homegrowncichlid
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I've been dosing at a set rate for a while now and I've noticed that some corals grow really fast and some don't grow at all. I understand there are many biotic and abiotic factors to considerer, but I'm just wondering perhaps, hypothesizing that perhaps, different organisms consume Ca at different rates AND also have different minimum Ca levels below which they can't consume Ca anymore. My observations are based on my snails, corals and coralline algae growth.
I've been aiming for Ca levels of around 440 for a the past year and have noticed some fast growing SPS have probable grown 10 fold in mass, whereas other species on the same rack have barely added on any mass at all, or have shown no growth. (I also have very little coralline algae growth and a tons of snails.)
In an attempt to get the non growing corals a boost, I've slightly increased my Ca dosing and noticed my snails suddenly put on an extra ring of growth around their shells. (sudden is relative since snails are pretty slow, but there's a noticeable growth of new white shell along all my snails, which I didn't notice before). The snails have stayed the same size for a relatively long time, then pop. My coralline has also grown in a bit, whereas there was no growth before, and finally the non-growing SPS added a tiny bit of mass. I'm assuming I've been starving the snails and coraline of Ca for a while. After the snails stopped, then the coralline stopped.
I'm hypothesizing that once the Ca is consumed and drops below each threshold, that species will stop growing and it is out competed by other species that can consume Ca at lower levels?
If so, I've always thought of 440 as a conservative minimum Ca level to shoot for, since 400 is supposed to be the cut off listed in literature.
Is it possible that the fast growing corals will consume at lower concentrations, lets say 440 Ca to grow
The snails need 460 to grow,
The coralline needs 460+ to grow, (a higher threshold)
and my non growing SPS need 480+? (At this point everything is growing)
The exact listing order is simply an example from my observations, but in general I believe my snails have sucked up as much Ca as they could, since they have been stunted, Then there wasn't enough Ca for the coralline anymore, and my non growing SPS did what it could before the snails sucked up the Ca.
I'm keeping the other variables of alkalinity and Mg the same though out this time period. (I understand they are all dependent on each other, and some literature indicates maximum SPS growth with alkalinity of 9-10)
I also understand the variability and inaccuracies of test kits, which could be off, which is why I've adjusted to 440 instead of 400 and am now going to adjust to 480+.
Finally, is it possible that my non-growing SPS (a few of which have died off) simply were in water, where the Ca level was too low to grow?
I've been aiming for Ca levels of around 440 for a the past year and have noticed some fast growing SPS have probable grown 10 fold in mass, whereas other species on the same rack have barely added on any mass at all, or have shown no growth. (I also have very little coralline algae growth and a tons of snails.)
In an attempt to get the non growing corals a boost, I've slightly increased my Ca dosing and noticed my snails suddenly put on an extra ring of growth around their shells. (sudden is relative since snails are pretty slow, but there's a noticeable growth of new white shell along all my snails, which I didn't notice before). The snails have stayed the same size for a relatively long time, then pop. My coralline has also grown in a bit, whereas there was no growth before, and finally the non-growing SPS added a tiny bit of mass. I'm assuming I've been starving the snails and coraline of Ca for a while. After the snails stopped, then the coralline stopped.
I'm hypothesizing that once the Ca is consumed and drops below each threshold, that species will stop growing and it is out competed by other species that can consume Ca at lower levels?
If so, I've always thought of 440 as a conservative minimum Ca level to shoot for, since 400 is supposed to be the cut off listed in literature.
Is it possible that the fast growing corals will consume at lower concentrations, lets say 440 Ca to grow
The snails need 460 to grow,
The coralline needs 460+ to grow, (a higher threshold)
and my non growing SPS need 480+? (At this point everything is growing)
The exact listing order is simply an example from my observations, but in general I believe my snails have sucked up as much Ca as they could, since they have been stunted, Then there wasn't enough Ca for the coralline anymore, and my non growing SPS did what it could before the snails sucked up the Ca.
I'm keeping the other variables of alkalinity and Mg the same though out this time period. (I understand they are all dependent on each other, and some literature indicates maximum SPS growth with alkalinity of 9-10)
I also understand the variability and inaccuracies of test kits, which could be off, which is why I've adjusted to 440 instead of 400 and am now going to adjust to 480+.
Finally, is it possible that my non-growing SPS (a few of which have died off) simply were in water, where the Ca level was too low to grow?
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