High dKH increasing coral growth?

[Akrite]

Just purchased Red Sea KH/Alkalinity Pro and while reading through the manual I came across Optimal levels of salinity, alk, cal, mag according to type of aquarium. There is a chart and it states.

SPS Corals, Frags/ Clams Accelerated growth levels should be:
Salinity 35
Alkalinity 12.6 dKH/ 4.5 meg/l
Ca 465
Mg 1390

SPS Corals - Mature/ Low nutrient Systems Levels should be:
Salinity 35
Alkalinity 8.2 dKH/ 2.9 meg/l
Ca 430
Mg 1310

Is this true? Having higher levels of Alk, Ca, and mag will increase the growth of SPS corals and frags? Has this been proven?

 

[tkeracer619]

eh... I think ph has more to do with calcification but I might be wrong.

Either way stability is key. For me it really never mattered what the numbers were as long as they were within reason and stable.

 

[psteeleb]

I'm not aware of any actual side by side studies but I grew up in the hobby and through school being taught that coral growth was limited (or constrained) in the ocean by fixed Alk levels at optimal pH. If this is true, and if you could replicate the ocean on all other accounts, one would think you should be able to get more growth by elevating the levels of Alk.

 

[tmz]

Yes, all things being equal, such as adequate calcium and magnesium and low PO4 for example , increased alkalinity will enahnce growth since more bicarbonate is available for the corals to take up.
Higher ph within acceptable ranges also helps since when the coral makes skeletal mass it forms calcium carbonate(CaCO3) from bicarbonate(HCO3) and calcium. When it does it squeezes out an H+ (hydrogen) proton;at higher ph there is less H+ in the water and it's easier to squeeze one out