Maintaining Trace Elements

[TD13]

Just started dosing calc. I was doing the Red Sea Coral Colors Program to supplement the trace elements in my tank. At this point, at a 10:1 ratio, I'll be dumping almost 10 ml a day of each of the 4 bottles. That will get $$$ pretty quick. How OTHER than my weekly water changes can I supplement the traces in my tank? How do you all do it?

 

[chefjpaul]

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[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'd decide first what trace elements you think you need. You may not need any. The only one I dose is iron with a DIY.

How are you dosing calcium and alkalinity? Some methods dose trace elements at the same time.

Or you can do the Red Sea Colors for a while, then stop when the bottle runs out and you can see if you detect any important difference.

 

[TD13]

@Randy Holmes-Farley I use Fritz Aquatics Pro Aquatics Calcium Chloride and Soda Ash. I tried Kalk but could never get my Kh above 8.4.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

OK, so those do not supply anything aside the calcium, alkalinity, and impurities that come with them. True trace elements (which are present at very low concentrations in seawater) are present as impurities in most additives, but I suspect you actually mean a lot more than trace elements.

Things like magnesium, potassium, silicate, etc. are not trace elements, but may well be worth supplementing if they get depleted.

My suggestion is to use trace element supplementation as an experiment where you stop if no benefit is noticed.

 

[TD13]

Trace Elements

Exactly, here's a shot of the packaging. Do you have one that you would recommend?

 

[BlacknBlue2]

If your dosing your tank then I would look into dosing pumps and getting what you need in bulk. Such as Calcium, Magnesium and others.

 

[TD13]

If your dosing your tank then I would look into dosing pumps and getting what you need in bulk. Such as Calcium, Magnesium and others.

I have pumps and an apex to control them. That's why I'm moving away from coral colors. I have bought bulk Alk, Mag and Calc... I need advice on replacing the Coral Colors portion. Trace and minor elements.... What ever solution I can come up with will be dosed and maintained as well...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

IMO, many of those things listed may not be needed or useful. For example, my tank has excessive bromide even with no dosing.

If cost is a concern, iron is an easy DIY using Fergon tablets from a drug store.

Of the Red Sea products above, I'd pick C first, maybe D. Only B if potassium measurement showed it low (it does not deplete in my tank and borate is not, IMO, important). I wouldn't dose A.



That packaging reminds me how strange some companies make their descriptions.

Take Red Sea Coral Colors A

It says

Halogens (I2, Br, F2)

Why would it say that odd combination of atoms and molecules?

I2? Maybe it is present in the additive, as in Lugols.

Br? Well, definitely not the form present, but just listing the atom for all would be fine.

But then F2? Come on. There's definitely no F2 in it (and if there were, you wouldn't want it in your home since it is highly toxic). There's no F2 in seawater.

So why not be consistent across the three things listed:

I, Br, F
or
I-, Br-, F-
or I2/I-, Br-, F-

 

[TD13]

Cool, so the colors is out. Do you dose any trace element supplements or are your WCs enough to keep up?

 

[toaster77]

yes, that label is certainly misleading or just plain incorrect - F2 implies fluorine gas! They indeed need to be consistent, I hope they know what they are doing.

I feel water changes are a good way to replenish trace elements, and any potential consequences on coloration/growth etc, due to a lack of certain trace elements may become more apparent as your coral load increases (e.g., presence of large colonies). Certainly more research is needed as to the role of various trace elements for various corals.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

My tank is not an SPS tank, but the only things I dose are silicate and iron, along with limewater for calcium and alkalinity. Triton testing showed that a few trace elements may be low, and some benefit might come from trace elements, but when I've tried in the past, I did not see any difference.

Anyway, my suggestion with trace elements is to try in your own tank and see what, if anything happens. The needs of different tanks are different, so what benefits one may be of no use or even detrimental in another.