Advice on Dosing Amino Acids for SPS

[livinlifeinBKK]

So I'm getting my orange branching Psammacora today and heard amino acids can be greatly beneficial for SPS so I picked up some AF Amino Mix today to dose. The tank the coral will be in is a 10 gallon nano and the instructions say to add 1 drop per 27 gallons and say specifically not to dilute for some reason...why is this and should I dilute it by half anyway or just add 1 drop which will be 2.5x the recommended dose? I don't understand why I can't dilute it before adding since it'll be dispersed into the water column after being added anyway. Anyone know?

 

[TCoach]

I would start with 1 drop every 3 weeks and adjust from there.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I would start with 1 drop every 3 weeks and adjust from there.

How did you come up with that frequency? The instructions say 1 drop/27 gallons every 2 days

 

[TCoach]

How did you come up with that frequency? The instructions say 1 drop/27 gallons every 2 days

Too early in the morning and coffee has not kicked in yet! ️

Given the 1:27:2 ratio, I’d start at a drop once a week. (Basically a x3 their 1 drop per 2 days since your tank is ~1/3 their drop recommendation.)

- TCoach

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Too early in the morning and coffee has not kicked in yet! ️

Given the 1:27:2 ratio, I’d start at a drop once a week. (Basically a x3 their 1 drop per 2 days since your tank is ~1/3 their drop recommendation.)

- TCoach

Ok, that makes sense!

 

[MartinM]

Amino acids are protein building blocks, so it’s safe to dose because they will break down quickly it’s not utilized by your corals. I dose aminos daily.

 

[Waters]

The only issue is if it isn't used by your coral, it will be used by other things that you don't want. Maybe the instructions are talking about not diluting the whole bottle (which will compromise the aminos)? I see no reason why you can't dilute a drop, you just can't keep any that wasn't used (but mixed with salt water).

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Do I need to turn the skimmer off for a little while after adding it?

 

[ninjamyst]

1. Psammacora is one of the easiest coral to take care off. It is also very invasive and will encrust and spread everywhere, even the branching kind. They don't require amino to thrive although it can help accelerate growth.

2. You can just spread out the dosage so instead 1 drop every 2 days, do 1 drop every 4 days.

3. Dosing amino is only necessary when you have lots of corals that are consuming aminos faster than you can replenish them with water changes. It sounds like you have a newer tank and dosing aminos is often a cause for algae out break in newer tanks.

4. You have a skimmer for a 10g tank?? Are you running into nutrient issues that you need a skimmer? Usually skimmer not needed for nano tanks and it's just a way for vendors to sell you equipments you don't need. Water change is your friend for nano tanks.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

1. Psammacora is one of the easiest coral to take care off. It is also very invasive and will encrust and spread everywhere, even the branching kind. They don't require amino to thrive although it can help accelerate growth.

2. You can just spread out the dosage so instead 1 drop every 2 days, do 1 drop every 4 days.

3. Dosing amino is only necessary when you have lots of corals that are consuming aminos faster than you can replenish them with water changes. It sounds like you have a newer tank and dosing aminos is often a cause for algae out break in newer tanks.

4. You have a skimmer for a 10g tank?? Are you running into nutrient issues that you need a skimmer? Usually skimmer not needed for nano tanks and it's just a way for vendors to sell you equipments you don't need. Water change is your friend for nano tanks.

As for point #4, no i don't have a skimmer for the 10 gallon, my 20 gallon has a small skimmer though and since I have the aminos I thought my feather duster, starfish, coralline, and a couple other inverts may benefit from a small dose.

 

[ninjamyst]

As for point #4, no i don't have a skimmer for the 10 gallon, my 20 gallon has a small skimmer though and since I have the aminos I thought my feather duster, starfish, coralline, and a couple other inverts may benefit from a small dose.

Turning off skimmer will increase the effectiveness since skimmer can filter out the aminos. However it's also a pain to turn skimmer off and on every few days so most people don't.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Turning off skimmer will increase the effectiveness since skimmer can filter out the aminos. However it's also a pain to turn skimmer off and on every few days so most people don't.

I don't expect it to work wonders for anything in there or anything but seeing as i have to keep the water as pristine as possible for the starfish (hence the skimmer), nutrients are pretty low and some of the inverts might appreciate the aminos

 

[Timfish]

Amino acids are one form of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen (DIN) corals use. As excess ntrogen can cause bleaching I would be very conservative when starting to dose.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Amino acids are one form of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen (DIN) corals use. As excess ntrogen can cause bleaching I would be very conservative when starting to dose.

What regimen would you recommend?

 

[Timfish]

What regimen would you recommend?

Persoanlly I wouldn't dose any type of nitrogen. But if you're wanting to expeirement with it start off with TCoach's suggestion and monitor your corals. Keep in mind it might seem a more colorful coral is "healthier" if the amino acids are causing partial bleaching but the brighter colors don't equate with being healtheir.

 

[1ocean]

aminos do help. I been dosing brightwell aminos and I notices my 4 birdsnet are super happy. Also started dosing Aquaforest Manganum( aka..manganese) and my zoa's and Gonis are happier..

 

[WallyTime7]

Amino acids are protein building blocks, so it’s safe to dose because they will break down quickly it’s not utilized by your corals. I dose aminos daily.

what type of amino acids do you use? ie) looking for something that's safe to sit in a dosing container.

 

[Lavey29]

I used to be a big proponent of aminos and dosed various brands. Excess aminos cause problems for corals and create vitamins for algae. If your tank has consistent proper nutrients of nitrates and phosphate produced by healthy fish stock that's all you need. As I have almost completely phased out aminos all the corals began to thrive big. Just phyto feast I dose now which has a little aminos but the other stuff is out. SPS much better now along with LPS and softs.

 

[ninjamyst]

I used to be a big proponent of aminos and dosed various brands. Excess aminos cause problems for corals and create vitamins for algae. If your tank has consistent proper nutrients of nitrates and phosphate produced by healthy fish stock that's all you need. As I have almost completely phased out aminos all the corals began to thrive big. Just phyto feast I dose now which has a little aminos but the other stuff is out. SPS much better now along with LPS and softs.

It's all about balance and moderation. I dose aminos every day but much less than the recommended dosage.

 

[GHOSTLY]

I know its not my thread but how do amino Acids work? Whats the downsides to it