Just wondering if those who have started fresh tanks with a mix of bare dry manmade rock and painted dry rock have noticed that coralline algae starts to grow on the painted rock surfaces before the dry rock?
I am a month into my tank with an even mix of both types of dry rock. After seeding the tank with both bottled coralline and some flakes from my LFS a week later, I have started to notice about 2-3 weeks in that the painted rock seems to have the initial spots of coralline growth while the bare dry rock is only just starting to get some neon green algae.
I'm wondering if the paint used has some sort of attribute or ingredient that allows coralline to take hold faster than bare dry rock, whether it be a surface reason such as acrylic paint (plastic is easier for coralline to start on?) or if there is some biological ingredient in the paint that speeds up the process on those surfaces?
I am a month into my tank with an even mix of both types of dry rock. After seeding the tank with both bottled coralline and some flakes from my LFS a week later, I have started to notice about 2-3 weeks in that the painted rock seems to have the initial spots of coralline growth while the bare dry rock is only just starting to get some neon green algae.
I'm wondering if the paint used has some sort of attribute or ingredient that allows coralline to take hold faster than bare dry rock, whether it be a surface reason such as acrylic paint (plastic is easier for coralline to start on?) or if there is some biological ingredient in the paint that speeds up the process on those surfaces?