Aquaforest ICP

[Darsh]

Hi everyone, can I get some opinions on my ICP irregularities please?
These results are from the batch number on the Aquaforest bucket.

Iodine & Strontium are non-existent.
Lithium is more than x10 less than minimum recommended.
Iron is x13 more than max recommended.
Manganese is 4-5 times high too.

 

[jwshiver]

All have to dose all 5 of those elements to keep them from bottoming out. The first one I started with was the Iodine. I was constantly having STN at the base of several corals. After I started dosing iodine the STN stopped immediately and the corals healed and I haven't had STN since. That was two years ago. I believe the addition of strontium has had positive affects with the rate of calcification, but that is anecdotal. I believe the addition of iron has helped with my chaeto and there has been some noticeable green coloration that came out in a few coral colonies that wasn't there before. I can contribute no positive or negative affects to the addition of Mn or LI, however those two will quickly drop to zero without dosing. I wish I knew what was sucking those elements up so fast. FYI my tank is 4 years and 4 months old with mature colonies. I would not compare my experience to a new tank with frags.

 

[Darsh]

All have to dose all 5 of those elements to keep them from bottoming out. The first one I started with was the Iodine. I was constantly having STN at the base of several corals. After I started dosing iodine the STN stopped immediately and the corals healed and I haven't had STN since. That was two years ago. I believe the addition of strontium has had positive affects with the rate of calcification, but that is anecdotal. I believe the addition of iron has helped with my chaeto and there has been some noticeable green coloration that came out in a few coral colonies that wasn't there before. I can contribute no positive or negative affects to the addition of Mn or LI, however those two will quickly drop to zero without dosing. I wish I knew what was sucking those elements up so fast. FYI my tank is 4 years and 4 months old with mature colonies. I would not compare my experience to a new tank with frags.

I have Iodine at home, it says this on the bottle:
1 g liquid contains:
active substances: iodine - 10 mg, potassium iodide - 20 mg
Any idea how to calculate a dose? It doesn't need to be perfect I just want to add at least some because my tank has literally none.

 

[Darsh]

Something else interesting.
Today I just did my first Calcium and Alkalinity tests on my tank (it's only wet 4 months)
I tested with Aquaforest test kits, because my salt is from Aquaforest.
I got - KH:9.8 , Cal:395
Here are my salt batches ICP results

 

[Darsh]

Can anyone advise me on what I should do, if anything about my iodine and strontium?
What are some adverse effects on corals, anemone and/or fish from a lack of these elements?

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Are you using any additives in the tank?

 

[Darsh]

Are you using any additives in the tank?

No not yet. I only have 3 corals in the tank so it's not necessary yet, I know there'll be iodine in the fishes food, but I'm a bit concerned about the lack of Strontium.

 

[jwshiver]

I have Iodine at home, it says this on the bottle:
1 g liquid contains:
active substances: iodine - 10 mg, potassium iodide - 20 mg
Any idea how to calculate a dose? It doesn't need to be perfect I just want to add at least some because my tank has literally none.

Sorry I have been out of town.
I wouldn't know how to calculate. I use Triton's ICP and use their products and dose their recommendations from the test.
If your tank is only 4 months old I wouldn't put too much effort into trace elements. Focus on keeping calcium and especially alkalinity stable. You will also need to keep a close eye on PO4 and NO3 and keep them under control and stable. Stability is the secret to reef success not trace elements.

 

[Darsh]

Sorry I have been out of town.
I wouldn't know how to calculate. I use Triton's ICP and use their products and dose their recommendations from the test.
If your tank is only 4 months old I wouldn't put too much effort into trace elements. Focus on keeping calcium and especially alkalinity stable. You will also need to keep a close eye on PO4 and NO3 and keep them under control and stable. Stability is the secret to reef success not trace elements.

Yes I totally agree, I never really dosed in my previous tanks, just some Red Sea products like Coralline Gro, NoPox and something else I forget the name of, I always relied on water changes although every tank I've had has been low maintenance.
But these 0 numbers are strange. I'm using AF sea salt and I'm still on the first bucket, when that finishes I'll just grab the Reef salt version. I think in many cases ignorance really is bliss

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I stopped using Aquaforest salt due to all the brown precipitation that I got on my saltwater reservoir. I also found that I would run low on iron. I assumed that the iron was precipitating out during the period that my daily water change would run. It is interesting that your ICP showed such elevated amounts of iron. My Brute would look rusty after a few boxes of Aquaforest had been through it. I always wondered why it precipitated so much when stored.

I switched to Tropic Marin Pro Reef and get no precipitation now. I also dose RS Coral Colours every day and never run low on iron now.

