All the additives I should have on hand?

[clownfanatic55]

Okay. So I have Reef builder, Reef Calcium, Essential Elements. So far everything is doing great and my coral looks good and is lasting. I have had my yellow poylps in my tank for about 5 months now and thats all I have been using. Do I absolutely need Iron, Magnesium, and all the above? I just want to figure out what exactly I need so I don't go wasting my money on stuff I don't really need.
Any help would be wonderful!!!

 

[meowzer]

You know....at first I bought all that stuff....only to find out that as long as you do regular water changes you don't need ANY of it
IMO....don;t buy anything else

 

[acrylic51]

Just my take don't dose if you can't test for it.

 

[t316]

Throw all of that stuff in a drawer and save for a rainy day.
Do regular feedings, regular water changes, and you will never need to worry about any of that crap

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by acrylic51
http:///forum/post/3270425
Just my take don't dose if you can't test for it.
+1 Absolutely do not dose anything that you don't already know is low.
If you're going to keep a reef tank you should be testing Calcium, Alkalinity, and occasionally Magnesium. From the test results you will know if you need to dose anything or just keep up on water changes.
I wouldn't dose Iron.

 

[mrdc]

I'm a big tester now on anything that I dose. I only dose ca, alk, iodide and magnesium.

 

[beaslbob]

for a fish only tank nothing.
For a sps coral tank (or clam or even just corraline algae), calcium chloride, baking soda, epsom salts, magnesium chloride.
Of course the hard part is know how much and when to dose the things. Which requires the calcium, alk, and magnesium test kits.
my .02