What single supplement do you recommend?

Ben jammin · Feb 9, 2015

Hey all. I've been out of the reefkeeping hobby for about 15 years. Got back into aquariums with a FOWLR tank last year, and now I've just started a 30 gal reef with my kids. We're just getting set up and starting to add corals - softies and LPS only for now. I know we probably need to add supplements in addition to our regular water changes to help the corals thrive. I was wondering if there is an "all-in-one" supplement that is widely recommended? I want to keep it simple for the kids and not get into individually testing and dosing for every element. Any suggestions?

Also, way back in the 90s I used to mix kalkwasser in with my makeup water reservoir to keep my calcium levels up and coralline thriving. Is kalk still used widely for that or is there a better alternative now? I have heard people like to use something called Purple Up but I don't know that it really does the same thing.

Thanks for any feedback!

Keepswiming · Feb 9, 2015

No need to spend money on purple up... Test these three things at a minimum to keep optimal parameters for the corals. Buy Salifert test kits for Calcium, Alkalinity and nitrate. You can dose two part (A and B) to keep alk and ca levels stable and high enough for coral growth and health.

ReeferBen · Feb 9, 2015

I use Kalk, it can work on reefs that are not to demanding an alk/ca requirements. If the requirements are higher than kalk can keep up with then you could use another method to maintain your CA/ALK.

hart24601 · Feb 9, 2015

Vodka or vinegar is the 1 thing I would hate to lose. Kalk is still used, but lots of people now use 2 part for calcium and alk as kalk can't keep up when the demands of the tank get too large.

Ben jammin · Feb 9, 2015

Thanks. What is "two part" and who makes it?

Also, I was looking for a single supplement that also includes strontium, magnesium, iodine and other trace elements that most corals seem to need. I know Kalk doesn't include those other elements, which is why I was wondering whether there is a single supplement that includes them all. Or if not, is there at least one single one to use for Ca/Alk and another for everything else?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Feb 9, 2015

Alkalinity and calcium are the biggest needs for any reef tank. I discuss and compare all of the methods here (including what a two part is):

The Many Methods for Supplementing Calcium and Alkalinity - REEFEDITION

Randy Holmes-Farley · Feb 9, 2015

Ben jammin said:
Also, I was looking for a single supplement that also includes strontium, magnesium, iodine and other trace elements that most corals seem to need. I know Kalk doesn't include those other elements, which is why I was wondering whether there is a single supplement that includes them all. Or if not, is there at least one single one to use for Ca/Alk and another for everything else?

Forget strontium and iodine as they are not needed and not useful (IMO) in almost any reef tank.

Ben jammin · Feb 9, 2015

Interesting info. Thanks. I'll set aside some time to read that article in more depth, but for my application (a nano reef) it looks like the 2-part may be the way to go. I may want to test levels and dose in my 260-gal FOWLR tank too, so I can start growing some coralline in there rather than the dark microalgae that is coating my live rock currently due to high nitrates.

Which leads me to another question: In both my tanks, I use exclusively Real Reef live rock, which is an "artificial" live rock that looks like it is coated with coralline, but isn't. Since I have no actual coralline algae to start with, what's the best way to "seed" my tanks with coralline without adding a "real" rock and the associated pest/hitchhiker possibilities?