Just a thought

[Jl330]

I'm in the process of slowly bringing my alkalinity up to the 10-12 range, not sure where I'll stop but I'm trying to speed up my growth.

Let's say I buy some sticks from the lfs and he keeps a ulns and his alk is at 7ish

If I'm acclimating, will my normal hour long slow drip do the trick or should I be extra careful? I know sps hate alk swings

 

[Flippers4pups]

I'm in the process of slowly bringing my alkalinity up to the 10-12 range, not sure where I'll stop but I'm trying to speed up my growth.

Let's say I buy some sticks from the lfs and he keeps a ulns and his alk is at 7ish

If I'm acclimating, will my normal hour long slow drip do the trick or should I be extra careful? I know sps hate alk swings

I would take it slow, yes. But everyone's tank is different. In mine, 8-9 dkh seems the sweet spot. Any higher I get burnt tips. :mad:

 

[Jl330]

I would take it slow, yes. But everyone's tank is different. In mine, 8-9 dkh seems the sweet spot. Any higher I get burnt tips. :mad:

I may keep it there. I keep reading about this 12 dkh range that is supposed to be wonderful for growth

 

[jda]

There are better ways to accelerate growth. Having building blocks near NSW levels increases calcification in true coral - this can be really bad unless you limit carbonate and keep your alk around 6-7 ish. For most people, high quality and quantity of lights will make the most difference.

I am not sure that I have ever have seen a confirmed case where 12 dKh helps with growth. People used to be around 10-12 all the time before GFO and carbon dosing got really popular.

I have found that otherwise healthy SPS can handle alk swings. However, if you swing them all the time, they go from the "healthy" range to the "just holding on" range and then an alk swing can kill them. I have never worried about alk differences when introducing new frags.

 

[acro-ed]

The success with high alk “era” was really when it was common to have a sandbed, a ton of nutrients, and really strong MH lighting. I had tanks like that and got excellent growth with alk near 10.0dkh. Now, with barebottom and t5/led I find that the sweet spot is mid-8’s. Every tank is different, but the idea of 12dkh only works with a ton of light and nutrients; in most cases 12dkh will burn the corals.

Hope that helps.

-Ed

 

[MTBake]

I kept high alk around 12dkh in the past. Can't say corals grew any faster then versus now to be honest. Plus there is more to it than just an alk level.

When I kept my alk high, my tanks also had Fiji or Indo live rock in them, with the occasional Tonga branch thrown in for good measure. Not the dry stuff I'm using today. That right there is an apples vs oranges comparison and makes a huge difference, imo.

I am using MH lighting today. My no3 and po4 are a bit high to be honest. 10ppm and .13ppm respectively. But I'm keeping my alk at 7.7dkh with a salifert test. Corals are still growing and look pretty good.