Alizarine and Halimeda growth rates

[Katie Laing]

Dear Coral Reef List: 

Does anyone have information or experience using Alizarine  
Red-S stain for determining growth rates of calcareous algae?   
I need to know what concentration, how long to stain and  
what time of day gives best results.  I will be working specifically  
with Halimeda and am concerned with the stain interfering with growth  
rates and CNP tissue content. 

Thanks in advance for any advice you can share. 

Katie (Halimeda is my life) Laing 
Master's Student 
University of North Carolina at Wilmington