Wanted: Coralline Algae scrapings

[cuttingras]

Originally Posted by Otty

Keep your Mg at 1400 to 1450 and Ca in the 400's and your dKH around 12 to 15 and the stuff will grow like crazy. You also need to burn your actinic longer, I run mine 16 hr a day and that crap is everywhere.
For the life of me I don't see what people see in it. They pay money for it and I cant stop it from growing on every thing. Almost like a pest!
If you want to seed for it, shut your pumps off and take one of your rocks that has coralline on it and a pair of pliers and break the stuff off in chunks and let it fall on your rock. Leave the pumps off for about 2 hrs and let the spores settle on the rock and it will take off like crazy....with proper parameters.

would that be powerheads too? I want it so bad cause, it's a lot prettier than a tank full of green, grey and brown rock LOL really that long for actinics? wow my fish will love that. they seem to like the actinics

[Grotto]

would that be powerheads too?

Yes, a few hours and the spores will have time to settle in and spread. Also remember to turn off your protein skimmer for a month or more after seeding your tank with it as it will remove these valuable spores that you're trying to spread.

[cuttingras]

Originally Posted by Grotto

Yes, a few hours and the spores will have time to settle in and spread. Also remember to turn off your protein skimmer for a month or more after seeding your tank with it as it will remove these valuable spores that you're trying to spread.

No kidding...wow I've scraped a little off every now and then and turned the PS off for a few hours, not a month.....hmmm I'll have to increase water changes, how will turning off the PS affect my tank as far as getting all the gunk out?

[Otty]

Originally Posted by Grotto

Yes, a few hours and the spores will have time to settle in and spread. Also remember to turn off your protein skimmer for a month or more after seeding your tank with it as it will remove these valuable spores that you're trying to spread.

Amen!

[Otty]

There are tanks out there running with no skimmer what so ever on them. As long as you don't have a tank full of SPS's then you will be fine. The skimmer will extract the spores you just put in if you leave it running.

[Grotto]

Originally Posted by cuttingras

how will turning off the PS affect my tank as far as getting all the gunk out?

Well, in this case the pro's of turning the skimmer off out-weigh the con's I would say. In a sense you'd be removing more good then bad. But as I said before, the simple fact is that running the Protein Skimmer will remove the Carolline spores that you're trying to seed your tank with, so a month or so of no use shouldn't do much if any harm to your tank/water quality.

[cuttingras]

Awesome Thanks guys!(or gals) I'll give it a try!

[Grotto]

Best of luck to you and your tank!

[cuttingras]

Thanks Grotto...Karma to you all for your help...Thanks again!