additives to reef tank.

[elan]

I am contemplating putting an auto doser for my reef tank. Although i do not have any corals yet, i am planning on them and in order to supply them with constant nutrients, an auto doser seems to be best.
So far, i hear adding the following
Coral-Vite
Iodine
Liquid Calcium
Strontium & Molybdenum
would be good for my existing coralline algae. so i am adding the suggested amounts as directed and as of now, only checking for calcium which is around 425. Still waiting to place an order for some more salifert test kits.
My question is this. If i take a 5 gallon bucket, fill it with fresh water, and put in the suggested amount of additives for 5 days, and use a simple doser to dose a gallon a day (a little less than my evaporation amount) will i be ok? or do some of these chemicals require not to be mixed a week or so ahead to work?

 

[hondo]

Personally I have found that my tank is healthier and much more stable by not doing any dosing but relying on regular water changes to replace trace elements. Of course I still have to dose for calcium and Alk but that is all I have done for the past year and a half. Be careful of over dosing especially since it appears you are dosing all these trace elements on a daily basis.

 

[joesox]

Are you using Kent products? When I bought my aquadoser it came with a list of which additives can be mixed and which cannot. I have the list at home, so if you would like it I can scan it and post it for you tommorow. I checked their web site but it is not among their downloads. I dose everything that you have listed except for iodine, and I know that they can be done together, but I am not sure about the iodine. Hope that helps.

 

[joesox]

Thats the main reason I do not dose iodine. I didn't know strontium could also be poisonous?

 

[elan]

DvSKiN, yeah.. i thought its a great idea. killing a two birds with one stone. dosing and topping off the tank, all in one
joesox, the scan would be much appreciated! I am using kent products. maybe i can set up two dosers, ones with chems that can be mixed, and one with chems that cannot.
As far as i understand and heard, just adding calcium without iodine or strontium is not very efficient for the corals. The corals need the iodine and strontium in order to process calcium efficiently and is why these chemicals are usually sold in packages.
As far as cost, i am learning that for a healthy establishment of a reef ecosystem, its going to cost, and cost dearly. but if you average out the cost of the kit, its only a few dollars a week. And isnt that worth it for a much healthier tank?
not adding stronium or iodine because you cant test for it, is IMO, not a good reason to leave out a trace element from your system, especially since your coral may not be using your calcium efficiently and is missing other trace elements that you may need.
Water changes, well.. thats another story. I havent done any water changes yet. same water i started with since i cycled my tank (except for top off water). The nitrates are at 5, and from my last reading, i think they are going lower. i hope because of my DSB. So it may look like i may not need water changes if my conditions do not change.
Also, IMO i believe that adding trace elements evenly thought the weeks by constant dosing is much better than introducing all the trace elements every two weeks or every month by the salt used in doing a water change.

 

[timsedwards]

yes I have to agree with kip, dosing without testing is dangerous.
Sadly although all of these additives are very good, all the plus points are given by the manufacturer who obviously want to sell the item. Dont get me wrong, I trust Kent impecibly, but at the end of the day they are there to make money.
If you use any good salt (e.g. Kent's) then 90% of all additives you need should be in there. I only add calcium (their liquid calcium is very good), but then I am not an expert.
All the best,
Tim.

 

[elan]

i never said i was going to add chemicals without testing them.
I agree with you and think anything you add into the tank should be tested!. i just wanted an easy way to add the chemicals to the tank on an automatic method that could be adjusted weekly (amount of chems added to a 5 gallon bucket). Testing all of them are another issue. and i am looking into the different test kits to find out which ones are easy with good results.

 

[spsfreak100]

There's enough trace elements located in your salt mix. You don't need to add anymore for the tank.
And always remember, often times the "Buffers" do not work well for the long run.
Graham

 

[krux]

whew harder than i though.... cut and paste from a pdf on the kent site... this should answer your questions... for the whole doccument this is from, look at
kentmarine>downloads>dosers>aquadose 5

[hr]
Items which can be mixed: The following items can generally be mixed together with each other for dosing purposes. Add the products to the amount of water that you want to dose for the period of time you will be dosing. Example: if you are mixing enough to dose for a week, then add the amount of chemical to be dosed in one week to the amount of water that will evaporate from your tank in one week and set your dosing system to deliver that amount of solution to the aquarium over a one week period.
(Note: There are limits to the amounts which can be mixed. After mixing, observe the solution, if you see signs of any white or colored precipitation, then you have exceeded these amounts. The results will not be hazardous to inhabitants and the solution can still be dosed, just do not add the solid precipitate, and mix a smaller amount next time.)
Concentrated Liquid Calcium
Freshwater Plant Supplement
TurboCalcium
Goldfish Essential
TurboStrontium
Freshwater Essential
Tech•CB Part A
Discus Essential
Coral-Vite
Blackwater Expert
Essential Elements
A F Cichlid Rift Lake Trace Elements
Strontium & Molybdenum Supplement
Betta Bowl Essential
Concentrated Iodine
Pro•Plant
Super Chelated Iron Supplement with Manganese
Items to dose alone: The following items should not be mixed, either together or with other Kent Marine products or with other manufacturer’s products in a concentrated form, such as for dosing. Of course, most of the products can be used simultaneously on an aquarium. Follow individual product directions. Some aquarist discretion is required. It is recommended to wait several hours after buffering the tank, before adding other supplements.
AmmoniaDetox
Kalkwasser Mix
Coral Accel
Superbuffer•dKH
Marine Aquarium pH•Buffer
Micro•Vert
Pro•Clear Marine or Freshwater
PhytoPlex
Poly•Ox
Pro•Tech Coat
Lugol’s Solution
pH•Control Plus
Tech•I
ZOECON
Tech•CB Part B
Tech•M
Liquid Malawi Buffer
Zoe Marine, Freshwater
Any pH product
Liquid Tanganyika Buffer
Pro•Buffer
HTH

 

[elan]

krux, Perfect!!! thanks!!!

 

[elan]

Originally posted by elan
krux, Perfect!!! thanks!!!
I have to say thank you one more time..... i am setting up a dosing system (well.. ill explain) and this really came in handy.
What i intend to do is mix up a weeks worth of chemicals in you generic water bottle with a flip top. then mark off signs so i know how much to pour out.. and whalla... still requires me to dose every day, but at least i will only have two or three bottles and each one will be the same for dosing. .. alot easier then mesuring out different amounts every time...
anyway, thanks again.
elan

 

[krux]

glad to be of help. that will also be a great help should you ever go out of town. you can leave the bottles for the house sitter, and not need to bother them with trying to juggle 8 or 9additives over the course of the week.