm going to have to work with. ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1409449598.351733.jpg


NatureFish
????
 
Xenia I would say a definite no. They just spread way too fast for a tank that small. However, the Zoas would work great. Perhaps even better than the mushrooms.
 
Ugh I keep swinging from pico to my 10g! The more I read about the devastation in people's picos the more I think my ten gallon would be better.


NatureFish
????


NatureFish
????
 
Back
Top Bottom