importance of trace elements while growing SPS corals?

[Greatreefer]

How many here dose trace elements into your systems?
The reason I ask is , I've been having problems keeping the colors of the SPS corals vibrant and I'm wondering if there is a correlation between these trace elements and the coloration of the corals?

 

[JDnKY]

Do you do regular water changes? I’ve read, here on r2r, that with regular water changes you shouldn’t need to add trace elements. I don’t do a lot of water changes so I add Two Little Fishes (TLF) Sea Elements and TLF Strontium weekly per instructions along with Acropower, Alk and Calcium daily. Since starting with the supplements I’ve seen a huge difference in growth rate and coloring. You could try starting with small bottles of whichever brand you choose and you will know within a couple of weeks weather it’s worth it for you or not.

 

[Mortie31]

How many here dose trace elements into your systems?
The reason I ask is , I've been having problems keeping the colors of the SPS corals vibrant and I'm wondering if there is a correlation between these trace elements and the coloration of the corals?

Are the major elements in your tank stable and at decent levels? What’s your flow like? What PAR are you running your lights at? If all the basics are spot on, I’d get an ICP done then go from there with trace elements...

 

[Greatreefer]

Do you do regular water changes? I’ve read, here on r2r, that with regular water changes you shouldn’t need to add trace elements. I don’t do a lot of water changes so I add Two Little Fishes (TLF) Sea Elements and TLF Strontium weekly per instructions along with Acropower, Alk and Calcium daily. Since starting with the supplements I’ve seen a huge difference in growth rate and coloring. You could try starting with small bottles of whichever brand you choose and you will know within a couple of weeks weather it’s worth it for you or not.

When you say " regular water changes" what does that mean for your system also, what salt do you use?

 

[Greatreefer]

Are the major elements in your tank stable and at decent levels? What’s your flow like? What PAR are you running your lights at? If all the basics are spot on, I’d get an ICP done then go from there with trace elements...

system: REDSEA REEFER XL 425 aka 80 gallons dt
So, over the past 3 weeks parameters have fluctuated a bit
DKH 8.1- 8.5
CA: 300- 350
MG: 1400-1550
N03: has been stable at 5ppm for the last two weeks.
Lights: 2x Radion XR30 G4 @ maxes out at 85% in the middle of the day for like 2 hours.
PAR: my APEX par meter has been on the fritz and has been throwing out weird #s. so, I honestly don't have an answer for you on that.
However, Nothing has changed as far as lighting goes.
FLOW:
m1 vertra return pump
1x Gyre XF230 @80%
1x icecap 1k @70%
The only thing I changed was the salt and that was when I started to notice the color change.
However when I switched from red sea pro to live aquaria;s salt, i noticed a difference in overall color.

 

[Mortie31]

system: REDSEA REEFER XL 425 aka 80 gallons dt
So, over the past 3 weeks parameters have fluctuated a bit
DKH 8.1- 8.5
CA: 300- 350
MG: 1400-1550
N03: has been stable at 5ppm for the last two weeks.
Lights: 2x Radion XR30 G4 @ maxes out at 85% in the middle of the day for like 2 hours.
PAR: my APEX par meter has been on the fritz and has been throwing out weird #s. so, I honestly don't have an answer for you on that.
However, Nothing has changed as far as lighting goes.
FLOW:
m1 vertra return pump
1x Gyre XF230 @80%
1x icecap 1k @70%
The only thing I changed was the salt and that was when I started to notice the color change.
However when I switched from red sea pro to live aquaria;s salt, i noticed a difference in overall color.

Cool, if it was me I’d try to get my ALK really stable, get my Ca upto 420, my mg down to 1300 for a start. Then let it stabilise for a few mnths. What do you run PO4 level at?

 

[mitch91175]

system: REDSEA REEFER XL 425 aka 80 gallons dt
So, over the past 3 weeks parameters have fluctuated a bit
DKH 8.1- 8.5
CA: 300- 350
MG: 1400-1550
N03: has been stable at 5ppm for the last two weeks.
Lights: 2x Radion XR30 G4 @ maxes out at 85% in the middle of the day for like 2 hours.
PAR: my APEX par meter has been on the fritz and has been throwing out weird #s. so, I honestly don't have an answer for you on that.
However, Nothing has changed as far as lighting goes.
FLOW:
m1 vertra return pump
1x Gyre XF230 @80%
1x icecap 1k @70%
The only thing I changed was the salt and that was when I started to notice the color change.
However when I switched from red sea pro to live aquaria;s salt, i noticed a difference in overall color.

SO when you switched salts did the color get better or worse? Because if it got worse then maybe going back to the salt you used before is the first thing to do before trying to fix something that may have been caused by your salt. Also if I am not mistaken, does Red Sea Coral Pro have a higher dKH of something like 10?

