Anyone using Red Sea ABCD Trace elements?

[jmichaelh7]

I plan to extend my water changes monthly instead of biweekly so I purchased Red Sea ABCD trace elements with the Red Sea test kit.

Is anyone using this with success ?

 

[blaxsun]

I have used it in the past and it worked great - no issues. I've since switched to Nyos as it's 3 components instead of 4 (but essentially the same idea). Although not necessarily needed, I did get the Red Sea Trace Colors Pro test kit so I could test for iron, potassium and iodine. This allowed me to fine-tune what I add to my tank.

These are the trace elements I use:
* Nyos Active Strontium (strontium, barium, molybdenum, lithium and others)
* Nyos Active Elements (iron, potassium, cobalt, manganese, zinc, nickel, chrome and others)
* Nyos Active Iodine (iodine, fluorine, potassium, boron, molybdenum and others)

I very rarely perform water changes, and this is what I dose in my 200-gallon system to keep the levels roughly where they need to be (YMMV):
* 12.5ml Nyos Active Elements (weekly)
* 12.5ml Nyos Iodine (every 2 weeks)
* 12.5ml Nyos Strontium (every 2 weeks)

 

[jmichaelh7]

I have used it in the past and it worked great - no issues. I've since switched to Nyos as it's 3 components instead of 4 (but essentially the same idea). Although not necessarily needed, I did get the Red Sea Trace Colors Pro test kit so I could test for iron, potassium and iodine. This allowed me to fine-tune what I add to my tank.

These are the trace elements I use:
* Nyos Active Strontium (strontium, barium, molybdenum, lithium and others)
* Nyos Active Elements (iron, potassium, cobalt, manganese, zinc, nickel, chrome and others)
* Nyos Active Iodine (iodine, fluorine, potassium, boron, molybdenum and others)

I very rarely perform water changes, and this is what I dose in my 200-gallon system to keep the levels roughly where they need to be (YMMV):
* 12.5ml Nyos Active Elements (weekly)
* 12.5ml Nyos Iodine (every 2 weeks)
* 12.5ml Nyos Strontium (every 2 weeks)

Thanks for the ONLY reply man.haha I guess no one else uses this?

I am intending to use it solely for reduced water changes. Did u notice a change of colors or PE when using the trace elements?

 

[reefah]

I use Red Sea ABCD ended up having a phosphate/nitrates spike. reduced mls to roughly 3mil/weekly and also dose all for reef-tropic marin. wont ever get anything else

 

[Lavey29]

I started using them maybe 2 months ago. I based my dosing on calcium consumption but reduced the actual dose slightly to 12.5ml per week on each of the 4 bottles. I also dose 5ml of chaeto gro weekly. My recent ICP showed mostly positive results with iodine and iron slightly elevated. Corals seem to be thriving currently.

 

[blaxsun]

Thanks for the ONLY reply man.haha I guess no one else uses this?

I am intending to use it solely for reduced water changes. Did u notice a change of colors or PE when using the trace elements?

A lot of people use Red Sea Trace Elements ABCD. I perform almost no water changes, hence why I dose the Nyos equivalent. It's been a while since I used the Red Sea stuff, but yes - colors did perk up noticeably (it also helps if you have good lighting).

 

[Sean Clark]

These are the trace elements I use:
* Nyos Active Strontium (strontium, barium, molybdenum, lithium and others)
* Nyos Active Elements (iron, potassium, cobalt, manganese, zinc, nickel, chrome and others)
* Nyos Active Iodine (iodine, fluorine, potassium, boron, molybdenum and others)

Have you noticed any unwanted rise in Potassium and Molybdenum by doubling down on them in the additives?

 

[blaxsun]

Have you noticed any unwanted rise in Potassium and Molybdenum by doubling down on them in the additives?

I haven't tested for molybdenum, but the potassium levels are bang on every month (approximately) where I test the three trace elements: iodine, iron and potassium.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I plan to extend my water changes monthly instead of biweekly so I purchased Red Sea ABCD trace elements with the Red Sea test kit.

Is anyone using this with success ?

I used them a few years ago and they worked as expected - in other words no bad side effects.
I also used the Trace elements test kit, but there is a whole lot of testing and individual dosing going on once you do that.

