Dosing

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Mcmcoker

Aquarium Advice Activist
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For now I just have a fowlr but I will be getting lights for Christmas and plan to set out on my first reef journey. My question is just how important or necessary is dosing. I've read that with most corals you should be dosing with calcium and iodine and other trace elements but won't regular water changes take care of most of that. Also need advice on water changes. My method to date has been to mix my salt in buckets and just pour buckets into the tank but when I do this is does stir up the tank pretty good. I know most corals are pretty sensitive. Will this method be bad for corals or would I be ok still doing it this way. To start I just plan on going with lps and soft corals by the way.
 
Yes, until you have a substantial amount of corals sucking up the elements, regular water changes are plenty.
As for your water changes, I would mix the salt and water overnight, to ensure that it's completely mixed. Otherwise, you can pour it right in if it's the same temp and salinity.
 
Not that I have to say it, but MrX is right on the money. Until you have so many corals that they gobble up the elements before you can replenish them with water changes you dont need to dose. I literally had a full tank of corals that were colonies before I had to dose anything and then it was only for alkalinity mostly. All those bottles of stuff the lfs sells are for the most part not really needed. A great rule to live by is to never ever add anything you cannot test for. :)
 
Thank you both for confirming my thoughts. Another question. Red Sea has those color enhancing products and amino acid products, are those snake oil or are they worth investing in. Based on the fact that you can't test for amino acids Carey's rule of thumb would say no but I have to ask. Sometimes I'm a sucker for good advertising.
 
Everything your corals need is already in your salt mix. Just pick a reef grade mix because they are generally higher in the key elements than FOWLR salt mixes, like Instant Ocean.
 
I'm currently using kent marine salt, will that work or should I plan on changing when I start adding corals
 
I've just switched from tropic-Marin pro reef to bright well aquatics precision reef blend and I'm having great results with a 10% pwc weekly ! I do dose iodine but just 1 drop every 3 days now ! my tank is full of soft coral ! But like mr x said any good reef blend should contain the higher elements etc required for a reef so I guess it's just down to personal preference !
 
I guess it's just down to personal preference !
No. It's down to the levels of natural sea water.You don't want to put anything in the tank you aren't testing for. I guarantee you you aren't using 3 drops of iodine a day, if you don't need to add anything else. Alk would be the first thing to fall short IME.
I have never added iodine to any tank I've maintained and everything including inverts did just fine.
 
No. It's down to the levels of natural sea water.You don't want to put anything in the tank you aren't testing for.

I agree. Some test kits like Red Sea will have suggested guidelines for different invertebrates and dosing should be done as needed. Testing is key IMO.
 
Agree on the iodine, I bought the Hanna tester and found I didn't need to dose iodine.

The salt mixes are mined from ancient oceans salt licks and contain all the minerals you need. There is some interesting debates going about naturally occurring amino acids and the biological factors they play in coral growth. These compounds are very difficult to measure as a hobbiest and are not present in mined salt mixes, but there is evidence some if these formulas increase polyp extension and growth. I have seen some success with some of these additives, but not enough unless you are experimenting with maximizing growth.
 
Thanks Greg, do you happen to have any links to where I could read up on the amino acid discussions
 
as for the water changes, you can put a hose on the end of a power head and pump the water from the bucket into your tank so you're not picking up the bucket. If you want to dispurse the flow at the tip add a sponge to the tip of the hose that would go in your tank. Guys that use trashcans to mix water for changes (300 gallon systems) never pick up the buckets.
 
as for the water changes, you can put a hose on the end of a power head and pump the water from the bucket into your tank so you're not picking up the bucket. If you want to dispurse the flow at the tip add a sponge to the tip of the hose that would go in your tank. Guys that use trashcans to mix water for changes (300 gallon systems) never pick up the buckets.

That's the truth. I don't know but a few guys that could pick up a trash can of water and empty it in a tank without a tsunami.
 
Lol, yes having a 36gal tank I can get away with using 5 gal buckets however I still plan on getting around to getting a small power head to ease the process because I don't care who you are lifting a 40 lbs bucket over 4 feet in the air ( in my case) and holding it there for up to 60 seconds is never gets any easier. Lol. Besides that like I mentioned earlier the process still ends every time in stirring up the tank and taking half a day to settle back out. I'm sure my fish are not a fan of water change days and I can imagine that corals would be even less so.
 
Best salt mix out there is d&d h20 trust me ! Look it up and look at the parameters , ad they are perfect , without dosing you have everything in that salt , that's why it's the best !
 
I also do not dose using instant ocean. Most any quality salt can be used, its a personal preference. :)
 
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