All for reef, and trace elements.

[Notsolostfish]

Does all for reed cover all trace elements! If i dont want to do weekly water changes? And do binweekly or monthly

 

[Idech]

In theory yes, it does. But in my tank, elements get depleted even with All for Reef. That’s why I do an ICP test once in a while and replenish what’s missing.

I don’t know if there is anything out there that would take care of it all, forever.

 

[Notsolostfish]

In theory yes, it does. But in my tank, elements get depleted even with All for Reef. That’s why I do an ICP test once in a while and replenish what’s missing.

I don’t know if there is anything out there that would take care of it all, forever.

So if i do like monthly water changes, or biweekly. It should make a balance with afr?

 

[Idech]

So if i do like monthly water changes, or biweekly. It should make a balance with afr?

What do you mean by « balance » ?

You can still do water changes with AFR and it will help with some elements. Just make sure you test once in a while for mag and calcium, so you can adjust your AFR dosing if need be.

 

[Notsolostfish]

What do you mean by « balance » ?

You can still do water changes with AFR and it will help with some elements. Just make sure you test once in a while for mag and calcium, so you can adjust your AFR dosing if need be.

I dont know im overthinking the elements. A lot if people dose 6-7 bottles just for trace elements so im just wondering

 

[MrGisonni]

I use all for Reef for years now on my 30 gallon mixed reef with nice results. I do add some trace elements every week or so in between water changes while trying to keep nitrates up. Brightwell trace and iodine

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Does all for reed cover all trace elements! If i dont want to do weekly water changes? And do binweekly or monthly

There’s no way AFR or any method that ties alk dosing to trace elements can ensure all tanks get adequate trace elements from it.

The issue is that across all reef tanks, there is likely little relationship between alk consumption and trace element consumption since some users of trace elements use alk (hard corals, clams, coralline algae) and some do not (macroalgae, microalgae, anemones, soft corals).

 

[Notsolostfish]

There’s no way AFR or any method that ties alk dosing to trace elements can ensure all tanks get adequate trace elements from it.

The issue is that across all reef tanks, there is likely little relationship between alk consumption and trace element consumption since some users of trace elements use alk (hard corals, clams, coralline algae) and some do not (macroalgae, microalgae, anemones, soft corals).

So as a new reefer who is stacking up his corals in a 150G. And dkh consume is 0.1 a day. When do i have to worru about the trace elements stuff? I cant do weekly water changes, biweekly or monthly 44 gallons is an option.

 

[d2mini]

In my experience, no it's not even close. Every tank will use up each element at a different rate. Do an ICP test and you'll find out where you are deficient. Even with consistent water changes you won't know what's going on unless you test, and I have never heard of the typical water changes being able to keep up either.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So as a new reefer who is stacking up his corals in a 150G. And dkh consume is 0.1 a day. When do i have to worru about the trace elements stuff? I cant do weekly water changes, biweekly or monthly 44 gallons is an option.

FWIW, I think foods are a bigger source of trace elements than water changes. The demand varies considerably and many folks keep nice tanks with no trace elements added. But a few, such as iron, deplete rapidly and may often benefit from addition.

There is no perfect trace element answer since there is little info available on what corals need in terms of concentrations.