Does flow or surface agitation increase 2-part consumption?

[Lutzerman]

Hi, I have a 65 gallon with a moderate amount of coral and a 20 gallon sump. Was dosing 15ml of Alk/Calcium and never dosed Mg to maintain 840/440/1400. I run 1.5 gallons of AWC daily which probably kept the Mg up. I have an Apex/trident to keep tabs on everything. Added a Gyre 3k a couple weeks ago and 2-part usage has jumped exponentially. and now I'm up to 70ml of Alk/Cal and 40 of Mg and it's still not going up. Was previously pretty low flow and I did notice the coralline explode shortly after adding the gyre. Still seems like a huge jump in consumption. I have the gyre close to the surface creating a lot of agitation. Does surface agitation precipitate 2 part? Any other ideas? Could it just be the flow increasing consumption?

 

[Mrtakeoff53]

It’s possible the increased flow allowed for better Alk/calc useage by your corals and faster growth. I’ve heard flow can be more important than even light in an SPS tank.

 

[Lutzerman]

I moved the gyre down to about 1/3 way down so it'll be interesting to see if it affects consumption. I will say coralline has gone crazy since adding the gyre so I know that explains some of it. Just seems odd to jump over 4x

 

[Mrtakeoff53]

Flow is a huge player in a coral’s ability to grow. If coraline has exploded, you can almost guarantee your corals have as well. My corals are exploding right now and I’ve also noticed a huge increase in coraline growth at the same time. It’ll be interesting to see what you find!

 

[Robinson]

Did your PH increased with the surface agitation after the Gyre was installed? I have seen an increase in consumption after a higher PH change.

 

[Lutzerman]

Unfortunately my Ph probe crapped out right around the time I added the gyre, so I'm not sure. It did occur to me that my Ph might drop with all of the agitation.