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singold
10/11/2009, 05:46 PM
What would be the recommended Alk level to speed up Coral Growth rate?

reefinder
10/11/2009, 06:37 PM
you need to keep your alk at a stable level anywhere between 8-10 will do.

sedor
10/11/2009, 06:47 PM
I have read somewhere that some people have pushes their Alk up to around 11 in order to get better growth, but that is something you'll have to research a little more.

singold
10/11/2009, 07:43 PM
I have been running ALK at 8 and have heard recently that 10-11 range is better for fish & coral. Was wanting to see if this is the concensus here, as well. My coral growth is very slow, so I was looking to possibly increase the ALK level higher. BTW, I do primarily softy corals.

sharrison
10/11/2009, 07:52 PM
that would all depend on what your calcium is or what you want it to be. There is no laymans way of giving you an answer.

I will point you to a site that you need to read so you can understand what you need to.
I would also suggest reading a lot on how all the elements work together and how they work against each other, saturation levels and how and what works together and aginst each other. There is a lot more to a reef than most people think. This is a chemists hobbt, for sure.

http://www.salt-city.org/showthread.php?t=13186

Logzor
10/11/2009, 08:16 PM
I like running my alk 10-11 because this allows some wiggle room. Running 8 dkh is risky because a small dip could cause bleaching.

I find that corals become very unhappy when alkalinity goes below 8.

jennmac415
10/11/2009, 08:53 PM
but I have also read that if you are vodka dosing you should keep alk low to avoid burned tips... can anyone verify this? Since have been dosing vodka snce 9/1 I have let my alk get down from 10dKh to 8dKh... is this ok? I am now keeping it at 8dkh all the time...

singold
10/11/2009, 09:32 PM
Thanks, and thank you "sharrison" for the informative thread link.

erbio
10/11/2009, 10:44 PM
I run an ULNS and keep my alkalinity at 7.5 (NSW) and I haven't experienced any bleaching. High alkalinity in an ULNS can hurt corals.

erbio
10/11/2009, 10:47 PM
I should also mention, I get greaaat growth. I take monthly pictures of each coral.

Check this out:


<p>June 25, 2009:<br>
<img src="http://www.smated.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/IMG_1073.JPG" alt="blue tip acropora" title="blue tip acropora" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-530" height="100%" width="100%"></p>
<p>August 15, 2009:<br>
<img src="http://www.smated.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/IMG_0095.jpg" alt="blue acropora 2" title="blue acropora 2" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-531" height="100%" width="100%"></p>
<p>September 11, 2009:<br>
<img src="http://www.smated.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/IMG_0167.JPG" alt="acropora blue tip staghorn" title="acropora blue tip staghorn" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-532" height="100%" width="100%">

erbio
10/11/2009, 10:50 PM
Also take a look at my pink encrusting gorgonian (pink mat) - nice growth on that as well.

iFisch
10/11/2009, 10:53 PM
Pic's aren't showing up for me... just blank.. ?

Edit: getting a few of them, except the last one... hmm.

erbio
10/11/2009, 11:04 PM
Are you on dialup? You may have to refresh.

iFisch
10/11/2009, 11:09 PM
Are you on dialup? You may have to refresh.

lol, no. Never had it. I'm on 25mbps. First time I've had problems seeing pictures... hmm.

kybreos
10/12/2009, 08:38 AM
you cant really tell much from those pics, theyre too large shrink them down a bit

tmz
10/12/2009, 11:44 AM
Well sea water is around 7 dkh. Increased alkalinity should increase growth since more bicarbonate is readily available. Perhaps with ulns systems the corals can't handle the rapid growth due to a lack of some necessary element.I do fine at 11dkh with PO4 at about .04ppm and nitrate at 2 to 4ppm. I think a range of 7 to 11 is reasonable . Keeping it constant seems a lot more important than hitting a specific number.

stanlalee
10/12/2009, 06:31 PM
you cant really tell much from those pics, theyre too large shrink them down a bit

if thats a roscoe's blue (looks like mine) its a fast grower. I get that kind of growth from mine under 20k 150w halides halfway down the tank.

bertoni
10/12/2009, 06:47 PM
It's likely that higher levels of alkalinity, near 11 dKH and possibly higher, will help coral growth, depending on various factors. I'd just target that level and work on other factors from there. In the past, higher levels have been used to try to stimulate growth, but many people get a lot of growth in the 7-11 dKH range. If you want a more precise estimate of the effect, that'd be difficult. It'd depend on the species of coral being grown, most likely, and growth can be limited by nutrients, calcium, and other factors.