Acropora care

mike731

mike731

New Member
I just got an awsome green acropora for 10 bucks and dont wanna mess up by not giving it the proper light, flow, and nutritional supplements. I currently have a 55 gallon with 260 watts 50/50 actinic and 10,000 K. I put a cap full of Kent Marine Liquid Calcium, 1 cap full of Kent Iodine per week, and a cap full of Kent Microvert every few days. How do I know if the flow is considered "high" or "low"? I have a return pump and a protein skimmer, but thats it. I currently have the acropora right below the protein skimmer because it has the heaviest flow in my tank. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
jmick

jmick

Active Member
Originally Posted by mike731
I just got an awsome green acropora for 10 bucks and dont wanna mess up by not giving it the proper light, flow, and nutritional supplements. I currently have a 55 gallon with 260 watts 50/50 actinic and 10,000 K. I put a cap full of Kent Marine Liquid Calcium, 1 cap full of Kent Iodine per week, and a cap full of Kent Microvert every few days. How do I know if the flow is considered "high" or "low"? I have a return pump and a protein skimmer, but thats it. I currently have the acropora right below the protein skimmer because it has the heaviest flow in my tank. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
First, stop dosing the Iodine this always kills me when I see people just pouring it in their tanks...do you test for this? Second, what type of lighting do you have...pc, vho or t5?
Second, other then the return pump do you have any powerheads in the tank to create more flow? If not, then you need to make sure you get the SPS in the highest flow area but don't blast it...randow flow is your friend.
Third, do you test for calcium, alk, ph or anything? If you want SPS you need to make sure you have a very stable tank.
Fourth, for proper growth all SPS corals need are good lighting, flow, stability and fish poop and a few suppliments (mag, cal and an occasion alk buffer and if you have test kits then you'll be ahead of the game).
Finally, ditch the Kent products...it's nothing more then marketing in the bottle (for 80% of their products).
 
flricordia

flricordia

Active Member
Originally Posted by Jmick
First, stop dosing the Iodine this always kills me when I see people just pouring it in their tanks...do you test for this? Second, what type of lighting do you have...pc, vho or t5?
Second, other then the return pump do you have any powerheads in the tank to create more flow? If not, then you need to make sure you get the SPS in the highest flow area but don't blast it...randow flow is your friend.
Third, do you test for calcium, alk, ph or anything? If you want SPS you need to make sure you have a very stable tank.
Fourth, for proper growth all SPS corals need are good lighting, flow, stability and fish poop and a few suppliments (mag, cal and an occasion alk buffer and if you have test kits then you'll be ahead of the game).
Finally, ditch the Kent products...it's nothing more then marketing in the bottle (for 80% of their products).
I have been using Kent products since the early 90s and use them in the reefs I maintain dor others and have had nothing but good results from them. How do you base this conclusion? What makes you say that Kents products are no good? I see nothing but excellent coral and coraline algae growth from the use of Kent's Iodine, liquid calcium and moly/stront. Have you run chemical breakdowns of their products?
In this tank I use Iodine, liquid calcium, stront/moly every day and have since stat-up in Aug 06. I do water changes every 2 weeks, I have no protien skimmer only a fuge.
I would like to know seriously what you base this info you are giving off of.
Maybe you used them once and your tank crashed and you blamed Kent's products for the crash instead of your own husbandry?
And only an idiot would pour Iodine in their tank and not follow directions. Is that what you are implying people are that use Iodine?
 
jonthefishguy

jonthefishguy

Active Member
most people make assumptions of how a certain brand is without any real basis. Many product lines out there in the market are pretty much the same thing if not the same thing just a little more to it. I sell KENT products myself and have been using it for years and no negative effects. Example, most people dont know that INSTANT OCEAN is the base salt that KENT uses and then adds the elements to the salt. So other than the extra elements, IT IS THE SAME SALT, as per KENT rep.
Also, the creator of BRIGHTWELL products worked for KENT and decided to go and make his own brand, which is the same product but with just a slightly hire concentration. I will admit, not all of kent products I use but, that whole 80% thing, is just pure bs.
 
flricordia

flricordia

Active Member
Originally Posted by mike731
I just got an awsome green acropora for 10 bucks and dont wanna mess up by not giving it the proper light, flow, and nutritional supplements. I currently have a 55 gallon with 260 watts 50/50 actinic and 10,000 K. I put a cap full of Kent Marine Liquid Calcium, 1 cap full of Kent Iodine per week, and a cap full of Kent Microvert every few days. How do I know if the flow is considered "high" or "low"? I have a return pump and a protein skimmer, but thats it. I currently have the acropora right below the protein skimmer because it has the heaviest flow in my tank. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
You will find much better results if you use Kent's products on a daily basis. 4 drops Iodine per day per 50gls, same with stront/moly and liquid calcium 1/2-1 cap per 50 gl per day except for water change day, don't use any additives this day.
 
mike731

mike731

New Member
Originally Posted by Flricordia
You will find much better results if you use Kent's products on a daily basis. 4 drops Iodine per day per 50gls, same with stront/moly and liquid calcium 1/2-1 cap per 50 gl per day except for water change day, don't use any additives this day.
I have heard mixed reviews about moly/stront...what exactly is it for? Also is microvert a good food supplement...ive heard different things such as they need filter food and some say that they dont they get most from photosynthesis.
Also, I have been checking my water at home and taking advantage of the free tests at the pet store
and for the last few weeks I have had the following parameters:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate <20
Alk is around 2.0
pH at about 8.0-8.2
Temp ~82
I don't do many water changes, but I have been getting a new item for my tank about once a week and typically lose water during acclimation and then add some water the next day. I haven't lost anything yet and have not had any chemical spikes. I also use Instaint Ocean...IMO I think this stuff is great.
 
