New tank question

[labradorduck]

I bought a used BC with some live rock and clean up crew.

Anyone know how long before I should see come coraline algae growth?

Thanks!

[jestep]

Really depends on the exact situation. Was the tank well kept?

Biggest contributing factors that I've identified are high and stable Ca, Alk, and Mg.

[labradorduck]

The tank was not a mess, just running empty for a long while. I've had it set up for six months and just bought lights for it. Nitrogen cycle is steady and with partial water changes stays "healthy."

I had a minor diatom bloom since getting the lights, but that didn't last long s the cc gobbled it up quickly.

Any suggestions for testing the Ca, Alk, Mg?

[jestep]

I won't use any of their other tests, but the API Alk and Ca are actually fairly accurate. Unless you really want to test of it, I would probably skip testing for Mg.

Realistically if your stocking is reasonable and you are doing regular water changes, it's probably more a matter of time than anything else. I was just trying to clarify that the tank wasn't a mess when you got it, which would likely delay coraline growth until the tank is stable and cleaner. One of my current tanks took more than a year before I started getting any.

[Woods]

if you don't have any in the tank at all you will want to seed it with something that has some on it. You can scrape some off into the tank so it spreads small amounts around the tank and that is supposed to help speed up the process, but again like Jestep says, having a clean stable tank with regular water changes really helps.

[Sascha D.]

My rocks started to color up around the second month. I added a few rocks from the LFS that had some purple on them, but I didn't notice a difference.

[subsea]

It depends on what you mean by color. With dry rock, I didn't see much until 4-6 months.

[Sascha D.]

It depends on what you mean by color. With dry rock, I didn't see much until 4-6 months.

I was refering to dry rock that I collected myself and was out of water for over a year. They started white and shades of yellow. Around month two they started turning a lime green. About a month after that various shades of red and pink started replacing the green. I purchased a rock with a deep shade of purple but it never spread to any other rocks and I removed it because it was covered in bubble algae.

[labradorduck]

Thanks for the replies! Patience is easy for me because I can get easily distracted So, I think I am on track...

Does heat make a difference? I was running cold (lower 70s), then too warm(82), now it should be stable around 76-78

[Planeden]

most people run 78 - 80 (i think), but more often than not people have a problem with keeping the temps down and not up. it's great if you can keep it that cool. best i would say is to check out your livestock preferences to get an idea what temps they like. or you can check the guys in your tank and see if they look happy where it's at. if they do, then i wouldn't worry much about it until you start adding new things that may be more sensitive.

[JamesL]

most people run 78 - 80 (i think), but more often than not people have a problem with keeping the temps down and not up. it's great if you can keep it that cool. best i would say is to check out your livestock preferences to get an idea what temps they like. or you can check the guys in your tank and see if they look happy where it's at. if they do, then i wouldn't worry much about it until you start adding new things that may be more sensitive.

There was a poll done on the board asking people their parameters: http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/27946-arc-poll-what-are-your-target-tank-parameters/

And Planeden is right... 78 is about the average temp people keep their tanks.