Anyone using Red Sea ABCD Trace elements?

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

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.

Just for clarification, by definition, iron and iodine are trace elements (fwiw, natural surface ocean levels of iron are so low as to be undetectable by ICP-OES or any hobby kit), and potassium is a major element.

Elemental Abundance | manoa.hawaii.edu/ExploringOurFluidEarth

manoa.hawaii.edu

1. Major elements in seawater occur in concentrations greater than or equal to one-tenth of a gram per thousand grams of seawater (expressed as >0.1 g/1,000 g of seawater or >0.1 ppt). [= >100 ppm]
   
2. Minor elements in seawater have a concentration between one-tenth of a gram per thousand grams of seawater and one-thousandth of a gram per thousand grams of seawater (0.1 to 0.001 g per 1,000 g of seawater, or 0.1 to 0.001 ppt). [= 1 ppm to 100 ppm]
   
3. Trace elements in seawater have a concentration of less than one-thousandth gram per thousand grams of seawater (<0.001 g/1,000 g of seawater, or <0.001 ppt). [ = < 1 ppm]
   

 

[blaxsun]

What salt do you use?

Tropic Marin.

 

[jmichaelh7]

I'm supposed to get this shipped to the door today.

I am thrilled to see where my ecosystem is with these trace elements. I've never tested for them before so a good baseline is always fascinating

 

[jmichaelh7]

I just read that the ABCD trace elements increases phosphates! and is recommended to use NoPox?

Did you guys have any issues with po4

 

[Spare time]

I just read that the ABCD trace elements increases phosphates! and is recommended to use NoPox?

Did you guys have any issues with po4

I highly doubt that is true. Who said that?

Also nopox (aka carbon dosing) is not very good at lowering phosphate

 

[jmichaelh7]

so I ran into a problem. These red sea instructions are confusing. Someone please provide your input.

For the supplemental dosage ml/100 Liters (25gal) and it gives the table with numbers. If I let’s say 175 gallon tank, do I multiply 1ml x 6ml and then by the chart number ?

 

[Spare time]

so I ran into a problem. These red sea instructions are confusing. Someone please provide your input.

For the supplemental dosage ml/100 Liters (25gal) and it gives the table with numbers. If I let’s say 175 gallon tank, do I multiply 1ml x 6ml and then by the chart number ?

You dose 1/20th your calcium uptake if you follow their instructions. So, for example, if you used Red Sea's Calcium blend, you would dose 1ml of each trace bottle per 10ml of their calcium dosed.

 

[jmichaelh7]

You dose 1/20th your calcium uptake if you follow their instructions. So, for example, if you used Red Sea's Calcium blend, you would dose 1ml of each trace bottle per 10ml of their calcium dosed.

I’m not dosing on calcium uptake

 

[Spare time]

Red Sea's dosing recommondation according to their formulas is useless imo as I am confident there is absolutely no correlation between their "tank types" and how much you should be dosing.

 

[Spare time]

I’m not dosing on calcium uptake

If you aren't, then dose whatever you think is helpful (unless you have a test kit for some of the elements; then you could dose according to that). Unfortunately, its just a guessing game unless you have reason to believe they need to be dosed.

 

[jmichaelh7]

If you aren't, then dose whatever you think is helpful (unless you have a test kit for some of the elements).

That’s my question . If you look at this graph it has the strength , but then the numbers below.

 

[jmichaelh7]

 

[Spare time]

That’s my question . If you look at this graph it has the strength , but then the numbers below.

Yes my point is the numbers there are useless. They are saying that, depending on the type of tank, and based off of the result of your test kit, this is how much you should dose to reach each recommended value per tank type.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Yes my point is the numbers there are useless. They are saying that, depending on the type of tank, and based off of the result of your test kit, this is how much you should dose to reach each recommended value per tank type.

So if I go off the chart and it says 63ml . I plug that into 1ml/ 25gal . 63x6 = almost the entire bottle. That doesn’t make sense . I’m really scratching my head on these instructions

 

[jmichaelh7]

 

[sublime275]

So if I go off the chart and it says 63ml . I plug that into 1ml/ 25gal . 63x6 = almost the entire bottle. That doesn’t make sense . I’m really scratching my head on these instructions

If your potassium level is truly at 300 and you want to raise it to 410, then yes you need to add that amount.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So if I go off the chart and it says 63ml . I plug that into 1ml/ 25gal . 63x6 = almost the entire bottle. That doesn’t make sense . I’m really scratching my head on these instructions

How did you get an actual number? There's no way that potassium is going to need to be routinely dosed from 300 to 400 ppm.

 

[jmichaelh7]

If your potassium level is truly at 300 and you want to raise it to 410, then yes you need to add that amount.

Based off the graph it would be 63ml ?

the bottle only has 100ml though that’s why I was concerned. I do not want to over dose

 

[jmichaelh7]

How did you get an actual number? There's no way that potassium is going to need to be routinely dosed from 300 to 400 ppm.

I tested with the Red Sea test kit.

the back of the bottle says 300 and then has 63

 

[sublime275]

Based off the graph it would be 63ml ?

the bottle only has 100ml though that’s why I was concerned. I do not want to over dose

It would be the 63ml per 25 gallons to raise it from 300 ppm to 410 ppm. That works out to be 2.52ml per gallon of tank water to do that.