coralline worries?!?

[aquakid1]

my coralline algae is on rocks and stuff but it doesnt spread over them any more or go up the class...... what is up with that ..... ammonia 0,nitrate 10, nitrie,0 and ph 8.3 i dose calcium too ( 55 gallon with 180 watts of light... i know i need more light... coming soon) there is now a few corals some bloke gave to me in there... about 10 they all seem fine and open right up and some ive noticed theyve grown... i put them at the top at the moment due to the low lights untill i get more....
how can i get coralline to go crazy......
thanx

 

[danmhippo]

What's your calcium and alkalinity? I hope you are not shooting in the dark just dumping 2 part solutions in without monitoring them?

 

[aquakid1]

i would tell u but i dont have a calcium test kit nor an alkalinity test kit ...... all i know is that the bottle of calcium shizzer says add 1 ml per 50 ltrs........ :roll: i dont dose kalk cause i tried makin a sump and using 1 canister to pump water from the main tank into the sump and another canister filter takin the water back up...... BUT one of the canisters is stronger than the other so it runs dry... i have a regulator tap on the hose to try stop it coming out as much so it doesnt go dry BUT the closest i can get it is it will drop 1.5 mm in 15 mins. :evil: so i got angry and punched myself repetedly in the head!

 

[ZigZagZombie]

You should get both test kits, as well as a PH..Nitrate and ammonia. You should know what your water parameters are. Get rid of the canister filters and put a sump in. Why not use a overflow box for it, and a underwater pump to return it to the tank. The canister filters will only produce more nitrates. Also look into getting a skimmer, if you don't have one. Back to your question....dripping Kalk will do wonders for you. Did for me....

 

[stilmas]

Keeping CA @ 400-450 and ALK @ 11+dkh will improve coralline growth. Light wattage has little to do with it. I only have 72w PC's on my 45g and the coralline is covering everything. Softies are doing great too with alot of growth. So basically it's the CA and ALK that is more important than the light power.

 

[monkeyboy]

Some pointers (not sure if already addressed in another thread) non coralline related:

2 canister filters
2 UG filters

This nifty LFS combination will pose some problems in the future, i would reccomend parting ways with the UGF's and install a sand bed. I'd hang on to 1 canister but ditch the other one for a hang on skimmer (Precision Marine HOT-1 comes to mind) and use the other canister for carbon.

cleaner wrasse.

Try not to buy any more of these. If you're not sure why, do a search on the board.

You've got the lighting for coralline, they enjoy lower light levels as opposed to bright direct light [ask any higher wattage halide user where the nicest coralline algae grows (answer: on the backs of the rocks not exposed to direct light)] You really can't force coralline to grow, you just have to make the situation right for it to flourish. High calcium and alkalinity levels will accomplish this for you, as everyone else has said.

Good luck!