Seems like there is alot of talk about the usage of coral lately.
I think there is a misunderstanding or confusion concerning the affect of using coral in relationship with pH, GH, and KH.
I am not an expert about this but I would like to see people talking about and bring forth information so that we can summarize the proper usage of coral without any guess work.
So to start, I would like to ask if anyone ever used a calcium reactor in fresh water? And what type of results you have.
I would also like to propose a study to find the diffusion coeficient of calcium carbonate from coral with respect to ph, temperature, pH, GH, and KH.
I've been thinking of setting up a small lab for this study using a small container or reactor that will hold only coral and have a continuous water circulating through it. I think I have all the necessary equipment just need the time thats all.
The result would mean a table with correlations of water parameters and the correct amount of coral you would need per given gallon of water to achieve saturation point of KH value.
BTW, I don't know if I told you guys that my first BS degree was Chemical Engineering. But that doesn't mean nothing.

Some young Chem E. student can do this research and I can contribute with suggestions.
What you guys think?

Sounds good to me and I would be interested in the results!

Coral chips also known as Lime.
Lime is powder form of coral or limestone(compressed aged coral). The use of Lime has been used for fish farming for a very long time and has a lot of documentation on it online. Most fish farms use it for farming catfish, talapia, milkfish, and other types of pond raised fishes.

Liming to Increase Nutrient Availability and to Increase and Buffer pH
The application of lime (calcite or dolomite) to fish ponds with acid soils will increase the availability of nutrients, primarily phosphorous, to aquatic plants, specifically phytoplankton. Phytoplankton (microscopic free-floating plants) are the base of the food chain in fish ponds, and are essential for rapid fish growth and survival in recreational fish ponds and in commercial ponds in which small fish are being reared. Calcite and dolomite increase the total hardness, total alkalinity, pH, and act as a buffer to keep the pH constant. The rise in pH is primarily responsible for increasing the availability of phosphorous from the pond muds. Although pH can range from 1 to 14, pH of 6 to 9 is considered desirable for most freshwater fish. Water in ponds reflects the quality of the soils thev are in. In acid soils. ponds typically have low alkalinit,'. hardness and pH. Hardness and alkalinity values of less than 20 parts per million (ppm) and a pH value of 6 or less, are common in many ponds in the southeastern United States. Fish production in these waters is poor. Calcite (calcium carbonate) and dolomite (a combination of calcium and magnesium carbonates) both increase the hardness (the calcium and magnesium concentration) of water.
Carbon dioxide, a by-product of respiration of plants and animals, acts as an acid in water, reducing the pH, especially at night. Plants photosynthesize during the day, consuming carbon dioxide, which causes pH to increase. This daily fluctuation in pH is greatest when alkalinity is low. At higher alkalinity. more carbonates are present to bind with the free carbon dioxide in what is termed the carbonate cycle. The addition of lime to a pond increases its alkalinity (carbonate concentration) which decreases the amount of free carbon dioxide in the water, and therefore increases and buffers the pH.

Phosphorous is almost always the limiting nutrient in freshwater ponds, and is relatively unavailable when pond soils have low pH values. The increased pH resulting from liming improves the availability of phosphorous, making fertilization more effective. In addition. microbial activitv is increased at higher pH, which will assist in decreasing the amount of organic debris at the bottom of the pond.

Fishes In Europe and Asia, fish raisers have learned that the application of lime on fish ponds help a lot in the growth and reproduction of the fish therein, especially in water levels that have low calcium content. Like the application of fertilizer, lime is applied on the ponds. The most commonly available are those used on land—ground lime, and either calcite (CaCO3) or dolomite (CaMg (CO3)2).

As early as 1975, this has been studied in the Auburn University of Alabama (USA) on five fishponds that were treated with lime and five others not treated with lime but fertilized with ammonium nitrate and trisuperphosphate every two weeks. It was seen that plants growing in the ponds with lime flourished, and the fish increased by 25%. This was also tried in Malaysia as early as 1962 where the tilapia they raised in ponds increased by 10% with the application of lime.

Just digged up some info online.

As for why flowerhorns do better with lime is probably the same reasons why talapia grow better in limed ponds.
I dont know if there are documentations on flowerhorns and lime but i would say talapia are similar types brackish water fish.

This post has been edited by james: Apr 21 2008, 09:13 AM

great info guys...im gonna pin this

Great artical James,it explained why normally fhs do better with coral.

..WOW..GOOD ARTCLE JAMES....FOR ONE THING CAN I PUT CRUSH CORAL IN MY WETDRY INSTEAD OF PUT IT IN TANK? CAUSE THE CORAL IS SHARP MY flowerhorn MIND CRATCH HIM SELF...

Coral Chips can be placed in the tank directly, but chances are if the fish feel itchy and rubs himself on the coral chips, they can get scratches. I have most of my coral chips in my Bio Media area or in the wetdry area. Coral Chips are also good for Bio Media because it is has many little holes which is suitable for bio growth. But it does get dirty and may need an occasional rinse.