- On today's BRS Investigates it's the first update
of our elevated alkalinity calcium and magnesium experiment
set up in two reef tanks like you'd have in your own home.
(upbeat music)
Hi guys, Randy here with BRS TV Investigates
where we take popular reefing theories
and put them to the test,
and today we're checking in on our experiment of
growing corals two to three times faster
in our side by side Red Sea Max E-170 tanks
with one tank running at common levels
for alkalinity and calcium
and the other tank at significantly higher levels.
Let's find out if it's working.
So it's been about four months since we got these two tanks
up and running with similar aquascapes and identical corals
with very similar coral placement
and today we're going to check in on each tank's progress
with a side by side comparison of each coral
along with some general observations.
Before we get too far in today's update
we definitely need to give a huge shout out to
Neptune, Ecotech and WWC who have each sponsored
these experiments from the get go
with Apex controllers and dose dosing pumps,
Radions and VorTech pumps and, of course,
a mountain of corals to experiment on.
Along with these three sponsors, Red Sea stepped up
and joined in with their donation of these
Max E-170 45 gallon tank and stand combos,
not only just the two for this experiment but, in fact,
a dozen of them in total for all of the various experiments
that we have planned here in this BRS testing lab space,
so kudos to them as well.
Getting right into it, there's been an ongoing discussion
over the topic of what levels for
alkalinity, calcium and magnesium
are the most ideal for coral growth
with the general idea being that
elevated levels will produce increased growth.
More or less the thought process is that
the more available alkalinity and calcium
in the water, the faster the coral can use them
to build skeletal structure,
since the over abundance would allow the coral to use
less energy to uptake them.
In part two of our elevated elements testing
we saw a pretty significant increase in growth
from our control group
to our elevated parameters experiment group,
actually in the 70% range,
so we thought it'd be worthwhile to try to
replicate those results in an environment that
more closely resembles
something like reefers would have in their own homes,
meaning if the increase growth we found in
lab testing environment can be easily replicated
in an average reef tank, for those experienced reefers
who are looking to go from a tank full of frags
to a tank full of colonies in far less time
this approach to controlling
alkalinity, calcium and magnesium parameters
at higher levels may be one of the easiest
ways to get there.
All right, so here's how we've got this experiment
set up and running so far.
We used two of the Red Sea Max E-170 tanks,
aquascaped semi the same,
with about 25-30 pounds of Reef Saver Rock.
Each tank has a single Radion XR30 with diffuser
and mounted with the RMS arm kit
and two MP10 VorTech power heads
set to 100% reef crest mode.
There is also a Neptune Apex for each
with two dose dosers,
one's for small percentage continuous water changes
to manage nutrient export and trace element replenishment
and the other for dosing two part solutions
of calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate,
sodium bicarb to reduce the pH as a variable.
And finally each tank has the same 25 corals from WWC,
ranging from Acros and other SPS
to LPS like Euphyllian Acans,
all of which we'll try to do our best to
identify during the side by side comparisons.
The tank parameters for alkalinity, calcium and magnesium
are being controlled with two part dosing
to maintain stable parameters
of 8 dKH, 430 calcium and 1280 magnesium,
that's in the lower range tank
which are closer to more typical ranges
that reefer's aim for,
and 12 dKH, 465 calcium and 1390 magnesium
in the elevated tank.
Okay, so it's been right at about four months
since we started adding corals and adjusting the parameters.
At first glance, when walking up to the tanks,
by looking at the coralline algae alone,
I'd almost assume that the tank on the right
was the elevated parameter system,
because it looks to have a ton of encrusted algae
that nearly fills up the entire ABS bare bottom tank.
However, when we take a step back
and look at the corals overall,
you start to see differences in the corals themselves.
Rather than bore you with the play-by-play of each coral,
I'll let you decide the differences for yourselves
with these side by side comparison shots,
and then afterwards,
share with you some first impressions that stand out to me.
What we're looking for here are signs of growth
at the bases of the corals,
differences in how much area it has encrusted over,
as well as the thickness in the amount of branches,
particularly on the SPS.
(bass heavy jazzy music)
So I'm sure most of you noticed
some pretty significant differences
in quite a few of the corals you saw,
corals like the Hydnophora and Psammocoras
show seemingly faster growth as they are a bit larger
and more encrusted in the elevated tank verses the other,
and to me there look to be a few more heads
on corals like the Acans and the Duncan.
Most notably to me for sure are the Acros
in the elevated parameter tank that show
more substantial growth at the bases,
where they have encrusted well beyond the frag plugs,
onto the rock work,
as well as those that have thicker mass,
and longer, more numerous branches.
The Green Slimer in particular is very noticeable
in the amount of growth over the lower parameter tank,
as well as the extensive base on that Leprechaun Hydnophora,
and the longer branching on the green and blue Acro.
Although there were at least two coral mortalities
in the lower parameter tank,
it's tough to say that it was a direct causation
from the different parameters, but it is notable.
All in all, I'd say that a majority of the corals overall
are showing similar increased growth rates
like we saw in our initial lab testing
of the first experiment.
What is also evident here are the differences
in alkalinity consumption between the two tanks,
where in the last two months, there's been an average
of 8.74 mLs per day
of sodium bicarbonate alkalinity consumption
in the lower parameter tank.
While in those same two months, there's been an average
alkalinity consumption of 61.06 mLs per day
in the elevated tank,
which works out to be a 598% more sodium bicarb requirement
to maintain stable alkalinity from one over the other.
I think it's plain to see here how the combined results
from our lab environment testing
and reef tank environment testing
begin to show what is possible if you start to venture
out of the norm and dip your toes into some
of the outer edges of what's considered most common,
especially when attempting to gain an edge in coral growth.
From an alkalinity stand point,
there definitely seems to be measurable benefits
in raising levels to what some would consider
to be on the far end of normal parameters.
That said, attempting to ride that edge safely
is probably not for everyone as it doesn't leave
much room for error,
should something like an overdose happen to the tank.
So I'd encourage those who are thinking about
running over to their tanks and cranking up their dosage
to either do so smartly or not at all.
Stability is ultimately going to be the key
to longer term success,
and stability means making as little change as possible,
however, if you are a pioneer and you just have
to try something like this on your own,
I suggest doing so very slowly,
like raising a single dKH point per month
until you get to your target.
Just think, if you can combine the results
from the elevated parameter testing that we saw here today,
with some of the results that we saw in
our high and low pH testing that Ryan recently wrapped up,
just how different can we approach optimizing coral growth
in our own reef tanks at home.
You know I think when we're all said and done
we'll have one final experiment
that puts all of these results to the test
and see if running something like a finely tuned reef tank
is not only feasible but sustainable
and in Ryan's words in this video,
"If the juice is worth the squeeze".
See you next time on BRS TV investigates.