Things You'll Need:
- Live rock from an established tank New, stiff-bristled toothbrush Protein skimmer pH test kit Alkalinity test kit
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Step 1
Introduce the coralline starter into the reef tank or the refugium. Along with placing live rock into the tank, you can scrape bits of the coralline algae off into the water column with a clean, new, stiff toothbrush; an area of high water movement is best. This allows the algae spore to spread and find new areas of the tank to colonize. This can include the glass. If you do not like the algae growing on the glass, simply scrape it off with a razor blade as it appears.
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Step 2
Test for mineral levels and alkalinity. According to John Trinidad, of Marine Depot, coralline algae build housing for themselves out of calcium, strontium, magnesium and carbonate found in alkaline water. Maintain calcium levels of around 380 to 450 parts per million (ppm). A pH of 8.1 to 8.3 is optimum. Alkalinity of 8 to 12 dKH (degrees of carbonate hardness) is preferred. Keep magnesium at 1200 to 1400 ppm.
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Step 3
Run a protein skimmer to maintain reduced phosphate levels. A reverse-osmosis system or deionizer may be needed if the tank's source water is high in phosphates. Brown and green algae and those with fast-growing hairlike filaments prefer higher levels of phosphate.
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Step 4
Light your tank properly for optimum coralline algae growth. Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation Inc. has found through multiple trials that 40-watt Triton brand and Blue Moon Reef brand fluorescent bulbs work well for coralline algae. Certain colors of algae prefer different positions in the tank relative to the light. If you introduce more than one type of coralline algae, they should sort themselves out by where the substrate is in relation to the light. Trinidad agrees, stating that moderate to low-level lighting is preferred by coralline algae and he suggests moderate-power compact lighting or VHO lighting if you have fish as well.