mike731

mike731

New Member
Originally Posted by Jmick
First, stop dosing the Iodine this always kills me when I see people just pouring it in their tanks...do you test for this? Second, what type of lighting do you have...pc, vho or t5?
Second, other then the return pump do you have any powerheads in the tank to create more flow? If not, then you need to make sure you get the SPS in the highest flow area but don't blast it...randow flow is your friend.
Third, do you test for calcium, alk, ph or anything? If you want SPS you need to make sure you have a very stable tank.
Fourth, for proper growth all SPS corals need are good lighting, flow, stability and fish poop and a few suppliments (mag, cal and an occasion alk buffer and if you have test kits then you'll be ahead of the game).
Finally, ditch the Kent products...it's nothing more then marketing in the bottle (for 80% of their products).

I have 48" Coralife CF 260 watt 50/50 actinic 10,000K. I think my tank is pretty stable, I have a fair amount of critters:
1 Cardinal
1 Pygmy Angel
2 Damsels
1 Condy
10 Astrea Snails
10 Scarlet Hermits
15 Blue Hermits
3 Fighting Conch
2 Emerald Crabs
3 Pepperment Shrimp
1 Flame Scallop
1 Small Xenia Colony
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
Originally Posted by mike731
I have heard mixed reviews about moly/stront...what exactly is it for?
strontium is used by corals to bind the calcium together in the construction of their skeletons, with proper levels their skeletons are stronger.
I am a firm believer in not blindly dosing, setting up a testing regiment and figureing out real time consumption levels and base dosing off that information. for my tank my water changes handle 90% of the element replacement needed, my calcium levels have slowly risen as I have been adding more SPS and my clams have been getting larger consuming more calcium to do so. qand I have been adjusting my dosing as needed, If I went directly by the per day dosing of all the additaves I have sitting around it would take me about 1/2 hour a day to dose everything, instead I do water changes in larger and more frequent amounts. week 1 20% week 2 40% week 3 20% week 4 50% this of course is not Ideal for most people 50% water changes are difficult and can be risky if you are not adept at getting the temp SG and PH exactly the same as your DTs, but I have been doing this for a while so I have gotten it down to a science.
 
jmick

jmick

Active Member
Originally Posted by Flricordia
I have been using Kent products since the early 90s and use them in the reefs I maintain dor others and have had nothing but good results from them. How do you base this conclusion? What makes you say that Kents products are no good? I see nothing but excellent coral and coraline algae growth from the use of Kent's Iodine, liquid calcium and moly/stront. Have you run chemical breakdowns of their products?
In this tank I use Iodine, liquid calcium, stront/moly every day and have since stat-up in Aug 06. I do water changes every 2 weeks, I have no protien skimmer only a fuge.
I would like to know seriously what you base this info you are giving off of.
Maybe you used them once and your tank crashed and you blamed Kent's products for the crash instead of your own husbandry?
And only an idiot would pour Iodine in their tank and not follow directions. Is that what you are implying people are that use Iodine?

My conclusion is based on the fact that many of these products are not needed, they make you feel like they are needed. If you do regular water chages you do not have add any of the suppliments you have listed here. Also, only an idiot would add something to his/her tank that they do not test, even if they follow the directions. The only items that need to be added to a reef tank are Calcium, Alk buffer and Magnesium, if you want to throw you money away on other suppliments that's fine with me and I'm sure the folks at Kent are happy. Also, their dead invert foods offer little nutritional value compared to other brands such as DT's, which is refidgerated for a reason.
All of that said, their alk buffer is a good product and so is their Kalk (but I can go to Walmart and tub of Ms. Wages lime for 1/10 of the cost).
 
jonthefishguy

jonthefishguy

Active Member
I wouldnt tell people to go out and buy some off brand at walmart just because it is cheaper without knowing the chemical makeup of THAT brand. Just because KALK for aquarium use is pickling lime, doesnt make it the same chemical makeup. Some low quality calcium hydroxides have higher than normal levels of magnesium, phosphates or heavier metals like lead. The may also have a higher percentage of Calcium Carbonate which will not dissolve.
 
jmick

jmick

Active Member
Originally Posted by jonthefishguy
I wouldnt tell people to go out and buy some off brand at walmart just because it is cheaper without knowing the chemical makeup of THAT brand. Just because KALK for aquarium use is pickling lime, doesnt make it the same chemical makeup. Some low quality calcium hydroxides have higher than normal levels of magnesium, phosphates or heavier metals like lead. The may also have a higher percentage of Calcium Carbonate which will not dissolve.
This product is as good as anything you will be at your LFS. Do some research on it
 
jonthefishguy

jonthefishguy

Active Member
Originally Posted by Jmick
This product is as good as anything you will be at your LFS. Do some research on it


Just contacted Precision Foods and they are faxing me a MSDS sheet on the pickling lime as well as getting me in touch with someone that can tell me whether it is lower or higher grade.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
subsribing for the analysis results. i have a few tubs of the lime waiting for me to finish my auto top off system.
 
jonthefishguy

jonthefishguy

Active Member
no problem. If they dont fax it to me by 5 pm. I will call again tomorrow and speak to someone else and get that person to fax it to me. Either way, when it comes in, i will post it.
 
jonthefishguy

jonthefishguy

Active Member
Mrs Wages is their brand so they can only give me an MSDS on theirs. If anyone knows another brand, let me know and i will get the MSDS sheets on them too.
 
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