Coraline question

[boboyo]

Hi, everything about coraline is all over the place online... (newbie here)

ive had a fully cycled thank for almost a month now, not once have I seen trites or ammonia over 0. Trates are still pretty high since I turbo cycled it but I’m working on it, 20% wc ever 3 days (I also have a supper innacurate API test kit for that but my NYOS is coming in soon).

Only today have I gotten an phosphate and alkalinity Hanna checker

alkalinity is 106 ppm or 5.93dkh
phosphate is .26


my rocks have been starting to get green (basically took over diatoms) and now there’s a bit of diatoms on my sandbed which helps me find the dead spots now.

at the LFS I asked what kind of algae is super hard to scrape on my glass, it’s green and barely comes off if I scrub it with my mag float 20-30 times so I have to scrape it off. They’re tiny green spots but I try to stay on top of everything with my tank and take any preventative measure I can.

LFS owner told me it’s coraline (which I find weird since green coraline is rare and what’s on my rocks spreads too fast to be coraline but it would make sense that the glass is getting some since it’s only barely visible tiny spots that appear here and there and they don’t noticeably spread in a couple of days.

Is my LFS right? When she told me that I took a snail shell full of light and dark purple coraline to scrape off and put in my tank but I don’t see how I have green coraline already especially with my “crappy parameters”.

Any first hand tips to grow more coraline? And I’ve been reading bottle coraline is garbage, does anyone have positive experience with them?

Thanks

 

[sfin52]

Hi, everything about coraline is all over the place online... (newbie here)

ive had a fully cycled thank for almost a month now, not once have I seen trites or ammonia over 0. Trates are still pretty high since I turbo cycled it but I’m working on it, 20% wc ever 3 days (I also have a supper innacurate API test kit for that but my NYOS is coming in soon).

Only today have I gotten an phosphate and alkalinity Hanna checker

alkalinity is 106 ppm or 5.93dkh
phosphate is .26


my rocks have been starting to get green (basically took over diatoms) and now there’s a bit of diatoms on my sandbed which helps me find the dead spots now.

at the LFS I asked what kind of algae is super hard to scrape on my glass, it’s green and barely comes off if I scrub it with my mag float 20-30 times so I have to scrape it off. They’re tiny green spots but I try to stay on top of everything with my tank and take any preventative measure I can.

LFS owner told me it’s coraline (which I find weird since green coraline is rare and what’s on my rocks spreads too fast to be coraline but it would make sense that the glass is getting some since it’s only barely visible tiny spots that appear here and there and they don’t noticeably spread in a couple of days.

Is my LFS right? When she told me that I took a snail shell full of light and dark purple coraline to scrape off and put in my tank but I don’t see how I have green coraline already especially with my “crappy parameters”.

Any first hand tips to grow more coraline? And I’ve been reading bottle coraline is garbage, does anyone have positive experience with them?

Thanks

I would retest the alk.

 

[polyppal]

Hi, everything about coraline is all over the place online... (newbie here)

ive had a fully cycled thank for almost a month now, not once have I seen trites or ammonia over 0. Trates are still pretty high since I turbo cycled it but I’m working on it, 20% wc ever 3 days (I also have a supper innacurate API test kit for that but my NYOS is coming in soon).

Only today have I gotten an phosphate and alkalinity Hanna checker

alkalinity is 106 ppm or 5.93dkh
phosphate is .26


my rocks have been starting to get green (basically took over diatoms) and now there’s a bit of diatoms on my sandbed which helps me find the dead spots now.

at the LFS I asked what kind of algae is super hard to scrape on my glass, it’s green and barely comes off if I scrub it with my mag float 20-30 times so I have to scrape it off. They’re tiny green spots but I try to stay on top of everything with my tank and take any preventative measure I can.

LFS owner told me it’s coraline (which I find weird since green coraline is rare and what’s on my rocks spreads too fast to be coraline but it would make sense that the glass is getting some since it’s only barely visible tiny spots that appear here and there and they don’t noticeably spread in a couple of days.

Is my LFS right? When she told me that I took a snail shell full of light and dark purple coraline to scrape off and put in my tank but I don’t see how I have green coraline already especially with my “crappy parameters”.

Any first hand tips to grow more coraline? And I’ve been reading bottle coraline is garbage, does anyone have positive experience with them?

