Best Beginner Supplements

[pjtech]

After the cycle what are the 1st

supplements that are recommended?

1st corals will be a shroom, leather,

and a maybe a hammer or some zo's.

 

Also,

Do I test than dose?

 

Do I start dosing with something right away?

 

What is the best way to get off to a healthy start?

 

Thanks

Patjs

[sammy33]

I like Ecosystems Reef Solution. This additive has about everything except calcium. The only other thing I do is regular water changes to keep the calcium in the 400 - 450 ppm range. I use Reef Solution in between water changes about every few days or so.

 

I would wait to start dosing until you get some livestock. I did some testing initially when I first started and then after a while I just kinda got a feel for it. I only break out the test kits if something goes wacko.

[Brianc_4]

First get some test kits to see where you stand on water params from your salt mix and WCs alone. Then you will want to bring your dKh up to somewhere in between 9-12 degrees of hardness. Use a buffer for this, I have good results with seachem. Do the same with your calcium and pH. Once again seachem is fine for this. Once your alk=9-12, calcium is 400+, and pH is @ 8.3, stop using the seachem products and switch to b-ionics two part solution. This will keep your Ca and alk in balance and won't throw off your pH. So once you get the water params right all you will need to do is add b-ionic daily. We can talk more about trace elements once you get these down.

Good luck;)

[pjtech]

Thanks for the help, just the info

I was looking for.

 

Thanks

Patjs

[AbSoluTc]

Originally posted by pjtech

What is the best way to get off to a healthy start?

 

Thanks

Patjs

 

The best way to get off to a healthy start - NOT DOSING! Let your tank break in, even after the cycle. Add some corals and see how everything goes. I would rather not have any suppliments, than to overdose a small tank.

 

Besides, the onlything one should be dosing - is calcium. Even that is not needed unless you have corals that depend heavily on it (LPS, SPS).

 

Have fun!

[skeletor]

Originally posted by AbSoluTc

Besides, the onlything one should be dosing - is calcium.

hmmmm, Calcium should not be dosed on it's own unless you know what you're doing.

 

please read this article about the relationship between Ca and Alk:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-04/rhf/...ature/index.htm

 

Originally posted by AbSoluTc

Even that is not needed unless you have corals that depend heavily on it (LPS, SPS).

um, Coralline algae can consume a large amount of both calcium and alkalinity.

 

start with a 2 part balanced Alk/Ca suppliment like B-Ionic, and test...

 

-skeletor-

[Jandree22]

I use B-Ionic:)

[Wasabi]

What about Aragamilk? Is this a good all around calcium and buffer supplement? Thanks,

 

Scott

[AbSoluTc]

Coraline is not a coral. Ask anyone with a descent tank and the first thing out of their mouth is how they hate coraline. After a few months of scraping off glass, you will hate it too.

 

The point was, you do not need to be dosing ANYTHING on a tank.

[skeletor]

regardless of whether you like coraline algae of not it will still consume a large amount of Calcium, even if you have no SPS/LPS corals in the tank.

 

sure, you can get away with not dosing a tank, as long as you do regular water changes to replace what the tank consumed. and this is also assuming that you are using a salt mix with enough Ca and Mg to begin with..

 

Testing your tank is the only way to tell what's going on. See how much Calcium the tank uses in a week and see if water changes alone can meet the needs of the tank. with a fresh tank and no corals (or coraline) you'll probably be good with dosing nothing for a while.

 

This article by Randy Holmes-Farley gives a more complete answer to the original question:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb...eb2003/chem.htm

 

-skeletor-

[AbSoluTc]

Randy Holmes-Farley is a damn wannabe. He wrote a book! WOOPPPDEEE DOOO!

 

He has no credentials what so ever. So read away and beleive all you want.

 

He is an ass and will always remain an ass.

[skeletor]

yeah right, Randy has a PhD in chemistry from Harvard, plus over 8 years of reef tank experience.

 

Does a PhD from Harvard not count as a credential ?

 

-skeletor-

[AbSoluTc]

Nope. Why? Because he was not getting it in the marine field. PHD in chemistry can mean anything unless its in a specialized field.

 

If you want to rant and rave about him, go to RC. Here at NR.com - we could care less about the so called "big wigs" that have labs setup in their hallway closets that consist of a 10 gallon tank.

 

Again, he wrote a book on his views - we are suppose to bow down and take it like the gospel?

 

NOT!

[skeletor]

yep, a PhD in chemistry could mean anything.

 

I don't care to rant and rave about RHF as much as it seems you want to discredit him. I don't know the man, have never met him.

 

I have never stated that he is a reef "god" and his writings should be seen as the gospel. All I did was link to an article he wrote, which I think provides a good comparison of various dosing schemes. So why does this make me an RHF follower ?

 

Anyway, tell us more about what you don't like in the article rather than how much of an ass the author is.

 

-skeletor-

[AbSoluTc]

If your dosing - your not a good reefkeeper.

[tinyreef]

hey hey HEY! playtime is over!

 

1st of all imo dosing is not necessarily good or bad. it's just a method of balancing the needs of your system. if you do wc's you're dosing, just in a diluted manner (which eventually if used solely, thru dilution, becomes a deficiency imo). i dose because i don't wc, others don't dose and do wc's, and still others do both (probably the most common method). jaubert has been trying dosing without wc's for a couple of years maybe he'll put out something soon or maybe we'll see it in TRA III. but it's hardly a snake oil remedy.

 

2nd, rhf does have very valid creds. abs, take a breather. he didn't get his phd screwing the lab techs and using cliff notes. he's also a practitioner of the hobby so he's seen the same things as we have but he happens to know more of the why's. i dunno wtf borates do (other than contribute to alk/hardness) at least he has an idea tho. he may not be a marine physiologist/biologist but then we're really nitpicking.

[myelin]

Originally posted by pjtech

After the cycle what are the 1st  

supplements that are recommended?

1st corals will be a shroom, leather,

and a maybe a hammer or some zo's.

 

Also,  

Do I test than dose?

 

Do I start dosing with something right away?

 

What is the best way to get off to a healthy start?

 

Thanks

Patjs

 

The best way to get off to a healthy start is to use quality water. I would recommend using RO/DI water with quality salt high in Ca. That way chances are you will start out with a good Ca level, and not have to dose as much.

 

I would test your water everyday during the cycle. This allows you to compare your results from the first day you start the tank until the last day of the cycle. That way you have a better idea of how things work, and you can verify that you are indeed done with the cycle.

 

I would not dose anything until you have tested your water.

 

When you are ready to add coral to your tank, you will need to have all of your levels in check. I've seen many different recommended levels on this website as well as others. They are generally close enough to eachother that it doesn't cause too much confusion.

 

It is difficult to cover everything in one post. My advice to you would be whenever you have a question, use the search function and type in a couple keywords you are trying to find. I did this for a couple weeks when I first started out and I learned a ton.

 

[pjtech]

Thanks koolaid

Patjs

[belallanon]

I agree. Keep searching and asking questions. Don't worry about the people with poor grammar and bad attitudes. There are many people here willing to provide you with constructive advice. Good luck Patjs.