Supplements/GSP

[Vague]

So I've read afew posts about not adding supplements and was curious as to what this is referring to. I understand that different minerals etc are naturally occurring but I thought that things needed to be supplemented in aquariums because of the inhabitants depleting the natural supply. I am in part wondering because I have a green star polyp frag which I've heard grows rapidly but mine has hardly grown since I got it a month an a half ago... The polyps are out an look great but no real growth. So I figured maybe some of the trace elements would help but also read they weren't necessary.

 

[bribo12]

They aren't necessary. If you can't test for it don't dose it. You need to monitor calcium and alkalinity. Mag too but mag really doesn't get depleted quickly. Soft corals like gsp don't build skeletons but can be affected by alkalinity shifts. I'd definitely look into test kits for those 3 over randomly adding trace elements.
On them being depleted it takes a tank full of coral or heavy coralline algae growth to consume these three faster than water changes can replenish them. This is why we talk about doing weekly water changes as they replenish these elements.

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[Animal-Chin]

Ya if your GSP aren't growing its probably more a light issue than elements. If you don't have SPS coral or a lot of LPS coral I wouldn't even think about dosing, your salt mix has everything you need...

My GSP rock just sat there not growing for months when I got it, then all of a sudden it took off! Now I take large mats of it off all the time to stop it from spreading to everything around it. It may just need some time to settle in...

 

[Vague]

Thanks for your input. I inspected the GSP alittle closer and it actually is growing I hadn't noticed because of the placement and usually when I look at it the polyps are out and it covers the base.

 

[Gregcoyote]

It grows exponentially. It takes a while for a small patch to grow, but then the growth accelerates as the GSP gains surface area. That's why it can take over at a certain point, it's reaching critical mass!


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[Reefpete]

I always dose my reef with fuel its called. My original gsp was a quarter inch and now in a year it's looks like this below ......I dose once a week and the corals grow very fast. Again you need to do weekly water changes etc etc the usual.



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