coral growth????????

spanko

Active Member
Ammonia (NH3-4)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.010 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.000 to 0.050 mg/L
Any ammonia level above 0.05 mg/L is a cause for
concern, and the source should be found and corrected.
Nitrite (NO2)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.010 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.000 to 0.100 mg/L
Levels of 0.05 or less are
of little concern. If the levels are higher than this, the source should be found
and corrected.
Nitrate (NO3)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.050 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.000 to 25 mg/L
Nitrate is not toxic in and of itself, but a rising level is
indicative of deteriorating water conditions, and any level above 5.0 mg/L in
reef aquariums is a reason for concern.
Phosphate (PO4)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.030 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.000 to 0.250 mg/L
The use of a phosphate absorbing resin is recommended to keep phosphate
levels below 0.05 mg/L.
Calcium (Ca)
Natural Seawater Value: 400 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 350 to 450 mg/L
Calcium is a critical parameter for coral growth in reef aquariums, and
chronically low levels will cause coral mortality and loss of coralline algae and
other invertebrate species.
Magnesium (Mg)
Natural Seawater Value: 1280 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 1100 to 1400 mg/L
Magnesium is a very important part of the water buffering system, and is
incorporated into coral skeletons. It is also critical to any photosynthetic
processes.
Alkalinity (meq/L)
Natural Seawater Value: 2.5 meq/L
Acceptable Range: 2.5 to 5.0 meq/L
Maintaining an appropriate alkalinity is crucial to maintaining a
healthy aquarium. A fluctuating alkalinity will lead to serious problems in maintaining an appropriate pH, as well as problems keeping calcium and magnesium levels within required ranges.
PAR is photosynthetically active radiation, it is lighting that assists the symbiotic algae is coral to grow. Some soft corals need less PAR values than higher end Hard corals. Do some reading in the lighting forum to learn more about specifics corals and what lighting is needed to support it.
 
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