red sea supp!!!!

[tangman24]

Hi guys,

I was just wondering what sort of supplements should i be dosing my reef tank with. ATM I am just adding the
Red Sea Reef Success Calcium + 3 which has Calcium, Strontium, Molybdenum, Iodine. I've also got the
Red Sea Reef Success Coral Trace. Would this be enough or are there other supplements that i should be using as well. In regards
to the Red Sea Reef Success Coral Trace supplements, it says that you should not use it in aquariums that are less than
3 months old. Is there a reasoning behind that are can i just dose it anyway. I was also wondering what i should be feeding my corals and
how often.


I'm new to reef keeping so I was wondering if you guys can comment of my water Quality Parameters and whether they are at normal levels.

PH: 8.3
ca: 500 mg/l
ammonia: 0 mg/l
nitrate: 0mg/l
nitrite:0mg/l
sg: 1.026 sometimes 1.027
temp: 25 to 26.8


Thanks in advance

[AegirOfHlesey]

In general, it's not a good idea to dose something you can't measure. Just stick with calcium and a buffer, all of the rest will be replaced through regular water changes (you may need to dose magnesium, get a test kit for it and check).

[AegirOfHlesey]

I just noticed your Ca is 500, don't dose that for a while, try to keep that ~400. Check your dKH (carbonate alkalinity), try to keep that between 9-12. Everything else looks good, sg is on the high end, but still ok, I don't know C temps.

[michaeljames]

I would try and maintain your ca at 420 if your going to keep hard corals and lower your sg to around 1.024

[mwwhite]

Good advice - don't dose what you don't test for. There are some great articles about water parameters in the Reef Chemistry forum.

I wouldn't try to debate the point myself, but the ranges specified in Dr. Holmes-Farley's articles are 380-450 ppm Calcium, and 7-11 dKH (German degrees of Carbonate Hardness) Alkalinity, otherwise known as 2.5-4 meq/L Alkalinity.

Natural Sea Water (NSW) has a Specific Gravity of 1.0265. Can also be specified as 35 ppt (parts per thousand) salinity. You're in the range.

Calcifying corals and calcerous algas deplete Calcium and Carbonate, as well as Magnesium, though to a lesser extent. Depletion varies from aquarium to aquarium. There's a calculator in Reef Chemistry forum which computes the amount of supplement necessary to raise a parameter (Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium) from current level to desired - for all the major supplements. Once adjusted, start with a target supplement dose - equal amounts of Calcium and Alkalinity. After a few days, test again. If low, re-adjust one-time, then resume supplementation at a higher dose. If high, stop dosing until it drops to the desired level, then resume supplementation at a lower dose. Largely trial-and-error.

Trouble maintaining Calcium can be a symptom of low Magnesium. I test Mg monthly, and when I have difficulty raising Ca.

The remaining trace elements that you listed are best replenished through regular water changes (as AegirOfHlesey replied).