Can dosing cause issues in the tank?

[Chrille26]

Hey! I was just thinking, I have a fairly new tank that I have just started stocking with LPS corals. Im planning on adding more soon but I was thinking of maby starting to add some additional trace elements just for general health and growth of the corals.
Right now Im using Aquaforest reef salt witch is said to contain enough to sustain even sps corals.
Is there any downside to add something like Brightwell liquid reef?
Can it build up too much in the tank if I dont have enough corals to absorb the additives and can it contribute to stuff like algae and such?
Thanks!

 

[Tahoe61]

Testing and water changes on a new tank should be all you need.
One of the most common mistakes that newer hobbyist tend to make is dosing products without testing and than over correcting.

 

[Doctorgori]

Everybody does things a lil different but it might be easier/simpler to start off with kalkwasser ...although arguable if a properly setup 2part is much harder....
I can’t think of any “base” inorganic chemicals I know of causes algae issues but you can get chemical precipitation events from overdosing your basic 3pt
Trace elements? I never got smart enough to dose those, probably just to cheap/lazy ...I did do a ICP test but I personally did’t have the brains to make use of it

 

[Chrille26]

Testing and water changes on a new tank should be all you need.
One of the most common mistakes that newer hobbyist tend to make is dosing products without testing and than over correcting.

Thanks for the reply! Im aware that rushing is a common mistake that Im guilty off doing, but Im trying to have more patience hehe.
If Im doing aprox 10% waterchange each week with a quality salt, I could do more bad then good by adding some trace elements marketed for increased coral health and growth?

 

[Chrille26]

Everybody does things a lil different but it might be easier/simpler to start off with kalkwasser ...although arguable if a properly setup 2part is much harder....
I can’t think of any “base” inorganic chemicals I know of causes algae issues but you can get chemical precipitation events from overdosing your basic 3pt
Trace elements? I never got smart enough to dose those, probably just to cheap/lazy ...I did do a ICP test but I personally did’t have the brains to make use of it

Thank you! Im sure its better to start with the basics like kalkwasser and build up to more advanced methods when the tank is more stable and testresults give a better view of whats going on.
Mostly Im just wondering what happens with the trace elements if you dont have enough corals and animals to absorb them, will they be used by stuff I dont want such as algae (not coralline) and vermetid snails and such?

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

I can’t think of any “base” inorganic chemicals I know of causes algae issues

If I’m not mistaken, silica grows diatoms and it is an inorganic chemical. This may not be what you are referring to though.

 

[mike550]

@Chrille26 Im about ten months in on a new 120G and trace elements are not my worry. Everyone I’ve talked to says focus on the basic parameters (Alk, Ca, Mg, NO3, Phosphate). Get them into a good range and stable for my tank. Although I’m about to start dosing. I’m using TM salts which have trace elements.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Until you start seeing a pattern in how your corals grow and react to water changes I wouldn't dose. Test frequently and understand how your big 5 trend throughout the week for a few months before adding in manual dosing of Cal and Alk. Never try and dose what you are not testing for regularly.

 

[Millwright]

As said above testing and water changes.
My reef is going on its 5 month in the glass box. Three months with 14 LPS frags. Up until the beginning of the month water changes kept up with what the coral was using. I started dosing ESV B-Ionic this past Sunday. I plan on doing an ICP test in June to see if I’m missing any elements.
Personally I have always had the best growth by keeping things simple and consistent.

 

[mike550]

Until you start seeing a pattern in how your corals grow and react to water changes I wouldn't dose. Test frequently and understand how your big 5 trend throughout the week for a few months before adding in manual dosing of Cal and Alk. Never try and dose what you are not testing for regularly.

Was your comment for me or the OP? Completely agree with you. fwiw I’ve been dosing soda ash for the past couple of months and comfortable with my consumption rate. Ca and Mg starting to slide and water changes not keeping up so those are next on my list.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

OP. I refuse to use the built in quote function on every post cause im stubborn

 

[Fishbird]

If you want to start dosing why don’t you test for the trace elements you want to add? Red Sea has a kit for testing iodine, potassium and iron, and they have another kit for testing calcium etc. I was just noticing these kits last week at my LFS. I only have tiny frags so I’m not worrying about the trace elements yet and just testing the other things to see how they change throughout the week and to see if my water changes keep everything in line.

Test once before doing a normal water change and then test at least two hours after the water change. Did the water change replace everything you had lost to the corals throughout the week? Did your current corals even make a noticeable dent?

I don’t know what the specific harms would be from overdosing a reef tank because I’m new at this. I do know that overdosing even “good” vitamins and elements can lead to severe problems in humans and same with plants in the garden. I get wanting to be busy and hands on with your tank! Start a journal and test regularly for three weeks. If you see a consistent pattern of needing a certain element, then you can deal with that.

 

[Chrille26]

Thanks for all the replies!
I will take the advice mentioned and start with testing to build some basic understanding of how my corals are using up the diffrent elements and to adjust accordingly, they seem happy right now so there dont seem to be any rush.