Poll for people who are having problems cultivating Corraline

clsund · #1 10/08/2007, 09:33 PM

A discussion in the SoCal forum got me thinking about the quandry of people who have problems cultivating corraline in their aquariums. It got me wondering if perhaps it was something related to the brand of salt they use.

If you are having problems cultivating corraline, please post what type of salt you use- Natural Salt Water (NSW) or some sort of synthetic salt- Red Sea, Oceanic, Instant Ocean, etc...

yellowwatchmen · #2 10/08/2007, 10:01 PM

I use rc and no corraline but my tank is still pretty new 4months. So proballay dosent count.

lvpd186 · #3 10/08/2007, 10:09 PM

I've used both IO and RC and I have a ton of coraline algae. I know you wanted people who had problems to post, but since I've used both I thought it would be good info.

ILoveReefer · #4 10/08/2007, 10:12 PM

same here Used both IO and RC and before that Red Sea. Never had problem growing coraline algae.

AJO · #5 10/08/2007, 10:14 PM

I use Kent salt and have a lot of coraline algae growth. Tank is two years old.

zach0660 · #6 10/08/2007, 10:49 PM

I have been using IO and RC and I haven't had signifant coraline growth. tank is a year old in Nov.

airinhere · #7 10/08/2007, 10:55 PM

I think its more important to note what your calcium and dKH levels are. If either one is too low, you are not going to see significant growth of coraline algae. It can only grow in an environment where there is significant Calcium that can be used to form the body of the coraline algae. And the calcium can only be utilized if the dKH value of the tank is kept at a steady and useful level for absorbtion of the calcium.

Brand of salt is kinda moot if their isn't enough calcium to form coraline.....

ILoveReefer · #8 10/08/2007, 11:07 PM

agreed

krzyphsygy · #9 10/08/2007, 11:08 PM

I think the bulbs play a role as well along with Kalkwasser additions. Clean water to.

A.T.T.R · #10 10/08/2007, 11:24 PM

low light levels seem to be key

i had no coraline growth in my 770 watt vho 150 gallon tank for a long time.. then. i took off one ballast ( turning off 4 bulbs) and within two weeks the tnak was literaly covered

i have only done one water change in the past year. 50 percent using nsw ( that was 5 months before the lights turned off)
( have been using kalkwasser for ca for the past year)

ILoveReefer · #11 10/08/2007, 11:29 PM

I'm sure thier all factors to be considered. My system consist of 2 tanks connected to one sump. 90g with 2-250w MH + 4-32 pc's and a 40g has 4-24w T5's. Both tanks are connected sharing the same water and are the same age. My 40g has much better coraline growth. So I'd have to say the 2-250w MH are a little stronger than what it coraline algae desires.

flyyyguy · #12 10/08/2007, 11:30 PM

heres an interesting note...maybe worth something maybe not.

I run the same 10k XM 250 watt bulbs the same distance from the water on both of my tanks. Too much coralline growth in both to be honest, but it is twice as thick, twice as quick to grow, and 2-4 times as dark of a color in the tank I supplement with VHO URI super actinics, the other tank I run MH alone. Besides the fact that the tank with VHO supplements is BB and the other dsb, mag, calcium and alk identical.

ILoveReefer · #13 10/08/2007, 11:33 PM

How old are your 2 tanks. Age difference

flyyyguy · #14 10/08/2007, 11:36 PM

The bb tank is a year, the dsb tank is 15 months...so more or less the same. The systems are actually in a sense quite a bit older than that as there was no new rock added to start either of them....they were consolidations.

it very well could be due to the fact that the coralline doesnt have to compete with the sandbed in any way in the BB tank.........even though levels are maintained the same....but interesting just the same I think.

here is kind of a funny picture of the BB tank after neglecting it for a month. Man did I wish it was a glass tank at that moment

ILoveReefer · #15 10/08/2007, 11:42 PM

Same here when I upgraded my tank. The LR came from a 5yr old 55g. Only Tufa and lace both dry when purchased, was added to the new setup.

ILoveReefer · #16 10/08/2007, 11:47 PM

Holy c#@!. I'd say thats pretty good growth. I had acrlic once and i'll Never have one again. I just scratches to easily. Other that that there great.

davidryder · #17 10/08/2007, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by flyyyguy
The bb tank is a year, the dsb tank is 15 months...so more or less the same. The systems are actually in a sense quite a bit older than that as there was no new rock added to start either of them....they were consolidations.

it very well could be due to the fact that the coralline doesnt have to compete with the sandbed in any way in the BB tank.........even though levels are maintained the same....but interesting just the same I think.

here is kind of a funny picture of the BB tank after neglecting it for a month. Man did I wish it was a glass tank at that moment

Photoshop? The sand is purple in that photo - not like coralline purple but just a hue of purple - as if a significant amount of editing had been done. Even things that were caught in the reflection are purple

flyyyguy · #18 10/08/2007, 11:51 PM

Sand??? Here is a pic of my sand with the halides on.

I assure you the only editing done to that pic was cropping. The halides are obviously not on, and my camera is custom white balanced to my 10k's....not blue lights......

I only photoshop the corals I sell, I dont waste those skills on pics trying to impress people with my coralline growth

TitusvileSurfer · #19 10/08/2007, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by davidryder
Photoshop? The sand is purple in that photo - not like coralline purple but just a hue of purple - as if a significant amount of editing had been done. Even things that were caught in the reflection are purple

Weren't you listening, there is no sand! That was the whole point of the story

davidryder · #20 10/08/2007, 11:57 PM

Definitely different shades of purple - like neon vs dull.

Regardless how did your sandbed go so long without being disturbed?

flyyyguy · #21 10/09/2007, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by davidryder
Definitely different shades of purple - like neon vs dull.

Regardless how did your sandbed go so long without being disturbed?

are you serious???

funny how shades of purple are different under actinics with a camera custom white balanced to a 10k bulb.........vs. pics taken under 10k halides with a camera custom white balanced to them

I keep my sandbed from being disturbed so well by only using a sequence hammerhead for flow on this 90 gallon tank

davidryder · #22 10/09/2007, 12:06 AM

blah

flyyyguy · #23 10/09/2007, 12:11 AM

ummm ok david ryder.

I edited the pic just to impress people with purple. but you caught me.

Usually your posts are intelligent. Have you been drinking??

Anyone who knows white balance on a camera, especially one custom balanced to a white light....takes funny pictures of blue things like actinics

Im editing out this last statement as it was simply in response to davids last post whidch he deleted. I really dont go around arguing over stupid things, and when i do it is usually with people who make a habit of posting silly things.....unlike David who is a intelligent helpful guy. Was it beer or liquor tonight.

rkcca · #24 10/09/2007, 12:43 AM

I get great coraline growth with NSW, Warner Marine Alk, Kent Turbo Calcium and Tropic Marin Mag . As you can tell, I'm not band loyal. I'm starting to get plating coraline.

The biggest factor in coraline growth is mag. I now dose one scoop of Mag a day along with alk in the ATO and Ca dumped into a quiet area of the sump.

All this dosing is getting to be a bit much. Automation is coming soon.

As a side note flyyyguy has some impressive coraline growth.

TitusvileSurfer · #25 10/09/2007, 01:17 PM

I thought he was a professional peacemaker anyways?