Hi guys im new to the page and the hobby been doing this for 8-9 months i research about 1-2 hrs per day every day loyally...i want to share something I have been dosing 10g of strontium powder by seachem twice a week and lete tell you I am having explosive growth since the first day I seen immidate changes I also use reef fusion 1-2 and fuel that is all besides a weekly ten gallon water change...i will say this someone suggested I try it and I never hear anyone using it at my LFS i read the ingredients of fuel and strontium was not one of them so please try it out amd to any experts let me know more about it
Strontium please read
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Randy Holmes-Farley
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I personally do not think strontium is a useful additive for most reef tanks. IMO, it just gets passively incorporated into calcium carbonate because it happens to fit into the structure accidentally in place of calcium. While there are organisms that use it, there is no known use for strontium by most corals reported in the scientific literature, and while dosing it was quite popular 10-20 years ago, many reefers no longer bother.
I can easily believe that the other additives you are using can make an important difference.
I can easily believe that the other additives you are using can make an important difference.
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How big of a tank are you adding this 10 grams to?
Randy Holmes-Farley
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Which product exactly? Their Reef Advantage Strontium?
FWIW, their web site claims that product is only 3% strontium by weight and 97% other solids. Without knowing what those might be, or even why the product is so very low in strontium potency, I can't really say why you might have observed what you did. It could also be unrelated to the dosing of this product and just be coincidence.
Their other strontium product is a liquid, but one of its main ingredients is an organic material that will both boost alkalinity and act, at least partly, in the same way other organic carbon dosing does to reduce nitrate and phosphate while spurring bacterial growth. I do not know if the solid you used also contains this gluconate, but it might, and that might play a role in any effects you observe.
FWIW, their web site claims that product is only 3% strontium by weight and 97% other solids. Without knowing what those might be, or even why the product is so very low in strontium potency, I can't really say why you might have observed what you did. It could also be unrelated to the dosing of this product and just be coincidence.
Their other strontium product is a liquid, but one of its main ingredients is an organic material that will both boost alkalinity and act, at least partly, in the same way other organic carbon dosing does to reduce nitrate and phosphate while spurring bacterial growth. I do not know if the solid you used also contains this gluconate, but it might, and that might play a role in any effects you observe.
Lenny_S
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Personally, I use the Sea Chem dry Strontium Chloride and maintain a 6 ppm concentration verified with the Sea Chem Strontium test kit bi weekly. I'm adding 4 grams of this daily via dosing pump to maintain that level in a moderately stocked tank (SPS & LPS).
My observation is that new frags grow about the same with or without it. But once they are really settled in, placed in their final spot, and nicely encrusted, then the growth accelerates. But I think it's more a function of acclimation and maturity than Strontium.
What I have noticed since supplementing Strontium is the skeletons of my branching hammer corals is much stronger. Previously, as they grew and I would trim them back, the skeleton would almost fall apart in my hands. Now it takes a bit of effort to break them up.
So the only effect I'm seeing is stronger skeleton but not any appreciable acceleration in growth.
My observation is that new frags grow about the same with or without it. But once they are really settled in, placed in their final spot, and nicely encrusted, then the growth accelerates. But I think it's more a function of acclimation and maturity than Strontium.
What I have noticed since supplementing Strontium is the skeletons of my branching hammer corals is much stronger. Previously, as they grew and I would trim them back, the skeleton would almost fall apart in my hands. Now it takes a bit of effort to break them up.
So the only effect I'm seeing is stronger skeleton but not any appreciable acceleration in growth.
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FWIW, I discuss strontium and its biological uses in these articles. The first one is getting a bit old now, but I've not seen any newer scientific studies that would change the conclusions.
Nearly every article that comes up relates to paleotemperature prediction, and the reason that works is EXACTLY because corals do not put more strontium into skeletons than gets in naturally through random competition between the similar looking chemicals calcium and strontium, and the amount that gets in naturally is a function of temperature. So scientists can predict ancient temperatures of the oceans.
That doesn't prove that strontium is not useful in the skeleton in some context, but it shows that corals are not controlling the process.
Aquarium Chemistry: Strontium and the Reef Aquarium ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2003/chem.htm
Aquarium Chemistry: Magnesium And Strontium In Limewater ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2003/chem.htm
Nearly every article that comes up relates to paleotemperature prediction, and the reason that works is EXACTLY because corals do not put more strontium into skeletons than gets in naturally through random competition between the similar looking chemicals calcium and strontium, and the amount that gets in naturally is a function of temperature. So scientists can predict ancient temperatures of the oceans.
That doesn't prove that strontium is not useful in the skeleton in some context, but it shows that corals are not controlling the process.
Aquarium Chemistry: Strontium and the Reef Aquarium ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2003/chem.htm
Aquarium Chemistry: Magnesium And Strontium In Limewater ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2003/chem.htm
Randy Holmes-Farley
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Randy Holmes-Farley
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Thats good because Its helping alot right now and against what experts beleive i beleive in results and for me its working
If you like it, by all means keep using it.
FWIW, I didn't claim the product wasn't potentially useful, I just believe the 3% of the product that is strontium is not. I cannot say about the other 97%.
Results are results, but science doesn't allow us to conclude that the strontium is what gave the result (especially when others have not made the same observation with strontium).
I just looked into it 3% is strontium 97% strotium chlorideIf you like it, by all means keep using it.
FWIW, I didn't claim the product wasn't potentially useful, I just believe the 3% of the product that is strontium is not. I cannot say about the other 97%.
Results are results, but science doesn't allow us to conclude that the strontium is what gave the result (especially when others have not made the same observation with strontium).
Randy Holmes-Farley
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That is not what the web site says, and doesn't really make sense anyway. The Seachem site says it is 30,000 ppm strontium (3%). The remainder cannot be strontium chloride since the strontium would be more than 50%.
Also, you'd be MASSIVELY overdosing your tank with strontium if it was strontium chloride.
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biom
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I was never tested for Strontium nor dosing, but recently decided to check, it was very low as expected, as low as 0-2 ppm, coral growth and colors were just fine. So I decided to increase slowly levels ( in one week) and to look for any response from coral. Nothing changes, absolutely nothing even after 3 months of "normal" levels, so I decided to keep Sr around 6-7 just because I want all parameters to be close to natural ones, but Sr is not in my top 10 parameters to monitor.
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Thanks for the info, Stoyan. I've also not noticed effects when I've dosed strontium, but that was a long time ago and I was not tracking growth. My current strontium level without dosing is 5.6 ppm, but it is also not an SPS tank. That number is presumably the balance in my tank between water changes and consumption as calcium carbonate is deposited, since the limewater I use for calcium and alkalinity does not add that much.
