ChaetoGro and Algae Scrubber

[nicholas2010e]

I know there are many products on the market for replenishing the nutrients exported from Refugiums (chaeto). Should supplements like Chaetogro also be dosed for a Turfscrubber (GHA)?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Any type of growing algae will consume many trace elements, and some, such as iron and manganese, may get depleted pretty fast and are likely worth dosing.

 

[DxMarinefish]

I sometimes used to use TNC Complete Plant fertiliser. TNC also have one that does not have P and N, but have the other trace elements own correct proportions.

Now I just feed lots of Phyto (250ml per day) that I culture. Because I use TNC Complete Plant fertiliser for culturing the photo, I get best of both worlds.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics Verified Sponsor]

such as iron

Since this came up I'll ask (if only to make sure my understanding is correct). I've been told and it is my understanding that iron is rather volatile/reactive in saltwater and gets quickly depleted as a result. Based on that understanding, I never thought it was really worth dosing on a regular basis.

As related to an algae scrubber or any other kind of macro for that matter, it seems like that's only a short-term benefit.

Is my understanding flawed?

One thing I had followed for a while was dosing Fe++ (or maybe it was FE+++) in order to bind/precipitate phosphate. That might be where the "reactive" part of my understanding stemmed from.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Since this came up I'll ask (if only to make sure my understanding is correct). I've been told and it is my understanding that iron is rather volatile/reactive in saltwater and gets quickly depleted as a result. Based on that understanding, I never thought it was really worth dosing on a regular basis.

As related to an algae scrubber or any other kind of macro for that matter, it seems like that's only a short-term benefit.

Is my understanding flawed?

One thing I had followed for a while was dosing Fe++ (or maybe it was FE+++) in order to bind/precipitate phosphate. That might be where the "reactive" part of my understanding stemmed from.

Iron gets depleted rapidly. That can be by consumption or simple abiotic precipitation (iron oxide, iron phosphate, etc.).

I don't think that suggests it isn't useful to dose. On the contrary, it can make it more likely to be needed. And it may be needed frequently.

My Triton Testing Results: By Randy Holmes-Farley - REEFEDITION

Recently, Triton GmbH in Germany has initiated a method of testing many ions at once for a single price. In the US, that service is coordinated by Unique Corals. For $49 they will send you a couple of tubes to collect a tank water sample, and a prepaid mailer to send the sample back to them...

www.reefedition.com

Iron (Fe). The natural iron level varies a lot with depth, but surface seawater may have only 0.006 µg/L. The Triton LOD = 0.3 µg/L. I dose iron, and when I dose it I boost iron to roughly 1-2 µg/L, which would be detectable. This sample was taken more than a week after the last iron dosing, and none was detected as it gets depleted in the meanwhile. I’ve not yet seen a Triton test result for a real aquarium sample that had detectable iron, but that doesn’t mean these tanks are necessarily deficient. Iron is also a case where the form is critical, and ICP cannot distinguish form. Binding to organic matter, for example, can alter the bioavailability of iron.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics Verified Sponsor]

I do know that from others who did "extreme testing" that you can dose copious amounts of iron before doing damage. Think on the order of dumping a gallon of Kent Iron into a 90 gallon tank. Not that I'm suggesting one needs to do that...but I think it's really hard to overdose Iron