How to get purple algae?

I notice in some peoples tank, their rocks are purple, and their back of the tank is purple. I found out those are coraline algae? Am i correct?

Anyway, how can you get coraline algae? I wish i can get some cool purple looking rocks as well. And are they beneficial to tank?

 

Dont add anything, it will mess up the tank IMO just let the tank mature and it will come.

 

+ 1 on oceans paradise1 for me

Coralline algae uses calcium and magnesium and it looks wonderful on the rock work
but for some reason, it prefers, acrylic, plastic and if encouraged tends to grow on these areas to the point where

1 - it affects performance of equipment through clogging stuff up - needing vinegar soaks etc to clear it off power heads or return outlets

2 - can ruin your viewing pleasure if you end up scratching the front of your tank trying to remove


let nature takes its course IMO

Steve

 

once you begin to dose calcium and magnesium (easy) it will start appearing within a week or two..

 

This is very true BUT before you dose ANYTHING make sure you have a good test kit to make sure your dosing correct

 

yes, agreed.. Dont add anything you cant test for.. ;D

 

I've been told that as the rock ages the coraline algae will form, but it does take awhile. Good luck!

 

you do have to seed it though. a speck is enough, but if you dont have any coralline in there, (hard to do really), it wont come about

 

Coralline Algae is not going to grow on its own, it must be introduced to your system. Having live rock is all the seeding your tank will require. What color’s your tank will grow you will need to wait and see. Different types of Coralline prefer different lighting – so you will see the spores growing all over the place. I find that the most common, purple, will grow in strong and in low (nearly no) light area’s.

Coralline Algae is calcareous, same as hard corals and respond’s best when your parameters are kept in check. Keep your calcium maintained – the more coralline the quicker your tank will be depleted as the algae will consume it. Maintaining your calcium, Alkalinity and strontium is the trick. Just remember to test often, you will find that you need to dose more as time goes on due to growth.

Coralline does not do well with nitrates and phosphates – basically, if you maintain your system with focus on your corals and fish (as already stated in this thread) the coralline Algae will grow all on its own.

If you do not get a variety of colors ask your lfs for a scraping – doesn’t take much to seed a tank.

 

just keep ur calcium and mag up to par and it will grow like crazy but never dose ur tank unless u are testing for it

caution keep a eye on it and make sure to scrape it of ur front glass before it gets hard if not it will be a pain to get rid of