Trace and minor elements

[saltgogi]

Do you guys dose trace and minor elements?

I do biweekly water changes and was thinking of using brightwells replenish trace and minor elements. I use fritz RPM.

The directions say 10 drops for 25 gallons every other day. That equates to 1 drop per 2.5 gallons.
I have about 40 gallons of water volume in my tank so that equates to 16 drops. And this is 8 drops per day.
I was thinking of doing 5 drops per day on my system.

What is everyone's thought on this? Do less per day?

 

[Retro Reefer]

I use the Brightwell trace but only at a fraction of recommend dose.. For me thats 8 drops three times a week on my 40 breeder. I rely on my 10% weekly water changes to replace most of whats consumed.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Your tank may benefit from some minor and trace elements, and may already have enough or too much of others. You can test for most by icp, or you can wing it and experimentally try a mixed product and look to see if it helps your tank.

some are usually needed and are low risk, like manganese and iron.

 

[saltgogi]

I use the Brightwell trace but only at a fraction of recommend dose.. For me thats 8 drops three times a week on my 40 breeder. I rely on my 10% weekly water changes to replace most of whats consumed.

How long have you been using it for?

 

[Retro Reefer]

About six months or so.. tank is only two years old and didn't get into supplements until coral really started taking off.

 

[Auquanut]

I didn't start dosing trace elements until my Alc and Cal consumption got so high that I needed to start autodosing. I am now dosing RedSea trace-colors at about 2/3 the BRS recommended dose for calcium consumption. When I started, the effect was immediate and dramatic. My corals colored up and started growing like weeds. Especially the acros. Of course, every tank is different, and many successful reefers never dose trace.

 

[saltgogi]

About six months or so.. tank is only two years old and didn't get into supplements until coral really started taking off.

You haven't ran into any bumps dosing at that schedule? I'm afraid tank will crash lol

 

[saltgogi]

I didn't start dosing trace elements until my Alc and Cal consumption got so high that I needed to start autodosing. I am now dosing RedSea trace-colors at about 2/3 the BRS recommended dose for calcium consumption. When I started, the effect was immediate and dramatic. My corals colored up and started growing like weeds. Especially the acros. Of course, every tank is different, and many successful reefers never dose trace.

Yeah my tank is doing well. I just want to provide as much as I can for the corals.