Not all Acros hate alkalinity swings

[jjencek]

My alkalinity had gone up. Before I noticed anything going wrong it was at 11.5. My acros were letting me know something was going on by turning brown and some even started to STN. It was interesting that not all of them hated it. Some of them actually got better colors that I have seen in years.

Has anybody seen different acros liking different values?

 

[Timfish]

Yup. There can be significant differences between species and genotypes. Some species are found in only very limited distribution or environmental niches (delicate) while others are very cosmopolitan (hardy)

 

[o2manyfish]

There are more issues with coral happiness with the speed in which Alkalinity changes rather than the values. I ran my alk at 11-12 for many years. Corals were colorful and healthy. The skeleton structure seemed more brittle than when grown at lower alks. But the corals thrived.

It's all about the stability. You can slowly and correctly raise the alk of an established coral to the level you are talking about with the outcome being positive 45 out of 50 times.

I also have experience with introducing 1000's of corals into high Alkalinity systems to color them up. High Alkalinity and sunlight can turn a brown coral to a colored coral in a matter of days.

Dave B