dkh poll result question

[rcpalmer1]

So I have had saltwater tanks for over 20 year. Tried corals a few times over the years but it never worked out long term. A little over a year ago a friend gave me some more corals. The amount of information that is now out is amazing. I had so much success with the corals in my old tank I got a new one. I bought the BRS two part. It recommended a dkh of 9. I was running that. I had decided to change over to Triton. They recommend 8. I stopped dosing BRS and was waiting for my dkh to drop 8. With around 75 corals in my tank my dkh never got below 8.4. In the 4 months I was waiting Triton had all sorts of issues. I decided to go back to BRS two part and dose Red Sea trace elements. While researching Red Sea I noticed they recommended 11.5 dkh and that is what their reef pro salt mixes to. I brought my dkh up to 10. I seen a dramatic increase in growth. I had corals that had not grown much in 6 months that I could see noticeable growth daily. I have been slowly increase my dkh to 11.5 now. I see on the poll that most people run under 9.

So my question is am I missing something? Is there a long term problem with accelerated growth?

 

[NS Mike D]

red sea's ALK recommendations vary depending on whether you are seeking growth v. color and the type of corals you keep. They are in line with the idea of higher nutrients with higher alk for growth and and lower nutrients with lower alk for color. I presume low alk with high nutrients or high alk with low nutrients are not coral friendly parameters.

I have a mixed coral tank and have been targeting red sea's mid ranges for more than two years now with a moderate degree of success. I slack for weeks at a time, so I don't have the consistency to vouch with certainty of red seas charts, but I am close enough to stick with them.

 

[rcpalmer1]

red sea's ALK recommendations vary depending on whether you are seeking growth v. color and the type of corals you keep. They are in line with the idea of higher nutrients with higher alk for growth and and lower nutrients with lower alk for color. I presume low alk with high nutrients or high alk with low nutrients are not coral friendly parameters.

I have a mixed coral tank and have been targeting red sea's mid ranges for more than two years now with a moderate degree of success. I slack for weeks at a time, so I don't have the consistency to vouch with certainty of red seas charts, but I am close enough to stick with them.

I already have the red sea loaded in a dosing pump ready to go. I have sent off icp test and waiting for results. I plan on adding based on results then sending off anther icp to verify. I have another test kit ready to send a month or two later to verify I get the daily dosing right

I have noticed some of my sps that were pink have turned more purple with blue tips. I have not decided but I think I like them better like this.

 

[mckinney0171]

i set mine to 11.5 as that's what my red sea program says. my corals are perfectly happy. i have always subscribed to the theory that higher dkh allows for faster growth since there are more abundant ions available for the corals. or something like that lol

 

[PatW]

If you are running an ultra low nutrient system for SPS corals, the recommended ALK is between 7 and 8. I run mine at the mid to high 7s. My corals grow well and have very good color.

If you are running higher nutrients recommendations run from 9-12.

I read an article on mariculture colonies and getting them running well in aquaculture and the author suggested running ALK at no higher than 7.

Like everything else in reefing, ALK cannot be looked at in isolation. Other factors come into play like nutrient levels, light intensity, kinds of corals kept and a number of other things.

If you hit a combination that your corals respond well to, I would suggest being very careful about changing anything.

 

[ca1ore]

Like everything else in reefing, ALK cannot be looked at in isolation. Other factors come into play like nutrient levels, light intensity, kinds of corals kept and a number of other things.

Exactly!