# Reef SUPPLEMENTS QUESTION!



## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

so as i was speaking to few hobbiest the topic of supplement use came up. As all "reef" tanks have corals you usually need to dose with additives when you got quite abit of corals. My question is what chemicals do you guys suggest and how many times do you dose. What things should i watch for ( calcium/kh/mag etc) and what brands are "affordable" lol 

thanks in advance.


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## Tristan (Aug 15, 2011)

It really depends on your system. If you have a softie dominated tank, you probably dont need to dose anything, except for the occasional Iodine. If you have a mixed reef and do regular water changes you probably could do with a two part dosing routine of calcium and alkalinity. If you are running with all sps and lps then you definitely need to dose. 

Again as far as a schedule goes it depends on how fast it gets depleted from your system. B ionic sells a two part system which is fairly cheap and lasts a decent length of time. 

Personally I don't dose calcium or alk on my pico. Regular water changes are enough to keep up the levels. I do dose amino acids, strontium and lugols solution though as it brings out the colours and lets my zoas be healthy in a low nutrient system.


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

Tristan said:


> It really depends on your system. If you have a softie dominated tank, you probably dont need to dose anything, except for the occasional Iodine. If you have a mixed reef and do regular water changes you probably could do with a two part dosing routine of calcium and alkalinity. If your running with all sps and lps then you definitely need to dose.
> 
> Again as far as a schedule goes it depends on how fast it gets depleted from your system. B ionic sells a two part system which is fairly cheap and lasts a decent length of time.
> 
> Personally I don't dose calcium or alk on my pico. Regular water changes are enough to keep up the levels. I do dose amino acids, strontium and lugols solution though as it brings out the colours and lets my zoas be healthy in a low nutrient system.


i dont know my mag levels as i dont have a tester for that. but all other things like kh are on check. only thing that is really high is my calcium. i dont know how to bring it down. its like at 500-600 ppm from my last check which was few days ago. any suggestions? and i prob need a mag test for future to see how my levels deplete?


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## Tristan (Aug 15, 2011)

Yeah my tank was running really high too. I haven't checked recently though. You could try a water change to bring it down slowly. High calcium is better than low Calcium in my opinion. Easier to bring it into check, just let the corals absorb it.

If your calcium is always running high then odds are you probably wont need to dose. What salt are you using?


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

Tristan said:


> Yeah my tank was running really high too. I haven't checked recently though. You could try a water change to bring it down slowly. Higher calcium is better than lower Calcium in my opinion. If your calcium is always running high then odds are you probably wont need to dose.
> 
> What salt are you using?


hmmm thats odd.

well if its not bad then im good lol.

when do you usually do water changes on salt tanks. every month?


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## Tristan (Aug 15, 2011)

I change water on my tank every week... its only 4.5 gallons though so its not that hard lol.


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## notclear (Nov 5, 2011)

Alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium all three go hand in hand. So you need to measure magnesium as well. 

For that high of calcium, you must have a low alkalinity. If your alkalinity is also high, then probably your calcium tester is not correct.


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

notclear said:


> Alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium all three go hand in hand. So you need to measure magnesium as well.
> 
> For that high of calcium, you must have a low alkalinity. If your alkalinity is also high, then probably your calcium tester is not correct.


my alk is 8 on the number list.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Your tank is still quite new. If you have no corals in the tank, then there's nobody eating up that calcium. Get some cheap soft corals and see how they do. Even though they won't eat the calcium, it will give good indication of you water quality and suitability. I have some Kenya tree and xenia if you want. They grow like weeds in my tank. Or look on the for sale forums. 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

50seven said:


> Your tank is still quite new. If you have no corals in the tank, then there's nobody eating up that calcium. Get some cheap soft corals and see how they do. Even though they won't eat the calcium, it will give good indication of you water quality and suitability. I have some Kenya tree and xenia if you want. They grow like weeds in my tank. Or look on the for sale forums.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


i have xenia, gsp, some mushrooms that r growing and 1 head zoa.

all doing fine. levels i gotta check sometime these days to c if i notice anything.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

peacocks said:


> i have xenia, gsp, some mushrooms that r growing and 1 head zoa.
> 
> all doing fine. levels i gotta check sometime these days to c if i notice anything.


 Reef SUPPLEMENTS QUESTION! 

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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

sig said:


> Reef SUPPLEMENTS QUESTION!


lol im confused?


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

peacocks said:


> lol im confused?


 xenia, gsp, some mushrooms that r growing and 1 head zoa - these so not need any supplements. Just the lights and all other stuff you will get from the salt.
start reading and stop wasting money

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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

sig said:


> xenia, gsp, some mushrooms that r growing and 1 head zoa - these so not need any supplements. Just the lights and all other stuff you will get from the salt.
> start reading and stop wasting money


i havnt wasted any money. i didnt buy any chemicals yet. i was asking for the "future" reactions i should take when i get lps etc.


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