Dosing Trace Elements, Coral-Vite, etc.....

[jejenkins]

I have not been a "huge" fan of dosing, but was not getting the growth and colors I thought I should after a few months of setup on the live rock and with the zoas and mushrooms. So I decided to try dosing for a bit with Kent Trace Elements and Kent's Coral-Vite. The results after a week have been promising. Have seen a bloom in coraline algea growth and the mushrooms an zoas seem to likey. The cheato in the tanks seems to be greening up too (however has not been in there long, so I do not know if related). Currenlty us RO/DI water with Instant Ocean (all I can get around here). BC 14 with 21lbs live rock. Two false perculas, skunk cleaner, zebra "dartfish" somthing or other, and a green chromis that I can not find for 1 week now (probably dead but cannot find ANYWHERE). Have about 30 snails (various cerith, nass, and something else from reef cleaners). Anyway, with this setup and exisitng corals, do I need to worry about calcium? I do weekly 10-15% WC.

Also, I know this will open up a huge mess, but what are the basic products needed for dosing. I get very confused as on one bottle it will say to use with "XXX" bottle etc. I don't know if this is just trying to sell more products or actually trying to cover the full spectrum of trace elements.

So for those of you that dose......and with my stock, what would be the minimum product dosing you would advise. Sorry, I have tried to research, but it is hard to filter out what is needed versus trying to sell more products.

Thanks,

Jon

[Weetabix7]

IMO, most of it is just hype to sell more products.

There are a few products of that nature that are genuinely useful, but most are unnecessary.

I would just stick with what is already working for you.

If you just have soft corals, you don't need to worry about dosing Calcium.

Also, NEVER dose iodine if you don't test for it.

[jejenkins]

thank you for the fast reply. Is iodine an element that would indeed be beneficial? I would test before dosimg if it is worth the effort. I like to keep it simple and low maintenance as possible that way I actually will perform the needed tasks and enjoy it. I considered iodine but the trace or coral-vite said it contained it. Aga may not be enough. Has anyone got a good site or link demystifying the essential elements?

[bdare]

thank you for the fast reply. Is iodine an element that would indeed be beneficial? I would test before dosimg if it is worth the effort. I like to keep it simple and low maintenance as possible that way I actually will perform the needed tasks and enjoy it. I considered iodine but the trace or coral-vite said it contained it. Aga may not be enough. Has anyone got a good site or link demystifying the essential elements?

 

Check this out:

The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/rhf/index.php

 

TONS of other great articles here:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/show...threadid=102605

[jejenkins]

Whoa! That is awesome article. Haven't made it through, but looks like exactly what I need to read. Thank you

[Nemo22]

Awesome article, thank-you

[Clown79]

There are a lot of products on the market geared to emptying our pockets. A lot of these additives can also increase nitrates, creating a new issue.

 

I think one should only dose what you test for and whats needed.

 

Iodine, everyone recommends not dosing, especially if you don't test it. Apparently even with testing it can be an issue.

 

Where are your params at? If they are within normal range, I would say don't dose because your water changes will replenish the elements weekly.

 

I highly recommend testing weekly because it can change quickly. I let my testing go as things were stable, i use reef crystals, and do weekly wc...my numbers dropped and below normal. Now I have to dose because water changes aren't increasing the numbers.

 

The corals you have now should be ok but as you add more, more ca , alk, and mag will be used up

[Mariaface]

There are a lot of products on the market geared to emptying our pockets.

 

 

All the products on the market are geared towards us emptying our pockets; that's how it works. Of course there are things you don't need, but those things are different for each tank. Some people run skimmerless, while some can't go without. Some people only run carbon an hour or so every week, others have it going 24/7 in a reactor. Some people have sumps, some have AIOs, some have HOBs. Some people are in a sweet zone and can run their tank without a heater, even.

 

And I agree that there are things you should really only dose if you're testing for. Alk, potassium, iodine, any substance that can cause adverse reactions and that you can easily get a test kit for.

 

But I honestly believe in dosing 'trace' or 'color' elements, especially in low nutrient tanks, without necessarily testing for every last one of them. I know, and scientists know, that my corals and fish and inverts are using those trace elements at certain ratios. And I know they're going to keep doing that between now and my next water change, depleting the levels. I might start my dosing at a very low level, but I'm definitely going to try to help the organisms I'm responsible for if they want to grow, right? If I notice I've dosed too much I'll certainly back off, but I'm still dosing for something I haven't tested.

 

When someone sees fish gasping at the surface and adds an air stone to their tank, they haven't tested for dissolved oxygen, right? The symptom's there, the oxygen level you need is 'more', so you open a window and fizz some air into the tank to balance things out.

 

When someone sees their corals going pastel and slowing in growth, they'll certainly try to find the missing link. And if an amino or carbohydrate supplement brings back color and growth, then they're dosing something that works.

[Clown79]

So true. This hobby can deplete a whole account in a relatively short time if you allow it. Lol.

[Nano sapiens]

In our smaller nano and pico tanks we tend to do more frequent water changes and thus trace element levels are typically renewed. Also consider that many salt mixes have higher than typical natural sea water levels of many elements. I sent in a sample of my tank's water for Triton lab analysis and had no problematic deficiencies (10% water change/week). In large tanks with infrequent water changes, trace element addition may have more merit.

 

Coral color and health are most likely when all water parameters are within the accepted norms and are kept stable, plus proper lighting (spectrum, intensity, duration) and sufficient nutrients are available (without having too much). Master these and you will have a good chance of having a happy, healthy reef aquarium.