How do you get your live rock purple?

[Batmanjay28]

How do you get your live rock purple? I know that the purple that happens to show up is corraline algae, but don't know how to get me rocks that color.

I have 55G tank with 75lbs of live rock, with Nova Extreme T-5 Fixtures w/Lunar Lights. I have about 4WPG over the tank. SO what so I need to do to get the corraline algae? Thanks

[Grins]

You need time. I wouldn't use anything like PurpleUp for it. Just do regular water changes with good salt and let it and the calcium in your sand bed do the work.

[SHK_ATK]

ive have used P-up I dont know how I feel about it though I started using it when I 1st began adding corals to the tank, I noticed the coraline algae start growing but then again I was adding Ca. Plus I had a urchin who ate the coraline, I havent used it since.

[Grins]

I've heard some bad stories of people overdosing with it.

[lotuskid]

Purple stuff comes to those that wait. Just give it time to grow.

[fsn77]

Proper calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium levels will promote coralline algae growth. Other than that, it takes a bit of time. If the lighting on your tank is too intense for some of the corallines, it'll show up on the underside of rocks near the lip of a cave first, then spread as it adjusts to the intensity of your light.

I'd avoid Purple Up... it's completely overpriced for what it does.

[Catpicklesdog]

all good things come to those who wait - including coraline algae:grinyes:

[BadRoma1]

fsn77 is right. also you can seed coraline faster by introdusing a rock with coraline on it. i just set up a new tank about 3 months ago and coraline took off and spreading all over with introduction of several rocks incrusted with coraline. another tank i had for over 2 years and still can't get coraline growing everywhere.

[Riverserver]

And if you don't want to wait for it, buy good quality rock. All of the live rock I bought came 100% covered in coraline.

[Pallen81]

I agree with the above....

it doesn't take too long (a few months) before coraline algae goes nuts. especially the purple in my case.

[Gildurath]

I found if you have a good patch going, to scrap lines through it. This spreads the coralline algae around the tank to take hold and continue growing in new places, and the lines you scrap in the existing stuff fill in very fast. This is just something I do to help propagate it.
I was using Purple Up, but have stopped and only use it very rarely, once a month, and I dose calcium weekly. But have stopped because my CA is reading 500ppm, with a AP test kit, which my LFS does not like. My Alk is 3meq/l.

[i_limantara]

my coraline algae has spread out... and it's make a green, purplue color.... but it's take a time.... around 2-3 month since i get my live rock....
i also add calcium everyday.... and always check my calcium every week

[Gildurath]

Good to hear someone else has some green coraline. I have green stuff that looks like coraline, I was going to ask if that was also a colour it could be.

[Subliminal]

Funny thing about coraline algae (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/feature/index.php):

"Growth of coralline algae over the rock's surface will close off most of the small channels and passageways, largely contributing to the decline of the rock's biological filtration capacity. Hobbyists may further contribute to this degradation of filtering capacity by gluing coral fragments to the rock's surface, thus sealing off more of the pores. This may make the inside of the rock anoxic and, if there is much organic material inside the rock, it will start to rot. If the interior of the rock is subsequently exposed to the tank environment, such material could be deleterious."

[fsn77]

"deleterious"

One of my favorite words!!! :headbang2:

Nonetheless, I've read that elsewhere and it makes sense that coralline algae coverage reduces some of the natural filtering capacity.

[Grins]

Makes sense to me although the rock in my tank that is pure purple is the one that the peanut worms have taken over.