Quote:
Originally posted by BLUE LAGOON
Habib
I see you mention,when using 2 part additives,run your Alk,at 8 to 10 DKH.But running a reactor can go as high as 12 on the DKH.Did I miss something here?Why wouldn't they run the same ?Why would a reactor run higher? I was also wondering when running ALK even at 8 or even higher say 9 above.It's possible over TIME "sand bed " can turn into a rock form.Is this a true statement?If not at what levels, would this come into play?
Thanks for you input here......
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The higher the alkalinity and calcium are the faster it will precipitate as calcium carbonate. This calcium carbonate can not be used by corals and such and would be a waste of money.
When using a calcium reactor the pH is usually on the lower side and would make precipitation less fast compared to tanks with a higher pH.
Also, and that is somewhat a speculation, a higher alkalinity when using a calcium reactor might be required to let corals grow (faster).
Some studies have shown that the growth rate increases with increasing calcium and/or alkalinity but decreses with decreasing pH. So the relatively low pH when using a calcium reactor might be compensated by running the tank at higher alkalinity with calcium being in the normal or slightly elevated concentration range.