Thanks

Its likely not coraline if a) its green, and b) your tanks only a month old... It is likely nescience algae that is normal during new tank 'ugly period'.

Coraline will come with tank maturity. You can buy a supplement like ARCReef to introduce it, but there's no magic product that will get it to start exploding in a new tank... Coraline starts growing in an environment that is conducive to coral growth, which usually takes a few months. You might use a reef specific salt that has elevated calcium/alk levels to help it get established.

To help with the nescience algae in the meantime you can cut back your light cycle, take steps to lower nitrates and phosphates or use a bacteria supplement that is specifically for eating algae (like microbacter clean)

 

[boboyo]

I would retest the alk.

Just retested it after a top up and it reads 5.78dkh now

 

[sfin52]

Just retested it after a top up and it reads 5.78dkh now

Whats your salinity.

 

[boboyo]

Its likely not coraline if a) its green, and b) your tanks only a month old... It is likely nescience algae that is normal during new tank 'ugly period'.

Coraline will come with tank maturity. You can buy a supplement like ARCReef to introduce it, but there's no magic product that will get it to start exploding in a new tank... Coraline starts growing in an environment that is conducive to coral growth, which usually takes a few months. You might use a reef specific salt that has elevated calcium/alk levels to help it get established.

To help with the nescience algae in the meantime you can cut back your light cycle, take steps to lower nitrates and phosphates or use a bacteria supplement that is specifically for eating algae (like microbacter clean)

I’m trying to not add too many chemicals but I already have 5 happy corals + 3 zoa frags that are also very happy. I use instant ocean for now to save costs on the massive water changes to get my trates and phosphates down (I was over feeding on purpose with no skimmer to turbo boost my cycle. When I put corals in is when I turned on the skimmer. I’m already 6 fish in and they’re all happy too

 

[boboyo]

Whats your salinity.

1.225 post-massive top up.

i usually never have the water this high tho it’s just because I won’t be home for a day and a half

 

[boboyo]

If anyone is wondering, Corals are :
Sinulara
Duncan (tripled in size in 2 weeks)
Xenia
Clove polyp
Toadstool
And 3 zoas which I ignore the names but they are very colourful (except for one that’s kinda losing colour but I was told it might be the lights so I toned them down and I haven’t noticed more colour fading since then which is only on 2-3 out of its 10 heads)

 

[theMeat]

Your alkaline is low.
Coralline will grow when calcium and alkaline are good, and enough light. Coralline is an algae but different because it feeds on calcium, not nitrates and phosphates.
Never heard of green coralline and with new tank, low alk, it’s algae, no doubt.
Once parameters stable get a rock or something with coralline on it. Scrape off the coralline into a cup with some tank water in it. Turn off circulation pumps, sprinkle the coralline into tank and leave pumps off for a while.
Coraline growing on surfaces is good at keeping algae from growing there, but with hi nutrient levels algae wins

 

[boboyo]

Your alkaline is low.
Coralline will grow when calcium and alkaline are good, and enough light. Coralline is an algae that feeds on calcium, not nitrates and phosphates.
Never heard of green coralline and with new tank, it’s algae, no doubt.
Once parameters stable get a rock or something with coralline on it. Scrape off the coralline into a cup with some tank water in it. Turn off circulation pumps, sprinkle the coralline into tank and leave pumps off for a while.
Coraline growing on surfaces is good at keeping algae from growing there, but with hi nutrient levels algae wins

Since I was already told I had “green coraline growing” I already did the scrape thing from a snail shell at the LFS (she gave it to me for free along with a few hermit crab shells). Will my coraline seed survive until it’s ready to grow?
Also wondering if adding a bit of calcium supplements will help the growth of what I just seeded?
I have a jug that was given to me by the guy that sold me his old tank and equipment

 

[burningmime]

If you want coraline, the best way I've found is to keep pH at 8.3. Higher pH = faster alk uptake = faster coraline growth. You're probably going to need to keep Alk at 7-8 or higher, since Alk (and calcium) is what it uses to grow.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Since I was already told I had “green coraline growing” I already did the scrape thing from a snail shell at the LFS (she gave it to me for free along with a few hermit crab shells). Will my coraline seed survive until it’s ready to grow?
Also wondering if adding a bit of calcium supplements will help the growth of what I just seeded?
I have a jug that was given to me by the guy that sold me his old tank and equipment

If your LFS told you that was coraline in a month old tank and it was green, I'd stop taking any advice from them instantly. Coraline will eventually happen in it's own time, don't fret that. If you want to accelerate it, there's a bottled kick starter out there (how effective it is I can't say), take scrapings from a local reefer, it'll come on frags once you start putting them in your tank or even get a small piece of established live rock from another local reefer or fish store. Many people have seen that dosing kalkwasser helps to promote the growth of coraline algea slightly more than two part additives, though those will grow it just fine.