 

[webmanny]

To answer the original question. Yes, I use the Triton method, which includes ALK, MAG, CAL and Trace elements.

From what I see above, some of your numbers look a bit weird.

For example:
ALK/DKH: 8.1 - 8.3 = Looks a bit low for a tank with SPS corals. I'd shoot for 9 to 10.
CA: 300- 350 = Looks a bit low for a tank with SPS corals. I'd shoot for 450
MG: 1400-1550 = Looks a bit high, but with ALK being lower, the corals will not absorb other elements properly.
Your light is great, flow looks great, You did not share PH, but I can guess that it should be low as well, since the ALK is lower for an SPS tank.

As far as water changes go, most here will recommend a weekly 10% to 15% of volume, which is the correct way to go to replenish all your minerals and elements. If you don't do regular water changes like me, then you will need to implement something like the Triton Method and a large fuge to maintain water clarity.

You can use this as a guide for your levels.

 

[Garia666]

I use the DSR EZ products. So far so good sps wise.

 

[Bob Weigant]

I do weekly water changes and once a week I hit the tank with fuel ( aquavitro )

 

[Grootzilla]

Weekly water changes + iron every other day for the chaeto in the back chamber.

 

[jgvergo]

I do a 25% water change every week (Instant Ocean Reef Crystals) and add Red Sea Coral Colors (A/B/C/D) immediately after the water change. I also dose All, Ca and Mg.

 

[Admann]

1/2 recommended dose of Seachem Reef Trace and Reef Plus 3 days after a weekly 10% WC seems to work for me

 

[rhastareefer]

I went from Red Sea Trace Program ABCD, then used their Skeletal Elements to replace B + Trace AB, now I dropped Red Sea all-together for ESV B-Ionic which makes it CRAZY easy and best results I've seen yet.

 

[OneFish]

20% weekly water change with Red Sea Coral Pro, ESV B-ionic 2 part, Red Sea Colors Trace Elements ABCD every other day with 3/4 dose, Red Sea Energy AB every other day with 1/2 dose.

 

[Tamberav]

I use red sea salt blue bucket on one tank and Live Aquaria salt on another. No noticable difference on the inhabitants. I will say red sea has more consistent values from batch to batch.

I change 30 percent every two weeks but my tank is only 22g. I sometimes dose a tiny amount of KZ 1234 but doubt it is doing anything. Color was good before adding trace elements and it's good now. I am sure my water changes keep up on it.

I would check your PO4 and raise the calcium a bit to 400-450.

My Alk hangs out around 7-7.3, Ca 440, Mg 1360. PO4 0.03, Nitrate 5. Par 250-300 with 4 led pucks and two t5. Lots of flow. I dose BRS 2part manually every day.

Tank had it's up and downs but this seems to be working for me. The biggest thing that affected my colors was nutrients...too low or when I dosed them up at first (did this once and been good since) a few corals browned from the swing as I went a bit too fast but colored up quickly.

 

[vlangel]

My 56 gallon column is a high nutrient system. I have some SPS and quite a few LPS. I also have a lot of softies and macro algaes. I am getting pretty good color and I do a 10% WC every week with IO. I also dose coral vite and strongium weekly. I use 2 part and magnesium as needed, which is not often. I run NO3 at 30 and PO4 at 1 which is quite high but in the 30:1 ratio that benefits macro algaes, and I do not have any nuisance algae except a little bubble algae.
FTS May 2019 by Dawn Gilson, on Flickr

 

[Orm Embar]

I don't do partial water changes nearly as often as I should, so I add trace elements. I tried Red Sea's kit, but since switching to Tropic Marin's one part (calcium formate), I went with their all inclusive formula that also has magnesium and all trace elements. Presumably, the ratios are calibrated to match consumption of Ca/alk/Mg/trace elements. It's easy (I just dose based on Ca/alk/Mg), and my cespitularia has stopped withering and started growing again.

 

[Orm Embar]

I don't do partial water changes nearly as often as I should, so I add trace elements. I tried Red Sea's kit, but since switching to Tropic Marin's one part (calcium formate), I went with their all inclusive formula that also has magnesium and all trace elements. Presumably, the ratios are calibrated to match consumption of Ca/alk/Mg/trace elements. It's easy (I just dose based on Ca/alk/Mg), and my cespitularia has stopped withering and started growing again.

 

[vetteguy53081]

As I change water a couple times per year, I do add trace but find Aminos are of more importance to SPS

 

[LesPoissons]

If you dose trace elements, do you also test for them? What tests do you use? I have a hard time figuring out how much to add as while the ingredients are listed, the quantities are not. Do you just go by the bottle instructions? How do you know you need them or arent overdosing?