 

[Darsh]

I stopped using Aquaforest salt due to all the brown precipitation that I got on my saltwater reservoir. I also found that I would run low on iron. I assumed that the iron was precipitating out during the period that my daily water change would run. It is interesting that your ICP showed such elevated amounts of iron. My Brute would look rusty after a few boxes of Aquaforest had been through it. I always wondered why it precipitated so much when stored.

I switched to Tropic Marin Pro Reef and get no precipitation now. I also dose RS Coral Colours every day and never run low on iron now.

Did you see any negative effects on your corals from low iron?

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Did you see any negative effects on your corals from low iron?

Yes, on multiple occasions I would notice pale colours and eventually loss of colour, then poor health and finally RTN/STN. When I would remember and dose iron, the colours would come back, but the health of the corals were already impacted at that point, and keeping the traces in the water up for a sustained period would be required before they would return to good health and eventually growth. I seem to be a slow learner, as I had to go through this same scenario multiple times before I paid attention to keeping iron available for my corals. It should be said, that I have a fairly big fuge, which would also be a drag on iron, among other things, so that also probably contributes to the iron limitation.

In addition to iron, I found that iodine is also needed and should not be left deficient for long periods. Strontium also has an effect on the growth of coraline algae in my tank. Keeping strontium levels supplemented gives a boost to coraline growth for me. Purely anecdotal, but I feel that if strontium helps coraline to deposit calcium, it may help corals form new skeleton as well. So dosing it is an easy way of covering my bases.

I tend to be lazy with testing, seriously who likes testing, so I dose Red Sea Coral Colors at a reduced dose based on my 2 part daily usage. I plan to switch to a CaRX in a month or so, so the RS CC dose will need to be evaluated and adjusted as some trace elements will be provided by the CaRX effluent.

 

[Darsh]

Yea testing isn't fun, it'd be nice to be able to just have one bottle of trace elements and add some once a week haha.

 

[2una]

Strontium also has an effect on the growth of coraline algae in my tank. Keeping strontium levels supplemented gives a boost to coraline growth for me. Purely anecdotal,

I find the same here with that view.
I also notice Ca can slowly rise as if they turn to the strontium over the calcium somehow also.
Using a carx my Ca shouldn't creep up but it does when strontium is being dosed.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I find the same here with that view.
I also notice Ca can slowly rise as if they turn to the strontium over the calcium somehow also.
Using a carx my Ca shouldn't creep up but it does when strontium is being dosed.

Hmm, interesting on the effect on calcium when strontium is dosed. I wonder if the calcium level could be an easy proxy for sufficient strontium. Meaning back off dosing strontium until you see calcium staying at a stable ratio to alk. There are automated testing options for calcium these days, none for strontium that I have seen.

I also wanted to mention that another option for providing Iron is ESV Transition Elements. It adds iron, manganese, and zinc. The plus version also adds carbon for tanks with >5ppm NO3. The included elements sound a lot like what would be suggested for keeping macro algae happy and growing, but this product is targeted at corals and specifically at generating marine snow. I have some on hand but had not had the chance to test it yet. It sounds interesting.

 

[Aquaforest]

Hello, firstly thank you for trusting in Aquaforest brand. To clarify - based on the batch number you provided, the salt you own is Aquaforest Sea Salt. Sea Salt is dedicated for fish-only aquariums, hence the levels of micronutrients are really low or even 0 for some elements. The reason for that is there's no need to keep high micronutrient levels in such tanks, since there're no corals to consume it. Your fish won't consume iodine nor strontium.

If you plan to keep corals in this aquarium we strongly advise to switch to Aquaforest salts designed strictly for that (Reef Salt or Probiotic Reef Salt).

 

[Darsh]

Hello, firstly thank you for trusting in Aquaforest brand. To clarify - based on the batch number you provided, the salt you own is Aquaforest Sea Salt. Sea Salt is dedicated for fish-only aquariums, hence the levels of micronutrients are really low or even 0 for some elements. The reason for that is there's no need to keep high micronutrient levels in such tanks, since there're no corals to consume it. Your fish won't consume iodine nor strontium.

If you plan to keep corals in this aquarium we strongly advise to switch to Aquaforest salts designed strictly for that (Reef Salt or Probiotic Reef Salt).

Hi, thanks for your message. Yes I'm aware that it's for fish, but it also says on the bucket that it's suitable for soft corals. It's no big deal and I'm not complaining, my plan has always been to start my tank with this salt and when the first bucket finishes, switch to the Reef Salt.
I was just a bit surprised that there is zero Iodine and Strontium. I have one LPS, a one-headed torch coral and a bubble tip anemone in there so hopefully they'll be okay until I switch salts.
I've been living in Poland for about 6 years so I'm trying to support the "local" companies like yourselves