Additives? Someone please help!

kimber27

kimber27

Member
I've been reading up on what to add to my tank as I convert it into a reef tank and all the different products are very confusing to me. If someone could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.
So far I ordered a calcuim test kit, coral vital, reef complete, reef plus and reef carbonate - here's where I start to get confused. If I'm using reef complete & reef plus do I still need to get and use reef calcium, magnesium, strontium & idione alone or will the reef complete & reef plus that already have these things take care of it?
* I'm only going to house softies.
Thanks in advance!
 
zbrook1

zbrook1

New Member
I have a 55 also and all I do is add C-Balance(two part additive) everyday. Once in the morn and once at night.Two drops of Lugols solution(iodine) once a week with my 5 gal water change. and DT's twice a week to help feed my softies.........so far so good!
 
T

tizzo

Guest
AAAHHH!!! QUIT ADDING STUFF!!!
Everything your corals need is included in your salt mix. If you have so many corals that they start to deplete only one mineral such as calcium, then you add calcium.
Test kits. Not additives. Calcium, alkalinity, and a magnesium kit is good to have on hand.
There are things that need iodine, like your shrimp, but they get what they need in the salt mix.
If people knew how easily iodine is to OD, and get to toxic levels, they would be a lot more cautious about adding it.
Find out what your corals "eat", feed them that, but throwing additives into your tank is an ammonia factory waiting to happen.
It's not just you Kimber... Seems the spring bug has everybody goin' to the LFS and getting all this, "add this, add that" advice.
Get your tank stable, then find out if anything is missing THEN you dose it. And most often that will be calcium and or alk.
good luck!:)
 
7

75bownut

Guest

Originally posted by Tizzo
AAAHHH!!! QUIT ADDING STUFF!!
YES THANK YOU ! FINALLY SOMEONE SAYS IT!!!
 
kimber27

kimber27

Member
Thank you so much, I've been reading so much and it seems alot of it is conflicting info. All I have in there is mushrooms and ricordia then theres a cleaner shrimp and snails. I haven't added anything except liquid gold pro plus for vitamens and the such. When I do water changes I use the water from my lfs. It's cheaper than mixing it myself & it's good quality. I will test the water for alk, calcium & mag. when I get my test kits. The guys at the lfs told me I had to add calcium before I can put stuff like toadstool or colt coral in my tank but since I'm new to reef keeping I don't know what to do. I did read that adding that stuff can cause ph to go crazy among other things. Again thanks!!!!!
Kimber
 
kimber27

kimber27

Member
I do have a skimmer but I only run it every once in a while since I noticed it does pull out the liguid gold and so far so good as my water has been perfect. I use a refractormeter & the red sea test kits.
 
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