Reef Chemicals- Add what ?

[vetteguy53081]

There are sales through BRS, aquariums specialty and others where we see 50 or more bottles of additives on sale. We and new reefers often ask, " Do I need all these" ?
We all know for the most part with coral, we need calcium, alk buffer, calcium supplement, as well as trace elements and aminos. Some of us as myself resort to use of kalkwasser.
Some utilize carbon dosing for reduction of nitrate and phosphate and addition of amino acid for protein for coral.

We see many here who resort to chemical everything. . . . . Adding melafix, paraguard, liquid vibrant, coralline grow and may others.

What do you use and why do you use it?

I add alk and CA as needed,, daily small dose of trace elements and Aminos every other day and currently iron, vanadium, cobalt based on recent ICP test and occasional Manganese for my gonioporas.

 

[Troylee]

Kalk top off , vodka, mb7 once a week and gonna start all for reef and that’s it!

 

[RichReef]

All I use is Seachem Reef Builder and Reef Advantage. Water change every 2 weeks, Nori and fish food.

That's all. Nothing else goes in my tank or wil ever go in my tank.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Seachem reef carbonate and brightwell neonitro (will switch to sodium nitrate once the bottle runs out).
I also need to grab some gfo for phosphate.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

In my tank, I dosed limewater/kalkwasser, silicate, iron, and vinegar, in addition to foods (likely the main supplier of trace elements) and ~1% daily water changes.

 

[vetteguy53081]

All I use is Seachem Reef Builder and Reef Advantage. Water change every 2 weeks, Nori and fish food.

That's all. Nothing else goes in my tank or wil ever go in my tank.

Reef Builder and Reef Advantage both raise alk and calcium- why did you choose these buffers over two part solutions or product such as ESV?

 

[vetteguy53081]

In my tank, I dosed limewater/kalkwasser, silicate, iron, and vinegar, in addition to foods (likely the main supplier of trace elements) and ~1% daily water changes.

Ive seen you mention limewater more than once. Is there a reason you choose/chose limewater (I assume pickling lime)?

 

[doubleshot00]

In my tank, I dosed limewater/kalkwasser, silicate, iron, and vinegar, in addition to foods (likely the main supplier of trace elements) and ~1% daily water changes.

Why silicate. Would love to know the Randy Holmes explanation

 

[doubleshot00]

I dose alk, cak, mag, iodine and po4 daily.
Acropower, potassium and phyto 3x a week. Ill dose no3 if it starts getting low.

In my nano i dose Alk, no3 and po4 daily. Mb7 and phyto when I remember.

 

[RichReef]

Reef Builder and Reef Advantage both raise alk and calcium- why did you choose these buffers over two part solutions or product such as ESV?

I have tried 2 parts. Some of them made my sand clumpy. Some would calcify on my equipment. My MAG levels were good. Checked with multiple test kits. I even intentionally raised the MAG levels beyond 1500.

Some were too expensive. I have really tried different methods. I just always come back to this.

But an 8 pound bucket of each lasts me almost a year. Right now I'm at 7 half teaspoons a day of each. I really use it as a 2 part although that's not the products intention. It also keeps my MAG level on the money. All I can say is that whatever I dose to keep ALK correct I dose the exact same for CAL and it keeps me at a steady 8.5 ALK. 480 CAL. 1350 MAG.

It just works.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Ive seen you mention limewater more than once. Is there a reason you choose/chose limewater (I assume pickling lime)?

Over 20 years, I used a variety of materials, including food grade bulk calcium oxide from Mississippi Lime Company (a local reef group bulk buy) and calcium hydroxide from BRS when that ran out.

It was fairly popular when I started using it in the early 90's, so it wasn't an unusual choice. pH boosts, inexpensive, mostly balanced, and one solution to dose. I always used an ATO to deliver it.

 

[X-37B]

3 systems, 2 are esv 2 part, 1 carx.
On top of that I dose
esv Strontium once a week and
dsr ez trace daily.
Trace keeps K, mag, and iodine at desired levels.
I have been dosing it this way for the last 7 years.
Carx system I dose po4 at 3ml a day, to keep po4 registered.
10% WC once a month.
Only other addative is rox carbon on all systems.

 

[Snowxcross]

All For Reef - that's it. I've had years and years of two part dosing, switching to cal reactors, dosing ammino's and trace elements... All For Reef is amazing.

 

[X-37B]

All For Reef - that's it. I've had years and years of two part dosing, switching to cal reactors, dosing ammino's and trace elements... All For Reef is amazing.

This is good info. I am thinking of running afr in my 20g as a test.
My current systems have no issues but I have heard many talk about its use.
Currently dosing esv 2 part at 8ml a day. Trace at 1ml.
What do you find amazing?

 

[Snowxcross]

This is good info. I am thinking of running afr in my 20g as a test.
My current systems have no issues but I have heard many talk about its use.
Currently dosing esv 2 part at 8ml a day. Trace at 1ml.
What do you find amazing?

It's obviously a one part solution, so that's awesome to me. I mix the powder, so very cost effective. I ran a few ICP tests and the results were spot on. Most importantly it's all about stability and this stuff keeps my tanks stable.

 

[srobertb]

As someone who has tried most everything from bio pellets to vodka (one for me. One for the tank)…I use almost nothing. Trace elements, aminos, reef snow, miracle food that doesn’t require refrigeration; the kind that does require refrigeration, purple up, Ph raisers and “stabilizers.” Algaecide stuff, tank cleaners, ammonia, bacteria in a bottle, and the list goes on.

My success comes from the idea of less things you add to your tank or reactors you need to have running, the less chance of catastrophic failure. I think long and hard about the implications of adding something to my tank and honestly 99% of ideas are shot down in my head.

Every use-case is different but my corals have great color and growth without dosing Aminos or trace elements (I maybe spoil my fish a bit instead). I don’t have nutrient issues because I have a refugium and appropriate lighting for it.

I dose Alk, Calcium, and Mg (although rarely Mag). I change 7.5% of my water weekly via continuous AWC although I’ve taken it offline for weeks and seen no ill effects. Since it will be more like 3% of my water weekly soon, I’m not sure I won’t just scrap the whole thing entirely.

 

[EricR]

No alk/Ca dosing (yet) -- soft corals only with no appreciable uptake between water changes.

Trisodium Phosphate daily and Calcium Nitrate very infrequently (as needed).

Recently started Iodide out of desperation for inexplicable zoa downturn and ICP showing extremely low Iodine but expecting this to be a short lived experiment.

 

[Viperdragon]

Right now I dose kalk to keep alk and cal stable sne 10 percent water change weekly.

 

[cwerner]

I haven't been dosing much and have mostly been relying on water changes lately as I had a tank crash a few months ago and I'm deathly afraid of copper levels in my tank after an electrical event (this releases copper into the tank as circuit boards burn and degrade to to electrical shorts). I've dosing Microbacter Clean and the new HydroSpace ProBio just because it seemed interesting too me and my nutrient levels were a little too high for comfort anyways.

 

[Hats_]

I used DSR 3 part (now switched to all4reef) and a form of carbon dosing. Thats it, no water changes and just feeding. Occasional icp tests show no oddities. I am a firm believer that most bottled supplements are unnecessary