Coralline Algae Only Tank (Canary in the coalmine)

[Big Mistake]

I use to make a joke about having a copepod only tank.

But apparently I have a Coralline Algae only tank.

I would love to know, why after a very long time (a year), I have all this Coralline growing now.

Even after dosing two bottles of Coralline Algae in a bottle. Nothing.

One day I bought some Copepods and Phytoplankton from Algaebarn and started dosing All-For-Reef and viola!

Coralline.

(All-for-reef at 1ml a day for a 10 gallon has not moved the dkH an iota. )

(After the Algaebarn the dKh dropped ... but that was a lot of water added .. this is unclear. I had nothing that consumed dKh except now for Coralline.)

Tank just completely changed, and everything is "thriving" in my ugly little 10 gallon.

(The focus on lights and the Seneye and the PUR and PAR ... wrong focus.)

I wish I could figure out the magic pixie dust and sell it in a bottle. It would revolutionize the hobby.

It is true, when your tank can grow Coralline, it is ready for everything else.

Not keeping an accurate journal was a ...

-Big Mistake

 

[homer1475]

Stability is the key.

No magic potion in bottle will replace time, and stability.

 

[DazAquariums]

Stability and a mature tank. Then before you know it coralline algae on everything and you are scrapping it off your glass and power heads.

 

[Big Mistake]

One theory is that the distilled water is "too pure".

Even the best RODI water has some trace element; iron?

And all-for-reef supplies it, but Tropic Marin salt does not?

A very testable theory.

A 10 gallon water box, Tropic Marin Salt, distilled water, an ATO, timer light, quality heater, and a few small soft corals. About as stable as it gets so maybe distilled water was a ...

-Big Mistake

 

[Little c big D]

So the seed you planted survived? Does it lay dormant? How long prior to the a4r did you put in the coraline seed, and was it the seed from algae barn?

 

[Big Mistake]

That is a good question, did the Coralline in a Bottle (2) not take, did it lay dormant, did more come from AlgaeBarn? Coralline in a Bottle says 9 weeks to see results. I would love to visit the AlgaeBarn facility. Close enough.

That not keeping a good journal issue. I waited about 4 months. I move very slowly with the tank.

As I recall, the addition of Coralline in a Bottle changed the feel of the tank, as did the AlgaeBarn copepods and phytoplankton. Had a 2 for 1 on an order of copepods and phytoplankton.

As Bulk Reef Supply notes the one year failure rate in this activity is very high, in some ways I am just more obstinate than most ... and I am far from "success". Nobody is going to oooh and awww over my tank.

A more reliable approach for the beginner would avoid a ...

-Big Mistake

 

[Little c big D]

That is a good question, did the Coralline in a Bottle (2) not take, did it lay dormant, did more come from AlgaeBarn? Coralline in a Bottle says 9 weeks to see results. I would love to visit the AlgaeBarn facility. Close enough.

That not keeping a good journal issue. I waited about 4 months. I move very slowly with the tank.

As I recall, the addition of Coralline in a Bottle changed the feel of the tank, as did the AlgaeBarn copepods and phytoplankton. Had a 2 for 1 on an order of copepods and phytoplankton.

As Bulk Reef Supply notes the one year failure rate in this activity is very high, in some ways I am just more obstinate than most ... and I am far from "success". Nobody is going to oooh and awww over my tank.

A more reliable approach for the beginner would avoid a ...

-Big Mistake

As much to the point is not giving up and getting to that point where everything flows. I think to the first waters tests where I read the directions and do everything perfectly and count and read ... now it's second nature. Don't even need the charts to see what's happening. And to the logs, I keep a book with every water test I perform. Water change and amounts and what's dosed or added. It's obsessive but it helps me clarify what's happening. I'm newly back to the hobby so it's the same stressors from before lol. I'm happy your tank is getting where it should be. Congrats

 

[jda]

I agree that it probably just was time. If the last thing that you added was a swig of a Quadruple from your local Microbrew, then people would think that is what did it.

Enjoy it for a while... coralline is a curse after a while. It is kinda like how parents are super happy when their kids start to talk and brag about their large vocabularies only just to wish that they would shut up a few years later.