Is dosing even necessary in a reef?

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Theo15 said:
I always manage to break pieces off when I put my hand in the tank ,it makes me cringe but a few days go by and it's like it never happened ,that think is on crack lol
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Pruning isn't uncommon. Much like a planted tank, keeping the scape trimmed keeps occupants happy as well as aesthetics.
 
Tidal Gardens
Theo15 said:
Tell me about it lol , they always have polyps out now, I had a seventh fish a flame angel but he was not playing nice at all , but the corals have now opened back up ,I'm ready to see what they will look like when the get larger , and the have kept their color
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No I mean they're probably about to fail and freak you out.
 
reeferfoxx said:
Your coral are still small. Once those colonies start exploding, you'll need to supplement. Once they matured it wouldn't be uncommon to see 3dkh being absorbed in 24 hours. Not to mention magnesium with it being a mixed tank. If you neglect to keep stable parameters with those acros, you might find some pH swings too. Once that starts, things get weird as @saltyfilmfolks said. :)
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Lol. I shoulda explained weird better.
I bought a tri color vileda two years ago. It is finally tri colored again. lol
 
Deltec
reeferfoxx said:
Gotcha. I was under the impression your were only performing 20% water change a month lol

Birdsnest is one I avoided just because it grows so fast. I have a purple stylo that grows like weeds too. I'm thinking of removing it, but mine is only 30 gallons. :cool:
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Yea but your a good chemist. Better than me actually.
 
Nutramar Foods
My system is 300 gallon and I have done one 30 gallon water change about 6 months after it was set up. it has been setup about 18 months. I use a calcium reactor and my DKH is between 9-9.5 I go through about two pounds of media a month. Even though I have magnesium in the reactor I still have to make occasional adjustments to it and add some calcium. Making 10-20 percent water change weekly would exceed my budget fast between the salt and DI resin, I already use 3-4 gallons a day of RO/DI water for evaporation. What gets consumed must be added back or your live stock will do poorly or worse die.
 
Bruce Burnett said:
My system is 300 gallon and I have done one 30 gallon water change about 6 months after it was set up. it has been setup about 18 months. I use a calcium reactor and my DKH is between 9-9.5 I go through about two pounds of media a month. Even though I have magnesium in the reactor I still have to make occasional adjustments to it and add some calcium. Making 10-20 percent water change weekly would exceed my budget fast between the salt and DI resin, I already use 3-4 gallons a day of RO/DI water for evaporation. What gets consumed must be added back or your live stock will do poorly or worse die.
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What are you using to control nitrates and phos? Just curious...
 
saltyfilmfolks said:
Yea but your a good chemist. Better than me actually.
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Aww shucks! I'm not even close. Thanks though;Shamefullyembarrased
Triggerjay said:
What are you using to control nitrates and phos? Just curious...
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And that would be the other half of the equation. Too much or too little can stall calcium phosphate absorption. Causing an imbalance in nutrients. Often times you will hear reefers suggest you add nitrates to help reduce phosphates. Nitrates are another nutrient corals need to spur zooxanthellae growth. Without it calcium absorption wouldnt take place. Though some suggest not to target a nitrate number, i always do. For me it's nice to know that 2ppm is what I want and 5ppm or more with 8dkh could cause some coral to brown. Of course that is dependent of po4. That said, my po4 stays consistent at 0.02. My no3 does fluctuate and I sometimes have to dose nitrates. Otherwise calcium and alk consumption come to a halt or are reduced. This can be difficult if you are autodosing.
 
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If you don't add ca,mg, and alk corals don't do well that's a fact. It's a matter of cost if u want to do daily water changes then have at it. I don't have that kind of cash to do that, or add additives and your reef tank will blow up! (In a good way) the more u need to add the better just means your corals are utilizing the ca,mg and alk. I also use the Red Sea 4 part trace minerals for color and for the inverts (iodine). It works great I also use hw salt since it's the best I have used so far and do a weekly 15% water change
 
Triggerjay said:
What are you using to control nitrates and phos? Just curious...
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Was using GFO but stopped as my phosphates are always 0.00. Was using bio-pellets for nitrates but stopped as they were always at zero. I am currently trying sulfur reactor. Lots of rock is helping keep levels down along with good skimmer.
 
I use instant ocean and do water changes when detritus builds up. Maybe once every cpl of months. I do however have to dose. But i have a monti and chalice addiction so no matter how many watet changes i do its never enough as salty said earlier in the thread chalices r a bottomless pit when it comes to supplementing. I have a mixed reef going and i find almost everything to be happy around the 10dKh range. Anything highet than 12 and my cyphastreas are ticked off and my challices start to brown. I also run a high nutrient system so im happy around the 10 range.
 
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The endproduct is........
d55e3439cc14d16a7b8881d1b830f777.jpg
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

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  • No.

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  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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