 

[blasterman]

You need to get alk higher. At least 7 dKH if not higher to give you some wiggle room. Or, do more water changes. Its just baking soda..literally.

The green encrusting algae is common to young tanks. A mag float won't scratch it because it doesn't have the pressure. A utility razor blade scraper is what I used a couple times a week. Just rinse the blades off to keep them from rusting as fast.

I've never had tanks with a lot of coraline. My main SPS tank right now has excellent growth for all corals, but there isn't a spec of coralline. Yet its encrusting like crazy in my sump. Its not an indication of tank health.

 

[Flux Capacitor]

You need to bring your salinity up as well. 1.022 is fine for fish, but for corals it needs to be 1.025-1.026. Raise it up and retest the ALK. How big is the tank? You shouldn’t need to do 20% water changes every 3 days. With the corals you have and the amount of water changes you’re doing you shouldn’t be using up much ALK at all. There is probably a testing error going on.

Slow and steady wins this race, give your tank time and the coraline will come, and then you’ll be wondering how to stop it from growing. Just get all your parameters in line, and keep them steady.

 

[Spieg]

Agree with above posts... you're probably never going to see Coralline Algae with dKH below 7 (8.5 would be my recommendation).

 

[boboyo]

Agree with above posts... you're probably never going to see Coralline Algae with dKH below 7 (8.5 would be my recommendation).

Ok thank you!! That’s the main reason of my post. Seems like this forum is the only place where people take time with newbies questions and don’t just brush you off without wanting to hear details...


that being said, would alkalinity rise on its own (like my ph did as soon as I saw algae) or will I need the baking soda or other tricks to get it to a certain level. Bare in mind I still use instant ocean salt as I’m trying to get the phosphates and nitrates down from my turbo cycle.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Ok thank you!! That’s the main reason of my post. Seems like this forum is the only place where people take time with newbies questions and don’t just brush you off without wanting to hear details...


that being said, would alkalinity rise on its own (like my ph did as soon as I saw algae) or will I need the baking soda or other tricks to get it to a certain level. Bare in mind I still use instant ocean salt as I’m trying to get the phosphates and nitrates down from my turbo cycle.

Alkalinity will not raise on it's own. Best thing to do is adopt a balanced alk/calcium additive plan based on your tanks consumption rate. Get a good alk and ca test kit and measure on a schedule to determine what your daily consumption is. Alk will get consumed far faster than calcium as it exists in a greatly less proportion to that of calcium. Get an alkalinity additive and raise your tanks measurement to your target levels. Don't raise it more thyat .5-1 dkh per day though. Then measure every few days without adding anything to calculate your daily consumption. There are many calculators out there for how to figure out how much of and what to dose to maintain those levels. BRS has a calculator for that. Here's a link regarding alk additives.

Which Alkalinity additive is best for my reef tank? Soda Ash or Sodium Bicarb? | Reef FAQs

Today on BRStv Reef FAQs, we get right to the point of helping you decide which Alkalinity additive you need for your reef tank, Soda Ash or Sodium Bicarbonate. Both will increase your tank's Alkalinity levels, however there are other differences between them to keep in mind... and we're here to...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

The chemistry section on this forum has a ton of info on alk and calcium and Randy holmes farley had contributed amazing advice on how to manage this.

 

[sfin52]

Alk is most likely low because salinity is low. I would raise salinity and retest when salinity is at 1.025. I would not dose anything till than.

You got this.

 

[theMeat]

You’re in good hands boboyo. Members sharing great info with you

 

[boboyo]

Alk is most likely low because salinity is low. I would raise salinity and retest when salinity is at 1.025. I would not dose anything till than.

You got this.

it was at 1.24 or higher before my top up when I got the 5.93 dkh. Today is WC change day, ill check the alk of my saltwater mix