These days I use Aquaforest Components strong to add trace elements to standard Balling dosing which works better for me. I also add some Triton individual trace elements.

I still use the Red sea iodine test, but moved to Salifert for potassium as it's much faster.

 

[Flameback Pair]

Seriously thinking of using these RS Trace ABCD here as well. It was a well known saying in the hobby a few years back that you shouldn't add anything to your tank that you can't test for. Well now a few years later and we have ICP testing although it is still fairly expensive but it covers pretty much every element we're concerned with. The first three bottles of RS Trace have a representative element each for the elixirs they contain not necessarily in this order: Iodine, Iron, and Potassium and those three are more like minor elements, not trace. The fourth bottle, D, is considered by RS 100% Trace elements without a representative element. There are several hobby test kits available to gauge all the contents of bottles A, B, and C by their respective representative element that are considerably cheaper than ICP. This seems ideal for me as I want a cheaper method to know how much of what I'm putting in my tank on a regular basis and just rely on ICP on a less regular basis to drive the cost down yet still hone down on precision and accuracy of testing occasionally.

 

[nat1881]

It’s working okay for me , I don’t need test water just use 1/4 what they recommended then slowly increase until their colour pop up.

I plan to extend my water changes monthly instead of biweekly so I purchased Red Sea ABCD trace elements with the Red Sea test kit.

Is anyone using this with success ?

 

[Lavey29]

Seriously thinking of using these RS Trace ABCD here as well. It was a well known saying in the hobby a few years back that you shouldn't add anything to your tank that you can't test for. Well now a few years later and we have ICP testing although it is still fairly expensive but it covers pretty much every element we're concerned with. The first three bottles of RS Trace have a representative element each for the elixirs they contain not necessarily in this order: Iodine, Iron, and Potassium and those three are more like minor elements, not trace. The fourth bottle, D, is considered by RS 100% Trace elements without a representative element. There are several hobby test kits available to gauge all the contents of bottles A, B, and C by their respective representative element that are considerably cheaper than ICP. This seems ideal for me as I want a cheaper method to know how much of what I'm putting in my tank on a regular basis and just rely on ICP on a less regular basis to drive the cost down yet still hone down on precision and accuracy of testing occasionally.

The dosing is based on calcium demand but where the fine tune comes in is with water changes. If you do weekly water changes you may need less dose but if your water changes are spread farther apart or not at all the dosing trace is imperative. Even more so with a fuge too. I dosed for 2 weeks before my last ICP and everything was pretty much right where it needed to be so I have continued the same dose and will ICP again in a few months.

 

[Spare time]

I plan to extend my water changes monthly instead of biweekly so I purchased Red Sea ABCD trace elements with the Red Sea test kit.

Is anyone using this with success ?

I used to use it. Then I modified it by not using part C and D as I didn't like dosing metals that don't have a known biological function in our tanks (for part C), and D because the only thing in it that I found to be useful was vanadium, but that's only if I keep tunicates (which I don't). Tungsten, silver, and gold are the other ingredients in part D. I got tired of using a bunch of bottles so I use al for reef + potassium now. I don't do water changes (maybe 10-20gallons at most each year depending on how often I vacuum the sump or some low flow corners of the tank).

 

[Spare time]

I also don't recommend dosing according to calcium uptake as there is no correlation between those elements and the formation of calcium carbonate in corals as far as I am aware. Some tanks have a higher uptake of some trace elements but minimal calcium, such as some soft coral tanks or macro algae tanks.

 

[jmichaelh7]

I used to use it. Then I modified it by not using part C and D as I didn't like dosing metals that don't have a known biological function in our tanks (for part C), and D because the only thing in it that I found to be useful was vanadium, but that's only if I keep tunicates (which I don't). Tungsten, silver, and gold are the other ingredients in part D. I got tired of using a bunch of bottles so I use al for reef + potassium now. I don't do water changes (maybe 10-20gallons at most each year depending on how often I vacuum the sump or some low flow corners of the tank).

Part c and d is useless in a sps dominated tank ?

 

[Spare time]

Part c and d is useless in a sps dominated tank ?

Not useless, I just don't know of the value of part D outside of tunicates. Part C definitely has somethings that are useful, but since I don't do water changes, I don't want the accumulation of certain metals.

