Must have supplements?

[SmoothSmoke]

Im in the process of setting up my first reef tank. I plan to keep mostly zoas, softies and LPS. I may want to keep 1 SPS in the future. I will be keeping a handful of fish as well, clowns, chromis, royal gramma.

What are some must have supplements?

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Forgot to mention that my salt mix will be red sea coral pro.

 

[nola90]

Friends of mine who have non-SPS dominant tanks like what you're planning on doing swear by fuel and frozen foods. They feed frozen twice a week and fuel the other 5 days to avoid a high spike in phosphate/nitrates. They say their lps grow wild since they've done both.

 

[Tradewinds]

Monthly water changes will supply most of the trace elements needed. Although, my corals seem to have responded favorably to Acropower and Reef Chilli.

 

[SantaMonica]

If just fish for now, it will be super easy and no real need for supplements.

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Thanks everyone! I'll look into the fuel foods, acropower and reef chili supplements.

 

[AZDesertRat]

RO/DI water, a good salt mix and regular small wate rchanges, it will contain everything you need for LPS and softies and in the recommended amounts. Leave the other stuff on the shelf at the LFS where it belongs. Unless you know something is in fact depleted, your system has a demand for it and it is in fact a necessary elemnt then don't put it in your tank. It is extremely easy to get a reef system out of balance and a real PITA to get it back where it should be. Most supplements contain more than one substance and at who knows what levels or if it is even necessary so pass on them until you have a better understanding on your tanks needs. Start a regular testing program using reliable test kits like Salifert to establish a baseline before you add anything at all other than your salt then if it shows something is lacking add ONLY that substance one at a time and monitor the results. Adding multiple products or additives at the same time can lead to trouble and you cannot identify which was the problem. Go slowly and spend time observing your system and its changes.

 

[SmoothSmoke]

RO/DI water, a good salt mix and regular small wate rchanges, it will contain everything you need for LPS and softies and in the recommended amounts. Leave the other stuff on the shelf at the LFS where it belongs. Unless you know something is in fact depleted, your system has a demand for it and it is in fact a necessary elemnt then don't put it in your tank. It is extremely easy to get a reef system out of balance and a real PITA to get it back where it should be. Most supplements contain more than one substance and at who knows what levels or if it is even necessary so pass on them until you have a better understanding on your tanks needs. Start a regular testing program using reliable test kits like Salifert to establish a baseline before you add anything at all other than your salt then if it shows something is lacking add ONLY that substance one at a time and monitor the results. Adding multiple products or additives at the same time can lead to trouble and you cannot identify which was the problem. Go slowly and spend time observing your system and its changes.

Thanks AZ! I will definitely try to keep things simple as to try to avoid mistakes like you mentioned. Appreciate the advice.