Supplements & Corals

[Charlie]

I do a 12-13% PWC weekly with IO Reef Crystals and occasionally do about 20% when working on the tank.

Is it necessary to add any supplements for good coral health/growth?

 

[melosu58]

In the first place. You should never supplement anything you cannot test for. Most supplements can be replenished in your tank by doing frequent PWC`s. Calcium is one that some people do supplement. Even though I do believe some salts will provide adequate calcium for your tank there are some that will not. But you must test to see if you even need to or not. Adding a supplement without knowing if you need it or not is just plain not smart. So in recap, first test to see if you need it and then test to keep it there. Also do frequent PWC`s and you might not need to add anything.

 

[Hara]

the generic answer is no, it is not, in fact it is best not to add anything.

The more complicated answer is that it really depends on how heavily stocked and what type of corals you have in there. It takes an awful lot of corals to use up nutrients when weekly water changes are being done though.

If you have SPS or LPS corals, you will want to test your calcium and alkalinity levels on a very regular basis.