 

[GK3]

I have used it in the past and it worked great - no issues. I've since switched to Nyos as it's 3 components instead of 4 (but essentially the same idea). Although not necessarily needed, I did get the Red Sea Trace Colors Pro test kit so I could test for iron, potassium and iodine. This allowed me to fine-tune what I add to my tank.

These are the trace elements I use:
* Nyos Active Strontium (strontium, barium, molybdenum, lithium and others)
* Nyos Active Elements (iron, potassium, cobalt, manganese, zinc, nickel, chrome and others)
* Nyos Active Iodine (iodine, fluorine, potassium, boron, molybdenum and others)

I very rarely perform water changes, and this is what I dose in my 200-gallon system to keep the levels roughly where they need to be (YMMV):
* 12.5ml Nyos Active Elements (weekly)
* 12.5ml Nyos Iodine (every 2 weeks)
* 12.5ml Nyos Strontium (every 2 weeks)

What salt do you use?

 

[DJF]

I use the trace colors program and like it. I don’t dose it according to ca uptake (mainly because it uses red sea’s 2part for ratios and I would need to do math). No real rhyme or reason to my dosing. I dose around a total of ~15ml split into 2x times when I think about it. (300g)

 

[Susan Edwards]

I'm dosing the RS ABCD and the AB+ I usually do 2-3 times a week until I get my 2nd doser set up. Didn't dose while treating tank for algae and cyano. Right now, I just dose 3-5 ml of each. Per RS's recipe I should be dosing between:
1.7 for good growth , exceptional coloration
2.5 for great growth, great coloration
3.3 for exceptional growth, good coloration
When I hook them up to dosing I'll probably start with the 1.7 and work up over time. I usually dose more iron, and sometimes make a separate container using an iron pill dissolved. Read somewhere more iron equals less no3

They don't include AB+ in their reef recipe but alk/ca/mg and nopox. Interesting now that I've just read them, alk ranges from 50 ml, 75ml and 99 ml. I'm dosing 50ish now.

I test the trace once in a while. Using mostly salifret I think. Potassium is always spot on, Iron is usually not detected, Stronium never works, Iodine always low

I don't do water changes unless I medicate the tank. Went from Oct to May. Now I'm doing AWC's of less than 5% a week. maybe just 2-5 gal for a 220 system. My numbers were all good until I had to do a 20% change!

edit: I don't use RS's alk/ca/mg so don't go by calcium
edit: They do include the AB+ and call it reef energy plus. Betting that is the same thing

 

[Spare time]

I'm dosing the RS ABCD and the AB+ I usually do 2-3 times a week until I get my 2nd doser set up. Didn't dose while treating tank for algae and cyano. Right now, I just dose 3-5 ml of each. Per RS's recipe I should be dosing between:
1.7 for good growth , exceptional coloration
2.5 for great growth, great coloration
3.3 for exceptional growth, good coloration
When I hook them up to dosing I'll probably start with the 1.7 and work up over time. I usually dose more iron, and sometimes make a separate container using an iron pill dissolved. Read somewhere more iron equals less no3

They don't include AB+ in their reef recipe but alk/ca/mg and nopox. Interesting now that I've just read them, alk ranges from 50 ml, 75ml and 99 ml. I'm dosing 50ish now.

I test the trace once in a while. Using mostly salifret I think. Potassium is always spot on, Iron is usually not detected, Stronium never works, Iodine always low

I don't do water changes unless I medicate the tank. Went from Oct to May. Now I'm doing AWC's of less than 5% a week. maybe just 2-5 gal for a 220 system. My numbers were all good until I had to do a 20% change!

edit: I don't use RS's alk/ca/mg so don't go by calcium
edit: They do include the AB+ and call it reef energy plus. Betting that is the same thing

The thing is, trace elements have nothing to do with colors (nor growth, nor calcium uptake). I don't believe there is any evidence that elevated trace elements beyond what is standard in salt mixes impacts growth or coloration. Coloration has to do with the intensity of light, chromoproteins, and the density of zooxanthellae This is one of my issues with red sea. The amount they tell people to dose for their trace elements doesn't make much sense. Because of this, its why I usually recommend a very cautious approach to dosing trace elements unless they are actually known to rapidly deplete, or someone is testing them (like I do with potassium).