Can the growth of Coraline be a good indicator for what cora

[bezzer]

Purple and pink coraline has been growing well on the LR in my 65 gallon tall tank (36x24x18) with (4) 30watt NO ligths for about 9 months now. I was wondering if I can use this as any type of indicator of which corals I may be able to keep, if any. Some of the LR has a few polyps that have grown and multiplied so I would assume that I can keep some corals.
This is a low tech FOWLR tank so far, I don't want to upgrade the lighting but was wondering if low-light croals will live and thrive in this type of set-up.
I will most likely be purchasing a larger tank to turn into a full mini-reef in the future.
Thanks in advance for your replies.

[ September 28, 2001: Message edited by: bezzer ]

 

[chris_h]

I do not think that coraline is a good indicater for corals. THe coraline grows much faster in my lower light sump than it does under my halides. And coraline grows faster under PC than it does with halides. Yet corals are the oposite.

 

[Anonymous]

Chris - I disagree (kinda). I agree that coralline grows best under lower light condition.....so if there is coralline growing on the top of your rocks it is too dim for animals that require intense light but may be just right for moderate light animals.

 

[Anonymous]

Coraline growth is a good indicator of water quality. i.e. you've probably got your paramters under control. But I don't think it can tell you anything about your lighting scheme.

Glenn

 

[cubera]

We recommend that people have at least 1/2 inch sized spots of coralline growth in slightly protected areas of the tank before introducing stony corals. It is a great indicator of satisfactory water quality. This growth should NOT be on the brightest sections in your tank, however,as this indicates lighting might not be intense enough to support higher light demanding corals. HTH

 

[bezzer]

Thank you for all the replies.
It's good to hear that the coraline growth in my tank is most likely due to good water quality.
The coraline is growing on the tops and sides of much of the LR, on a powerhead and almost all the hermits shells are covered in pruple and pink where they were once white. I was hoping to be able to keep different types of mushrooms, bubble coral, star polyps and maybe some other "low-light" corals.
Are there any other corals that you believe I could sucessfully keep in this setup?

[ October 01, 2001: Message edited by: bezzer ]

 

[Anonymous]

xenia might work too as well as zooanthids.

 

[Anonymous]

bezzer,
I had a 20gal with 35W of NO for a while--I did fine with mushrooms, polyps and xenia, thought the polyps lost a lot of color. The key is going to be placement. I found that I had to keep everything pretty high up in the tank. If your mushrooms look like they're reaching for more light, then move them higher up.

If you do ok with those, try some other softies. You might be able to keep a bubble coral alive, but I doubt it would really thrive. Another watt/gal or 2 would go a long way.

ty

 

[Dragonlady]

I have some bright pink branching coralline that grows directly under MH lighting. IMO, different species of coralline prefer different amounts of lighting, as do corals.
It has been growing, branching, and spreading directly under a MH lamp for 4 years. Now all the rocks are completely covered in it. There are at least 6 species of coralline in my tank. Sun coral (Tubastrea aurea or Balanophylllia gemmifera) might do well in your tank. It lives in shaded caves and has no symbiotic algae. Each polyp should be fed like an anemone. It is an attractive orange and yellow. When first introduced it may not open for a week or more. It can grow up to 20 inches with good water quality and feeding each individual polyp.

 

[Rich-n-poor]

My first attempt at corals was in a 37 gallon with 60 watts of NO coralife bulbs about 2 watts per gallon which is what you have believe it or not i had an open brain in this tank that did allright but it was pretty high up in the water column. But most people will reccommend at least 4 watts per gallon and i have had much more success with my power compacts 2x55 watts on the same tank with this lighting my corals are thriving they are photosynthetic organism and if i was gonna skimp it wouldnt be on the lights.
i am expeirementing with a very low tech reef system which requires very little equipment and i hope to post pictures and a website of it soon but it does require two peices of equipment: good lighting and a high quality skimmer.
REEFS THEY ARENT A HOBBY THEY ARE AN ADDICTION